AFI Latin American Film Festival (Video)

The AFI Latin American Film Festival is scheduled to run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 9 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. The festival is in its 24th year and is one of the largest and longest-running Latin American film festivals in North America. The Festival showcases the best filmmaking from Latin America and Spain and Portugal. The 2012 festival drew more than 10,000 guests and included 50 films from 20 different countries. Events were hosted by the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Spain, the Embassy of Peru and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic.

Festival passes (Pase Especial) are on sale now. The pass provides priority access to every film, with no tickets needed. The all-access Pase Especial gives you admission for one to every screening in the AFI Latin American Film Festival, including Opening and Closing Night and festival Happy Hours. After August 30, the pass price is $150 for general public and $125 for AFI members and students. Visit AFI Silver Pass webpage to purchase a pass.

View the AFI Latin American Film Festival program guide.

View trailers from selected films below. For more information on the films, visit AFI Latin American Film Festival website.

Here is a preview of some of the films which will be included in this year’s festival:

ANINA

Alfredo Soderguit, Uruguay

An adorable and heart-warming animated film for the whole family. A young girl with a triple palindrome name, Anina Yatay Salas, must endure a weeklong suspension after a schoolyard fight, and ultimately learn a lesson in friendship and acceptance. Best Colombian Film and Director, 2013 Cartagena Film Festival; Audience Award, International Official Selection, 2013 BAFICI Film Festival; Official Selection, 2013 Berlin Film Festival.

 

THE BODY [El cuerpo]

Oriol Paulo, Spain

A tense thriller that keeps viewers guessing until the final minute. From the producers of THE ORPHANAGE and starring Belén Rueda.

 

CHICAMA

Omar Forero, Peru

A charming story about a fresh-faced elementary school teacher sent to a remote school in the Andes mountains. Best Peruvian Film, 2012 Lima Film Festival.

 

THE CLEANER [El limpiador]

Adrian Saba, Peru

A gentle apocalyptic drama about a forensic cleaner who reluctantly takes in a young orphan in the midst of a deadly epidemic. New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize, 2013 Palm Springs Film Festival. Official Selection, 2012 San Sebastian Film Festival; 2013 San Francisco, Karlovy Vary Film Festivals.

 

THE DEAD MAN AND BEING HAPPY [El muerto y ser feliz]

Javier Rebollo, Argentina

A screwball road movie about a cancer-stricken hitman. Best Actor, 2013 Goya Awards. Official Selection, 2012 San Sebastian, New York Film Festivals; 2013 Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary Film Festivals.

 

DUST [Polvo]

Julio Hernández Cordón, Guatemala

A powerful drama about a couple making a documentary in a village of indigenous people in Guatemala’s back country, and the villagers’ recollections of the conflict and subsequent disappearances of their family members in 1982. Official Selection, 2012 Locarno, Toronto Film Festivals; 2013 Miami Film Festival.

 

EDIFICIO ROYALE

Iván Wild, Colombia

A black comedy about a decaying building in Colombia and its Tom Cruise-obsessed residents. Official Selection, Cartagena and Miami Film Festivals.

 

THE FUTURE [Il futuro]

Alicia Scherson, Chile

A Rome-set story about two teen siblings, newly orphaned, and the dangers of sudden adulthood. Directed by Alicia Scherson (PLAY, TURISTAS) and adapted from a novel by acclaimed author Roberto Bolaño. Featuring Rutger Hauer. Official Selection, 2013 Sundance, Rotterdam Film Festivals.

 

A GUN IN EACH HAND [Una pistola en cada mano]

Cesc Gay, Spain

A series of comedic, interconnected vignettes about the misadventures of a group of fortysomething men, featuring a star-studded cast including Ricardo Darín, Javier Cámara and Luis Tosar. Official Selection, 2012 Rome Film Festival; 2013 Miami, Seattle Film Festivals.

 

HOLD-UP! [¡Atraco!]

Eduard Cortés, Spain

A rollicking caper about the stranger-than-fiction staged robbery of Eva Perón’s jewels in 1950s Madrid.

 

MELAZA

Carlos Lechuga, Cuba

A young couple struggles to get by when their village sugar mill is shut down. Official Selection, 2012 Havana, 2013 Rotterdam and Miami Film Festivals. Biznada de Plata Award, 2013 Malaga Film Festival.

 

NO AUTUMN, NO SPRING [Sin otoño, sin primavera]

Iván Mora Manzano, Ecuador

A punk ballad, this kaleidoscopic film explores the lives, loves and losses of Guayaquil City youths. Official Selection, 2013 Miami Film Festival.

 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN BOLIVIA [Erase una vez en Bolvia]

Patrick Cordova, Bolivia

A micro-budget road movie set against the backdrop of the 2003 Bolivian gas conflict. Best International Feature, 2013 London Independent Film Festival.

 

RIO 2096: A STORY OF LOVE AND FURY [Rio 2096: Uma História de Amor e Fúria]

Luiz Bolognesi, Brazil

A striking, visionary animated film, exploring 600 years of Brazilian history through the eyes of a single character reincarnated across the centuries. Best Feature, 2013 Annecy Animation Film Festival.

 

SO MUCH WATER [Tanta agua]

Ana Guevara, Leticia Jorge, Uruguay

A 14-year old is forced to spend time with her family when a rainstorm ruins their vacation. Grand Prix and Best Screenplay, 2013 Miami Film Festival; Best First Feature Award, 2013 Guadalajara Film Festival.

 

SOFIA AND THE STUBBURN MAN [Sofía y el Terco]

Andrés Burgos, Colombia

A gentle comedy starring Almodóvar favorite Carmen Maura (WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, VOLVER) as a long-suffering married woman who decides to strike out on her own and have an adventure.

 

THE SWIMMING POOL [La piscina]

Carlos Quintela, Cuba

A day in the life of a public swimming pool in Cuba where five disabled teens take swimming lessons. Best First Film, 2013 Miami, Havana Film Festivals.

 

THESIS ON A HOMICIDE [Tesis sobre un homicidio]

Hernán Goldfrid, Argentina

A twist-filled thriller starring Ricardo Darín (THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, CARANCHO, NINE QUEENS). Official Selection, 2013 Miami Film Festival.

 

THEY’LL COME BACK [Eles Voltam]

Marcelo Lordello, Brazil

“If you two don’t stop fighting, I’m going to pull this car over and leave you by the side of the road.” Cris and her brother don’t, and their parents do. A modern fable about independence and identity set in rugged northwestern Brazil. Official Selection, 2013 Rotterdam, San Francisco Film Festivals.

 

VIOLA

Matías Piñero, Argentina

A spritely adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” set among contemporary Buenos Aires hipsters. Official Selection, 2012 Toronto Film Festival; 2013 New Directors/New Films, Berlin Film Festival.