YULI (2018) – Born to Dance
YULI is a skilful adaptation by Paul Laverty (I, Daniel Blake) of the dancer Carlos Acosta’s life story as revealed in his autobiography 'No Way Home' Directed by Icíar Bollaín, the film conveys a sensitive intimacy…
EVERYBODY KNOWS - When a Secret is not a Secret
When a young teenager is kidnapped at a family wedding in a small Spanish town, layer-by-layer, dark secrets, unsatisfied revenge and rivalries are revealed. Unable to contact the police, the whole family is trapped in a fraught…
Adolescence and Obsession in ‘A Trip to the Moon’
The Argentine director Joaquín Cambre talks to Latino Life about his own life and his award-winning opèra prima, A TRIP TO THE MOON, about an adolescent who, feeling out of sync with his family and his world, focuses his…
Gledys Ibarra: I am testimony that 'una negra del barrio' with a mission can succeed
Gledys Ibarra broke the mould back in Venuezuela as one of the country's first black telenovela stars, having starred in a string of popular Venezuelan telenovelas that have been translated into many languages and shown all…
Two New Brazilian films revel in gore
Aficionados of fantasy and horror had a few treats in the 2018 London Film Festival, notably emerging from Brazil, The Cannibal Club 2018 (Guto Parente) and Morto não Fala (The Nightshifter 2018): one a minimalistic horror film (…
Chile's Artistic Renaissance Questions the Past
From decades of silence and a few lone voices such as documentary-maker Patricio Guzman, has come a flourishing arts industry in Chile, with film studios like Fabula, Oscar-winning directors like Sebastian Lelio, and artists like…
Elliot Grove: The beating heart of RAINDANCE
London is a creative hub, and the number of film festivals over the year are truly astonishing. They represent a myriad of countries from China, Latin America, Brazil, India and Africa to local British productions. The Raindance…
TIDES (2017) Unwinding down winding canals
Shot in mesmerizing Black & White against a backdrop of Surrey’s serene canals, a group of forty something friends who have not seen each other for a while, decide to spend a weekend on a narrow boat to rekindle their…
DISOBEDIENCE (2018) Forbidden love is never easy, let alone in a closed religious community.
When photographer Ronit Krushka returns from New York to London after many years, for her father’s funeral, a forbidden love that had been the cause of her departure is re-ignited with powerful consequences.
DEAR CHICKENS: A moving short Film takes aim for the Oscars.
DEAR CHICKENS (2018) is a powerful short film that premiered at the LA International Short Film Festival in July 2018. Directed by Swiss/Mexican Mauro Mueller it is now officially eligible to compete for Best Live Action Short…
'ROMA' by Alfonso Cuarón sweeps the boards at the BAFTAs.
ROMA (2018) by Alfonso Cuarón, a masterpiece of cinema, has been crowned the outstanding film of 2018 at the BAFTAs. Semi-autobiographical, it was created with deep affection in homage to a person who was and remains of huge…
Surviving Venezuela
‘Surviving Venezuela: Smuggling Dreams’, directed by Anglo-Peruvian Alexander ‘Lali’ Houghton is a TV documentary filmed in 2017 for ‘Witness’, Al Jazeera. It was short listed for a Rory Peck Award (2018), as well for the Foreign…
Carmen & Lola (2018) A forbidden Gypsy Love
Spanish director Arantxa Echevarría disturbs the status quo with her opera prima about love between two teenage girls from a close-knit Roma Community in the Vallecas suburb of Madrid. Corina J Poore catches up with the exuberant…
Nae Pasaran(2018) Scottish Solidarity to Powerful Effect from Afar.
NAE PASARAN (2018) is a stunning documentary written, directed and produced by Felipe Bustos Sierra. It is the moving true story of how a group of engineers working in a Scottish factory did their bit to help prevent more…
Bridge or Barrier? 10.000km (2014) New Release
Can a modern relationship survive long distance? Facebook, Skype and social media are designed to bring people closer, are they not? The award-winning opera prima ‘10.000 km (2014)’ of Carlos Marques-Marcet is finally available…
Myth or Reality, and Does it Matter?
