Vancouver Latin American Film Festival Announces 2014 Film Lineup
Chile To Be Guest Country at The 12th Edition
The 12th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF), the largest festival of Latin American cinema in Canada, is proud to announce its 2014 lineup. VLAFF’s film selection has been recognized internationally for its curatorial vision that honours new Latin American filmmakers alongside more established ones.
Festival goers can look forward to , exhibited in three venues in downtown Vancouver. The festival screenings have been organized in ten feature sections, which include the New Directors Competition, the Al Jazeera Documentary Competition, Short Film Competition, Panorama of Latin American Cinema, Canada Looks South and Afro-Cuban Cinema, among others.
MyVanCity.ca is giving away a pair of tickets to the September 1 and September 4 screening of ILLITERATE (Chile) Dir: Moisés Sepúlveda. To enter just leave a comment on this post telling us which films you would like to see.
“For 12 years VLAFF has been one of the principal windows for Latin American cinema in Canada,” said Christian Sida-Valenzuela, VLAFF Festival Director. “We have traveled throughout Latin America to curate a list of films that are and should be recognized on a world stage.”
Chile has been announced to be the guest country for the 12th edition of VLAFF, with attendance of six Chilean filmmakers. Within the programming, VLAFF will host a retrospective on the Chilean actor Manuela Martelli, one of the most recognized Chilean actresses, who will be in attendance.
Marcos Carnevale’s film, LION’S HEART, one of the best romantic comedies to come out of Argentina in the last decade, will be this year’s Opening Night Film, followed by the Opening Night Party at the FOX Cabaret. VLAFF’s Closing Night Film is the animated film, ANINA by director Alfredo Soderguit. Followed by the Closing Night Reception at SFU Woodward’s World Art Centre.
The VLAFF program includes the third year of the New Directors Competition (7 films compete for this award), as well as the fourth year of the Al Jazeera Documentary Competition (7 films), which is presented in partnership with the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel. Sixteen short films are also in competition for Best Short Film. The festival will award $5,000 in cash prizes for its different sections in competition. For the first time this year, VLAFF will also present an Audience Choice Award.
The Panorama of Latin American Cinema offers a view of some of the most recent and exciting new Latin American films. To honour the 55th Anniversary of the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC), there will be a screening of the classic Cuban film MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT (1968), considered by many as one of the top 100 films of the 20th century. They will also be a screening of NO ONE WRITES TO THE COLONEL (1999), the film adaptation of the novella by the late writer and Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel García Márquez.
For the fourth year, the program Canada Looks South will highlight films from Latin-Canadian filmmakers. This year the focus will be on works by Chilean-Canadian filmmakers. Indigenous Film from BC and Beyond will showcase films by BC First Nations filmmakers alongside Indigenous filmmakers from Oaxaca, Mexico.
In 2014 VLAFF is happy to partner with two leading cultural institutions to present two special programs: The Museum of Anthropology at UBC will host a series of Afro-Cuban films as part of their exhibition “Without Masks: Contemporary Afro-Cuban Art.” The Etxepare Basque Institute in Spain has curated a program of contemporary Basque cinema which will be screened at the festival with film director Telmo Esnal in attendance.
VLAFF provides a unique opportunity for film lovers to experience the talent of Latin American filmmakers, as 98 per cent of these films will not be commercially released in Canada. All films are subtitled and are open to the general public. Tickets can be bought at at www.vlaff.org.
VLAFF 2014 Complete Film Listings:
OPENING NIGHT FILM
LION’S HEART (Argentina) Dir: Marcos Carnevale
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
ANINA (Uruguay) Dir: Alfredo Soderguit
NEW DIRECTORS. Films in competition
HABI THE FOREIGNER (Argentina) Dir: María Florencia Alvarez
THE QUISPE GIRLS (Chile) Dir: Sebastián Sepúlveda
ILLITERATE (Chile) Dir: Moisés Sepúlveda
DUST ON THE TONGUE (Colombia) Dir: Rubén Mendoza
WORKERS (Mexico) Dir: José Luis Valle
WE ARE MARI PEPA (Mexico) Dir: Samuel Isamu Kishi
THE MILITANT (Uruguay) Dir: Manolo Nieto
AL JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY AWARD. Films in competition
ICAROS (Argentina) Dir: Georgina Barreiro
REFUGEES IN THEIR OWN LAND (Argentina, Chile) Dirs: Nicolás Bietti & Fernando Molina
THE LAST STATION (Chile) Dirs: Cristian Soto & Catalina Vergara
GORGONA, STORIES ON THE RUN (Colombia) Dir: Camilo Botero
DISRUPTED (Mexico) Dir: Roberto Fiesco
THE NAKED ROOM (Mexico) Dir: Nuria Ibáñez
BLANCO (Dominican Republic) Dir: Melvin Duran
PANORAMA. Films out of competition
BAD HAIR (Venezuela) Dir: Mariana Rondón
LIVING STARS (Argentina) Dirs: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
YVY MARAEY: LAND WITHOUT EVIL (Bolivia) Dir: Juan Carlos Valdivia
THE WAY HE LOOKS (Brazil) Dir: Daniel Ribeiro
ESTHER SOMEWHERE (Cuba) Dir: Gerardo Chijona
WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? (Mexico-UK) Dir: Marc Silver
SHORT FILMS. Films in competition
FATHER (Argentina) Dir: Santiago Bou Grasso
SURFACES (Argentina) Dir: Martín Aliaga
FORGOTTEN (Argentina) Dir: Fermín Rivera
BACKWARDS (Argentina) Dirs: Ana Apontes & Sol Muñoz
AFTER (Argentina) Dir: Valeria Pérez
SHARK (Brazil) Dir: Leo Tabosa
A CUP OF COFFEE AND WAIT (Brazil) Dir: Emiliano Cunha
THE DIRTY LINEN (Chile) Dir: Ramiro Zamorano
THE CHILEAN ELVIS (Chile) Dir: Marcelo Kiwi
THE BRIDGE (Chile) Dirs: Macarena Saquel & Ingrid Isensee
ORANGES (Colombia) Dir: Iván Gaona
BRANQUIA (Mexico) Dir: Fabián Archondo
BALLAD OF THE LIVING DEAD (Mexico) Dir: Cesar Villarreal
CARINA (Mexico) Dir: Sandra Reynoso
THE ABSENCE (Mexico) Dir: Saulo Corona
ZAFO (Mexico) Dir: Pablo Orta
RETROSPECTIVE ON CHILEAN ACTOR MANUELA MARTELLI. Manuela Martelli in attendance.
