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AMERICAN STAR (2024) by Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego
Ian McShane excels as an assassin on his last assignment in Fuerteventura. A loner, partly by force of his choice of career, Wilson’s life is thrown into a turmoil when his target is delayed.
Basque director, Pablo Berger, warms our hearts with ROBOT DREAMS
Following three acclaimed live-action movies, Pablo Berger, known for ‘Blancanieves’ (Snow White) has further surprised us with Robot Dreams, (2023) - a delightful, dialogue-free, 2D animated buddy movie of a Dog and a Robot.
Celluloid Colonialism
Felipe Gálvez’s much-anticipated directorial debut, ‘The Settlers’, deals with a taboo topic in Chile’s official history - the genocide of the Selk’nam people in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost part of South America, at the…
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW (2023) - The Ultimate Survival Movie
“Reality is not enough, only dreaming”. Despite having been released recently (October 2023), this film recounting the famous crash in the Andes of a plane carrying the Uruguayan national rugby team, by Spanish director J.…
Latin Shorts
Since short films were removed from accompanying all features at cinemas, they have struggled to find venues to reach an audience. The The 21st London Short Film Festival aims to change that, in style. We review four Latin…
The Rise of Female Mexican Filmmaking
Mexican filmmaker Lorena Valencia’s “DANDELION” (Cuanacaquilitl) recently won the top prize at the recent ‘16 Days 16 Films’ competition. ‘Esperanza’ and ‘A Very Nice Guy’, also directed by Mexican female directors, featured…
“No Tengo Dogma" - an Interview with Mexican Director Lila Avilés
Mexican writer/ producer/ director LILA AVILÉS is reaching audiences far and wide, way beyond her Latin American roots, as her second film TÓTEM (2023) hits the screens in the UK and other countries. Both her films, LA CAMARISTA…
LA SINGLA (2023) by Spanish writer/ director Paloma Zapata
“She understood music because she was born with it within her.” This drama documentary, part-fiction, part reality, reveals the astounding story of a young girl, who despite being profoundly deaf, became one of Flamenco’s most…
Deconstructing Chile's Past
Up and coming Chilean writer/ director FELIPE CARMONA URRUTIA's 'Penal Cordillera’ (2023) was nominated for the Sutherland Award (Best First Feature) at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival. He talks to Corina J Poore…
Penal Cordillera (2023) by Felipe Carmona Urrutia
“Not only condors fly.” In 'Penal Cordillera' a group of five high-ranking military officers convicted of crimes against humanity during the Pinochet Military Dictatorship, find their privileges threatened at their…
‘When Evil Lurks’ (Cuando Acecha la Maldad) Dir. Demián Rugna
A gateway to hell in your stomach, or evil oozing out from a putrid demon-infested body, are images that have sprung from the fertile mind of Argentine horror filmmaker Demián Rugna. Now, more to feast on in ‘When Evil Lurks’.
CLOSE YOUR EYES (2023) by Victor Erice at the BFI in the Victor Erice Season 2024
‘Memory is very important, but a person is more than just a memory’ and a film can be more than just a film. Spanish writer/director Victor Erice’s slow-burning film of mystery and loss lingers long after the credits have rolled…
Tótem (2023) by Mexican writer/director Lila Avilés
“I wish Daddy did not have to die”. Lila Avilés’ delightful second feature deals with mortality and love at an intensely human level in this gem of a movie.
PUAN 2023 by Benjamin Naishstat and María Alché
“Llueve sobre tu desolación” (It rains on your despair) In the philosophical comedy by Benjamin Naishstat and María Alché, premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, the upended life and personal struggles of…
Films to Watch Before You Die #9 – “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) by Juan José Campanella
What Hides Behind Their Eyes? – 20 Years of Unresolved Cases between Love and Death.
FAILURE! 2023, directed by Alex Kahuam is screening at the London Frightfest 2023
Failure! is a psychological thriller that features the enigmatic Ted Raimi in the lead role as a man who, facing ruin gets increasingly more desperate as he seeks a way out.