Supposedly based on a true story about Basque farm lad, who started to grow uncontrollably to became Europe’s tallest man, reaching a height of 2,42m, Handia swept the boards at the 2018 Goya Awards, winning 10 out of their 13…
A Big Budget for a Big Man
HANDIA (Giant) swept the boards at the 2018 GOYA AWARDS, with 13 nominations, and carrying away 10 awards. In particular it won Best original Script, Best New Actor, as well as awards for Cinematography, Editing, Special Effects…
Three Short Films: Madre, Piggy and Fifteen
Corina J Poore reviews three Latino offerings from the 'Shorts' programme at this year's The BFI London Film Festival: ‘MADRE (2017)’ by Spanish writer/director Rodrigo Sorogoyen, ‘PIGGY (Cerdita) 2018’, (14 min…
Truth or Illusion?
The unusual tale of a commune in the south of Chile takes us on an unexpected journey.It is based on a true story that immediately suggests that upsetting developments may take place, as indeed they do. Produced by the creative…
Carlos Gallardo: From Mariachi to Zombie
‘An actor first and a producer second.’ Latino Life catches up with Carlos Gallardo, who first appeared in the now classic film El Mariachi in1992. Fast forward to 2017 and he returns as producer of RedCon1. BUt it was his…
Emotional Estuaries
Emotions fly on the waterways of London. ANCHOR & HOPE (Tierra Firme), the second feature by Carlos Marqués-Marcet who wowed audiences with his debut feature film ‘10.000km’, a drama about friendship and motherhood. Set in…
The Girl Who Stole the Show
EIZA GONZALEZ REYNA in ‘Baby Driver (2017)’ won us over completely, says Latinolife film critic Corina Poore who was impressed by the rising Mexican star at the end of the summer's Pop up screens.
Migration and redemption in Latin America
In his film X500 (2016) Colombian-Canadian director Juan Andrés Arango García describes the challenges faced by three immigrants in three countries as they struggle to fit into their new environments.
‘The Paranoids’ Dir. Gabriel Medina (DVD release)
With humour, pain and irony, Gabriel Medina's ‘The Paranoids’ takes us into the internal world of oddball Luciano as he comes to terms with his life
'Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle' Dir. Gustavo Salmerón
Corina Poore talks to Gustavo Salmerón, who made a unique film about a family who lived a fairy tale. It happened to be his own.
'Zama' Dir. Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)
After a debut La Ciénaga (The Swamp 2001) that shook the world of cinema and the equally successful La Niña Santa (The Holy Girl 2004) and La Mujer sin Cabeza (The Headless Woman 2008), Lucrecia Martel, one of the protagonists of…
Good Manners (2017) Challenging Motherhood in São Paolo
Set in São Paolo, Good Manners (2017) explores the relentlessness, chaos and fraught nature of motherhood in a drama that blurs the edges between fantasy and horror. Corina Poore talks to its directors Marco Dutra and Juliana…
Bravery and Tragedy in the Pampas
Corina Poore talks to the up and coming Argentine director Martin Rodriguez Redondo whose debut feature film “Marylin’ recounting the tragic real life events of a teenager targeted for challenging gender stereotypes in the…
'Antonio López 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco' Dir: James Crump
Corina J Poore marvels at an enchanting documentary about the Puerto Rican born fashion illustrator whose work in top fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Elle and The New York Times who was so well known and…
Latin Shorts @ BFI Flare Film Festival
Corina Poore revels in the wonderful short films at this year's LGBTQ Film Festival in London, including Ursinho, set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and The mexican The Swan 2016 (El Cisne) set in Mexico, and directed by Daniel…
My Own Private Hell / Inferninho (2018) Dir. Guto Parente
A beautiful film that illustrates how a little slice of extraordinary life can survive in a dark, fairytale environment.
A Little Private Heaven?
Is film the last refuge of poetry? Or a refuge of dreams? At the BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Corina J. Poore talks to Brazilian film maker Guto Parente, director of Inferninho (My Private Hell, 2018), about his film…
Latin Flare
Love is really all that matters when it comes to relationships, so it is with great ‘Flare’ that the BFI brings a sizzling new selection of movies, including from Latin America, to celebrate Gay, Lesbian and Trans film-making.…
A Fantastic Woman (2017) DIR: Sebastian Lelio
Last week's Oscar winner for Foreign Language FIlm, this deeply moving film about love, sorrow and the resilience of the human spirit, will have you feeling like rushing into the film to help.
In Praise of the Transitional
The half-Argentine, half-Chilean journalism student turned film-maker is emerging as one of a generation of Latin American directors taking over Hollywood. With his deeply moving film 'A Fantastic Woman' about love,…