AFI Latin American Film Festival 2009

Writer-director Fernando Veiroj’s debut feature charts the ups and downs of male adolescence with a deadpan comic quirkiness bordering on the surreal, buoyed by wit and sensitivity. Pimply teenager Rafa still hasn’t had his first kiss, even though he’s lost his virginity to the family’s housemaid, in a deal brokered by his older brother, and been to the local brothel with his sex-obsessed friends Andy and Rony. With his parents’ marriage on the brink of divorce, and a move to Israel looming, Rafa musters the courage to ask his pretty classmate Nicole, the true object of his affection, out on a date. From the producers of recent festival hit WHISKY.

Writer/director Lisandro Duque Naranjo crafts a blackly comic satire of Colombia’s ongoing civil conflict. Three Colombian mimes, Alvaro (Mario Duarte), Tamar (Coraima Torres) and Santiago (Vicente Luna), think they’ve hit the big time when wealthy businessman Norberto (Nicolas Montero) offers to fund their tour of Spain. But when Norberto gets arrested, the mimes discover the merchandise they’ve been “watching” for him consists of high-grade weaponry. Still intent on their dreams of Spanish stardom, the mimes hatch a plan to head out to the frontier and pose as guerilla fighters who want to trade arms for amnesty—and exile to Spain. But out in the jungle, the difference between acting and reality is lost on the soldiers and rebels engaged in the civil war. Audience Award, 2008 Cartagena Film Festival.

A diverse cast of characters crosses paths on the floor of a beautiful old São Paulo dance hall, and the experiences of many different lifetimes play out against each other during one eventful night. Director Laís Bodanzky has drawn comparisons to Robert Altman for her handling of a fine ensemble cast and their overlapping storylines, while the other star of the show—the film’s soundtrack—features performances by singers Elza Soares and Marku Ribas. Best Supporting Cast, 2009 Cartagena Film Festival; Audience Award, Best Director and Best Screenplay, 2007 Brasilia Film Festival.

For decades Brazilian music has captivated audiences worldwide. What makes Brazilian music such a powerful force? Why does bossa nova still lure DJs and producers 50 years after it was created? Why does the Tropicália movement resonate so deeply with the alternative-rock crowd? This film explores the Brazilian music experience outside Brazil, accompanied by a specially curated soundtrack featuring Brazilian classics reinterpreted by a new generation of artists. (Note courtesy of Premiere Brazil! 2009, MOMA.)

In northern Colombia—an area beset by strife between guerillas, paramilitaries, and drug cartels—a schoolteacher named Luis Soriano dedicates himself to a Quixotic task: strapping dozens of books to the backs of his faithful donkeys, Alfa and Beto, and delivering literature and lessons to remote rural areas via the "Biblioburro." Droll yet deeply serious, Carlos Zipagauta's documentary is both a subtly moving look at the ravages of war and an unforgettable portrait of one man’s devotion to his community.

Three recyclers undertake a quest towards the mystical "Door of Forgiveness" in artist Miguel Alvear's debut feature, a phantasmagoric exploration of South American folklore. Centered around Ecuador's annual "Mama Negra" festival—an eclectic mixture of Catholic, African, and indigenous traditions—the film blends dance, costumes, and performance art to explore the transformations that take place when cultures collide. Stunning, surreal, and sly, BLAK MAMA is an audacious headtrip through the carnavalesque.

Hard up for money and pressured by her ambitious husband, Arturo (Alberto Alifa), Magaly (Elaiza Gil) enters a TV contest for Marilyn Monroe look-alikes with hopes of winning the $25,000 prize. There she meets the competition, including Norma (Johanna Morales), whose skill at impersonating Marilyn is matched only by her will to win at all costs. Looking for guidance, Arturo and Magaly recruit Hector (Miguel Ferrari), a drag queen who believes he’s the dead actress’s reincarnation. Faced with stiff competition, Magaly suffers an identity crisis not unlike the real Marilyn’s. Venezuela’s Official 2008 Oscar Selection for Best Foreign Language Film.

In a seemingly time-forgotten village deep in the Amazonian wilderness, the local populace is busy preparing for the annual Feast of the Dead Girl, a celebration willfully blending Christian and pagan traditions, presided over by the androgynous mystic and philosopher Santinho (played by the charismatic Daniel de Oliveira, last seen at the 2006 festival in CAZUZA). This directorial debut by actor Matheus Nachtergaele, from a script co-written with Hilton Lacerda (ÁRIDO MOVIE, BOG OF BEASTS), offers a provocative and phantasmagoric vision of Brazil’s popular culture, with piquant flavor provided by the village’s folk music and dance celebrations.

Victor, sent by his mob boss El Orejón to collect from a pair of deadbeat drug-dealing twins, makes the spontaneous decision to keep the cash for himself. Now hiding out in a decrepit hotel in downtown Cali, he forms an uneasy alliance with Eusebio, who has a contract on his head after killing El Orejón’s hotheaded godson in an argument. Together, they must outsmart and outlast the steady stream of murderous minions sent to do El Orejón’s dirty work. Director Carlos Moreno’s wildly entertaining, stylish and action-packed debut film was Colombia’s Official Oscar Selection for the 2008 Academy Awards.