‘BALNEARIOS 2002’ by Mariano Llinás, screened in the ‘Architecture on Film’ series at the Barbican
‘Balnearios’ (Beach Resorts) may be a documentary, including archive footage from the mid-20th Century, but with Mariano Llinás’ ironic and dry sense of humour, it reveals an unconventional and surreal quality all of its own,…
Horror is alive and kicking in THE BREACH (2022) by Rodrigo Gudiño
Mexican- Canadian film director Rodrigo Gudiño, best known for founding the horror magazine and company Rue Morgue, has lived up to his reputation with an entertaining and fun horror film with plenty of gore, ‘The Breach’ (2022)
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING (2023) by Lisa Cortes
In this beautifully researched documentary, screened at the 2023 BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ Festival, Lisa Cortes celebrates the ‘architect of rock n’ roll’ Little Richard, with all the ebullience and joy that vibrates in his…
‘UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS’: Juan Felipe Zuleta’s film of friendship despite all odds
Screened in the 'Hearts' Strand at the 2023 BFI Flare LGBTQI+ Festival, this powerful and charming film has been praised by Queer Forty as “one of the best road movies ever made”. This may be a grand statement but there…
Latinx Films at The 37th BFI Flare Film Festival 2023
With an array of exciting films from 41 countries, as varied as Morocco & South Korea to Latin America, the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe 1(5- 26 March) aims to expand our perspectives, not only with films, but also…
OSCARS 2023: The Latino Contenders
Last year at the Oscars, the animated movie Encanto and Afro-Latina actress Ariana DeBose took home awards. In recent years, figures such as Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo del Toro have been winners. This…
SUBLIME (2022) Dir. Mariano Baisin
A beautifully understated Argentinian coming-of-age drama starring Martin Miller and Teo Inama Chiabrando and directed by Mariano Biasin.
10 RomComs with a Latino Twist
We have to start this list with a disclaimer: some of these films feature offensive stereotypes and, well, aren't very funny either. But if you can bear the Latino clichés and cringey moments, which let's face it, many…
Latin American Films to watch on Valentines Day
Is the stereotype really true? Do Latinos really do romance better? Then why does everyone turn to Hollywood when trying to find the best rom-com? We may not be famous for making comedy out of romance but we definitely do drama…
Films To Watch Before You Die #8 - Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresas y Chocolate) Cuba 1993
In celebration of LGBT History Month, we remember one of the most memorable queer films in Latin American film history. Strawberry and Chocolate is a delightful 1993 film by Cuban directors Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos…
Ten Argentine Films we love…
With their unique brand of humour, intellectual insight, romance and political drama, there have been so many great Argentine films that it’s practically impossible to pick out a few. But here are 10 of LatinoLife’s favourites in…
"I thought, what might happen if those trees would someday disappear?"
Following her highly successful film ‘Summer 1993’ (2017) Carla Simón Pipó has created a moving, award-winning tale of a family trying to save a threatened peach farm in Catalonia. Corina J Poore talks to the writer and director…
The Things That Tie Us
During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole.…
The Incarceration Trap
From the freedom of the Mexican Pacific coast to an American high security jail, director Rodrigo Reyes explores the life of a Mexican illegal immigrant, Sansón Andrade, who was sentenced to life in prison with no parole. This…
'Utama' Dir. Alejandro Loayza Grisi
Utama is a journey through the eyes of a Quechua couple that are battling between life and death with the climate change crisis affecting their home, forcing them to struggle for water and food. Director Alejandro Loayza Grisi…
IGUANA LIKE THE SUN (2022) Julián Robles
‘Can a pregnant woman watch an eclipse?’ Mexican actor/ writer / director Julián Robles has emerged with an interesting debut feature that will be screened at the Raindance Film Festival, It represents a notable change of…
“…And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them.”
‘Argentina 85’ directed by Santiago Mitre and starring Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani, is a taut, fact-based courtroom drama that is as suspenseful as it is intense. It tells the story of how Julio César Strassera and his…
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022) by Alejandro G. Iñarritú.
Alejandro G. Iñarritú, the Oscar-winning director of superb movies like ‘AMORES PERROS’, ‘BIRDMAN’ & ‘THE REVENANT’ returns to Mexico with a personal, sprawling and visually beautiful film that questions filming itself. Co-…
Alejandro Loayza Grisi: Director of 'Utama'
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2022, ’Utama’ is a journey through the eyes of a Quechua couple that are battling between life and death with the climate change crisis affecting their home, forcing them…
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