The annual celebration of Latin American cinema returns from August 8 to 28 with 15 diverse and rare films from countries including Argentina, Peru, Mexico and Brazil.
The opening night (Thursday 8 August) of the festival will take place on the ANU campus at the Australian Centre on China in the World auditorium, while all subsequent screenings will be held either at the Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank) on weekdays or at the China in the World auditorium on Saturdays.
UPDATE 13/08/24: Please note that the screening venues for the festival have changed due to circumstances beyond the control of the organisers. Dates and start times have not changed. Please refer to the listing below for the most up-to-date details.
Screenings are FREE to attend and open to the public. All films will be screened in their original language with English subtitles.
Proudly presented by the Latin American Embassies in Australia with the support of the ANU Latin American Students' Association.
1. THURSDAY 8 AUGUST @ 7:45 PM – STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE (FRESA Y CHOCOLATE)
Country: Cuba
Directors: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabío
Diego, a cultivated, sceptical, homosexual young man, falls in love with a young heterosexual communist full of prejudices and doctrinal ideas. (108 mins, 1993)
2. FRIDAY 9 AUGUST @ 7:30 PM – THE EXTORTION (LA EXTORSION)
Country: Argentina
Director: Martino Zaidelis
A commercial airline pilot is plunged into a plot of intrigue and extortion that will put his life and career at risk after committing a serious fault on the job. (105 mins, 2023)
3. SATURDAY 10 AUGUST @ 6:00 PM – DEATH IN BERRUECOS (MUERTE EN BERRUECOS)
Country: Ecuador
Directors: Edgar Narvaez, Caupolican Ovalles
Bogotá, 1840. Ten years after a Grand Marshall was murdered in the jungle, the inquiry into his death is reopened, uncovering a highly intricate plot. (102 mins, 2018)
4. TUESDAY 13 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – THE INNER GLOW (UN DESTELLO INTERIOR)
Country: Venezuela
Directors: Andrés Eduardo Rodríguez, Luis Alejandro Rodríguez
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
A terminally-ill young woman is increasingly torn between her decreased willingness to live and her desire to care for her young daughter. (90 mins, 2020)
5. WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – DOS FRIDAS
Country: Costa Rica
Director: Ishtar Yasin Gutierrez
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
Costa Rican nurse Judith Ferreto cares for Mexican painter Frida Kahlo during the final years of her life as reveries, myths, imagination and reality intertwine. (92 mins, 2018)
6. FRIDAY 16 AUGUST @ 7:30 PM – KIMURA
Country: Panama
Director: Aldo Rey Valderrama
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
After accidentally killing his brother, an illegal fighter leaves his life behind. Years later, he returns to his family for forgiveness but is tested to his limits. (90 mins, 2017)
7. SATURDAY 17 AUGUST @ 6.00 PM – MOTHER (UNA MADRE)
Country: Colombia
Director: Diogenes Cuevas
New Venue: China in the World Auditorium
A son rescues his schizophrenic mother from an asylum in this taut rural tragedy that serves as a powerful indictment of a society’s values. (83 mins, 2020)
8. MONDAY 19 AUGUST @ 7.30PM – SHINING MOON: DIRECTOR’S CUT (EL DESTELLO DE LA LUNA)
Country: Chile
Director: Gustavo Letelier
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
A man is offered the role of an elderly drag artist in a film. He has fears and prejudices that he must solve on the path to a new career. Director’s cut. (105 mins, 2020)
9. TUESDAY 20 AUGUST @ 7.30PM – HOME TEAM (MI MUNDIAL)
Country: Uruguay
Director: Carlos Andres Morelli
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
The unexpected story of Tito, a wonderful football player, who comes from a poor family in a little village and is traded to a big team in the city. (102 mins, 2017)
10. WEDNESDAY 21 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – WHISPER OF SILENCE (EL SUSPIRO DEL SILENCIO
Country: El Salvador
Director: Alfonso Quijada
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
In the coffee fields of Latin America, an 18-year-old coffee picker puts her a rare and amazing sense of smell to good use. (93 mins, 2020).
11. FRIDAY 23 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – BOREAL
Country: Paraguay
Director: Federico Adorno
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
Benjamín anxiously awaits the return of the Mennonite leader. When he finally appears, he says that they must stay on but Benjamín objects. (87 mins, 2022)
12. SATURDAY 24 AUGUST @ 6.00 PM – AINBO: SPIRIT OF THE AMAZON
Country: Peru
Directors: Richard Claus, Jose Zelada
New Venue: China in the World Auditorium
The epic animated journey of a young heroine and her animal spirit guides as they embark on a quest to save their home in the Amazon Rainforest. (84 mins, 2021)
13. MONDAY 26 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – NEBAJ
Country: Guatemala
Director: Kenneth Muller
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
At the height of the Guatemalan civil war, a Mayan evangelical pastor leads more than 200 people out of guerrilla-controlled territory and to safety. (80 mins, 2019)
14. TUESDAY 27 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – TURN IT UP, IT’S ROCK’N’ROLL (AUMENTAQUE E ROCK’N’ROLL)
Country: Brazil
Director: Leandro Reis
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
The story of Rádio Fluminense, the first rock’n'roll FM radio in Brazil in the early 1980's, which made history broadcasting the rock’n'roll of its era. (112 mins, 2024)
15. WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST @ 7.30 PM – VALENTINA OR THE SERENITY (VALENTINA O LA SERENIDAD)
Country: Mexico
Director: Angeles Cruz
New Venue: Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre (The Tank)
Young Valentina puts all her efforts in believing that her late father is alive in this intimate look into the depths of loss and the curative power of true love. (86 mins, 2023)