11th GALA FILM FEST:
Latin American Innovation
November 30 - December 4, 2022
GALA Hispanic Theatre, Washington, D.C.
In the past few years, Central America has become a hotspot for Latin American film. Despite limited support and numerous obstacles, the cinema of the region has been able to flourish creating a strong generation of young filmmakers that are leaving in their mark in the international scene.
From the Golden Globes nomination for the Guatemalan film La Llorona, the Panamanian film Plaza Catedral getting shortlisted for the international competition at this year's Oscars, and the recent prizes for the Costa Rican film Tengo sueños eléctricos at the Locarno and San Sebastian film festivals, Central America cinema is making waves.
This year’s edition of the GALA Film Fest, celebrates the vibrancy of Central American cinema screening films from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama—two of them in their U.S. premieres, with four filmmakers in attendance. Rounding up this year’s selection is the acclaimed Mexican documentary Comala by Gian Cassini and the 1967 film Santo vs. Evil Brain, the Mexican film shot in Cuba which marked the cinematic debut of the famed masked hero.
All screenings at:
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
(202) 234-7174
For tickets and more information visit:
www.galatheatre.org/post/gala-film-fest2022
MOVING SO SLOWLY / AVANZARÉ TAN DESPACIO
A film by Natalia Solórzano Vásquez
(Costa Rica, 2019, 76 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Q&A with the director
Hundreds of stories from nationals and foreigners come together in a public office where confusion reigns. It is a Kafkaesque place with doors that do not open, long lines, and cars adapted as offices. A limbo separates the film’s characters from their goals but unites them against a greater evil. Humor, drama, and the absurd mix in this poignant Costa Rican documentary feature, which had its world premiere at the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival (IDFA). The debut feature by director Natalia Solórzano offers an engrossing take on bureaucracy and its exasperating ways, something that we can all relate to.
ANTES LA LLUVIA / BEFORE THE RAIN
A film by Brenda Vanegas
(El Salvador/Mexico, 2019, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Q&A with the director
Set in Spain and starring the late celebrated Salvadoran actress Isabel Dada in her last cinematic performance, Before The Rain tells the story of two women, María and Esther, who are dealing with great losses. María is a Salvadoran immigrant who is unjustly fired from her job after being diagnosed with an illness and a hurtful breakup. Esther is an old lady who suffers from Alzheimer, causing her to be forgetful and lose cherished memories. They build up a special friendship that questions oblivion, leading María to reconstruct herself and her decision-making process regarding to whether return home to live with her son. The debut feature film by director Brenda Vanegas is a powerful story about memory and migration, anchored by some wonderful performances.
COMALA
A film by Gian Cassini
(Mexico, 2021, 98 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Q&A with the director
In his acclaimed documentary feature debut, director Gian Cassini sets out to uncover the truths about his broken family. Comala becomes a detective story with Cassini picking up the pieces of his absent father’s life as failed hitman “El Jimmy,” murdered in a Mexican border town. Traversing the country in search of clues, the filmmaker exposes a network of men stuck within deeply rooted patterns of machismo and offers unprecedented access into the personal ramifications of Mexico’s war on drugs.
FOR YOUR PEACE OF MIND, MAKE YOUR OWN MUSEUM / PARA SU TRANQUILIDAD, HAGA SU PROPIO MUSEO
A film by Pilar Moreno and Ana Endara Mislov
(Panama, 2021, 71 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, inhabits the ghost of an old woman named Senobia Cerrud. Many years ago, she decided to transform her house into The Museum of Antiquities of All Species. She found a way to avoid death and now she lives on in her museum forever surrounded by the fantastic world she created with her writings, her creations, and imaginations. Winner of the Award for Best Central American Film at the Costa Rica International Film Festival, Pilar Moreno and Ana Endara’s impressive documentary vividly captures the indomitable artistic spirit of an endearing woman.
90 MINUTES / 90 MINUTOS
A film by Aeden O'Connor Agurcia
(Honduras, 2019, 91 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner of the Audience Award at the Miami Film Festival, Aeden O'Connor Agurcia’s ingenious debut feature weaves four stories of drama, romance and suspense all tied by the world's greatest passion: soccer. Starring Edgar Flores (Sin Nombre) and Brandon Lopez (The Golden Dream), 90 Minutes is a poignant portrait of Honduran society through the stories of an immigrant who must fight for his life, a soccer hooligan with a dilemma, a TV news cameraman who must do everything possible to get a story and a legend of the Honduran National Team from the 1980’s who asserts his place in society.
SANTO VS. THE EVIL BRAIN / SANTO CONTRA EL CEREBRO DEL MAL
A film by Joselito Rodríguez
(Mexico, 1961, 70 min.) — Mexican Vintage | Clásico mexicano
Shot in Cuba in 1958—shortly before Fidel Castro entered Havana and the filmmakers were forced to flee prematurely (with the unprocessed 35mm negative smuggled inside a coffin)—Santo vs. the Evil Brain marks the cinematic debut of El Santo (Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta), the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores. The silver-masked hero foils the plot of a mad scientist, who aims to create a zombie army by zapping his innocent victims with electric shocks. Santo vs. The Evil Brain sparked a series of 52 films in which El Santo fights supernatural creatures, evil scientists, and various criminals.
ROZA
A film by Andrés Rodríguez
(Guatemala/Mexico, 2022, 76 min. In K’iche’ and Spanish with English subtitles)
Q&A with the director
Hector returns to his village in the Guatemalan highlands after a long and difficult migration to the Unites States. He returns home to a possessive mother, a distant wife, a son that doesn’t recognize him, and a community that pushes him out. Hector decides to take back his life by way of force, driving the whole town into near chaos. Winner of the Best Film Award in the Mexican competition at the Guanajuato Film Festival, Roza is a potent story that marks the auspicious feature film by director Andrés Rodríguez.