THE FUTURE (Chile/Italy) Dir: Alicia Scherson
MACHUCA (Chile) Dir: Andrés Wood
CHRISTMAS (Chile) Director: Sebastián Lelio
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT (Cuba) Dir: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. In celebration of the 55th Anniversary of the ICAIC (Cuban Film Institute)
NO ONE WRITES TO THE COLONEL (Mexico) Dir: Arturo Ripstein. In honour of Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
CANADA LOOKS SOUTH. Latin-Canadian Filmmakers
IMAGES OF A DICTATORSHIP Dir: Patricio Henríquez
THE PALACE Dir: Nicolás Pereda
WE WERE THERE Dir: Sandra Rodríguez
PRESQUE VU Dir: Cecilia Araneda
THE INTERRUPTED CHILEAN Dir: Camilo Martín-Flórez
DOUBLE EXPOSURE Dir: Edgardo Moreno
WHAT COMES BETWEEN Dir: Cecilia Araneda
LET’S TALK IN BASQUE! A program of Basque Cinema. In collaboration with the Etxepare Basque Institute
HAPPY NEW YEAR, GRANDMA! Dir: Telmo Esnal
A POLITICAL STORY Dir: Lander Camarero
CHOLERA Dir: Aritz Moreno
HOTZANAK, FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY Dir: Izibene Oñederra
DEMOCRACY Dir: Borja Cobeaga
MINERITO Dir: Raúl de la Fuente
ONE HOUR, ONE STEP Dir: Aitor Iturriza, Bernat Gual
CUTTING GRASS Dir: Asier Altuna
AFRO-CUBAN CINEMA. In partnership with the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (as part of their exhibition Without Masks: Contemporary Afro-Cuban Art)
EL BENNY Dir: Jorge Luis Sánchez
THE LAST SUPPER Dir: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
MALUALA Dir: Sergio Giral
ALABBÁ Dir: Eliezer Pérez Angueira
CENTELLA IS COMING Dir: Agustín Peralta
INDIGENOUS FILMS FROM BC & BEYOND. Films from indigenous filmmakers from the west coast of Canada and Oaxaca, Mexico
Films from Oaxaca, Mexico.
THIS SONG IS FOR FATIMA Dir: Acelo Ruíz
MUSIC FOR AFTER SLEEPING Dir: Nicolás Rojas Sánchez
TIRICIA, OR HOW TO DEAL WITH SADNESS Dir: Ángeles Cruz
THE LAST ADVICE Dir: Itandehui Jansen
Films from British Columbia
THE LETTER R Dir: Hannah Leona
BREAKING THE SILENCE Dir: Community Action Research Team
SAVE OUR WATER HAIDA RAID SERIES
LOOKING AT THE DEVIL Dir: Aspects
GA WAABMIN GAYE / NEMOLNEK ELT NI’NEN Dir: Melody McKiver
HONEY FOR SALE Amanda Strong
About the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival:
VLAFF is a registered non-profit charitable organization and the largest annual festival of Latin American film in Canada. The festival promotes dialogue among cultures and explores the art of contemporary Latin American cinema through the eyes of its filmmakers. Since 2003, VLAFF has provided audiences with the unique opportunity to watch inspiring films and interact with guest filmmakers from across Latin America and the diaspora. For more information please visit: http://www.vlaff.org.
“Machucca” is my first choice, followed by “Who is Dayani Cristal” and “Lion’s Heart”. Enjoy the films at the festival and see you there!
Would love to see any film in the fest but first choice would be No One Writes to the Colonel, followed by Memories of Underdevelopment and third, Lion’s Heart.