The Group of Latin American Embassies (GRULAC) in Malaysia, in collaboration with Golden Screen Cinemas (‘GSC’), aimed at showcasing niche, art house films on the big screens, proudly presents the Latin American Film Festival 2024 in Penang.
After a successful edition in Kuala Lumpur, where a series of acclaimed film productions were screened, the festival will continue its journey in Penang and also to Kuching.
This year, the festival has its 4th edition in Penang, while making its debut in Kuching and celebrating its 22nd edition in Kuala Lumpur.
Present at the viewing ceremony was Penang Chief Minister YAB Chow Kon Yeow, Dato Yeoh Soon Hin, Penang Port Commission chairman and deputy chairman of Tourism Malaysia and a host of foreign dignitaries.
Movie enthusiasts can enjoy an exciting line-up of captivating titles from Latin America.
The Latin America Film Festival is set to showcase films across a wide range of genres including comedy, drama and animations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, each with its riveting storylines.
Celebrating the best of Latin American culture on the big screens, admissions to all public screenings are free for respective showtimes.
Dean of the GRULAC, Brazilian Ambassador Ary Quintella highlighted the longevity and expansion of the event: “As we move to the 22nd edition in Kuala Lumpur and 4th edition in Penang, we are happy to hold the festival for the first time in Kuching. Including Kuching this year highlights the festival’s commitment to reaching broader communities and celebrating the unique voices of Latin American cinema. I encourage everyone to attend the festival and enjoy the rich tapestry of storytelling from our countries”
The Latin American Film Festival is more than just a series of film screenings; it is an event that celebrates cultural diversity and a platform for fostering dialogue and understanding through the art of cinema. Each film has been carefully selected to showcase the rich storytelling traditions and vibrant cultures of Latin America.
Here are the synopses of the films to be screened at the Latin American Film Festival 2024:
Mi Obra Maestra (Argentina): Spanish-Argentinian dramatic comedy in which Gastón Duprat took a break from his fruitful collaboration with Andrés Cohn to direct it on his own. A ruthless satire on the world of contemporary art, the lies and falsehoods that sustain it, and the lack of scruples of those who manage it. Beyond this, on a second level, a beautiful story of unconditional friendship unfolds. Winner of the Audience Award in Valladolid, the movie relies on the acting duel between the Argentinians Guillermo Francella and Luis Brandoni, with the Spaniard Raúl Arévalo as the third vertex of the plot.
O Homem que Copiava/The Man who Copied (Brazil): André, relatively poor, falls in love with Silvia, a neighbor he spies on with a telescope. He begins to follow her around the city and realizes she works in a clothing shop. He works in a Xerox place and makes a copy of a brand new $50-bill to buy a dress from her store. This becomes a vice and he begins to photocopy more and more money, until it gets out of control. Things go wrong when he decides that photocopying is not the only way to make money.
De Jueves a Domingo (Chile): The characters are Fernando and his wife Ana, a well-to-do couple in their mid-thirties and their children, pre-teenager Lucia and Manuel, a few years younger. The movie opens with last minute pre-dawn preparations for a trip from Santiago to the arid north of Chile in the family car. For much of the movie we witness family conversations in the car and soon we get hints that the couple is in the process of dissolution, a situation that Lucia senses and tries to understand with mixed success while Manuel, in his childish universe, is oblivious to the underlying tension. Through various happenings we learn a few things about the past and present of the couple.
They run into Jorge, Ana’s old friend (and possibly old flame) in a road stop and arrange to camp together. An incident that Ana relates involving Jorge and a guitar hint of some wildness in Ana’s past.
Los Colores de la Montaña/The Colors of the Mountain (Colombia): Manuel, 9, has an old ball with which he plays football every day in the countryside. He dreams of becoming a great goalkeeper. His wishes seem set to come true when Ernest, his father, gives him a new ball. But an unexpected
accident sends the ball flying into a minefield. Despite the danger, Manuel refuses to abandon his treasure… He convinces Julián and Poca Luz, his two friends, to rescue it with him. Amid the adventures and kids’ games, the signs of armed conflict start to appear in the lives of the inhabitants of La Pradera
La Muerte de un Burócrata/Death of a Bureaucrat (Cuba): Death of a Bureaucrat is a classic Cuban film restored in 2019. This is a 1966 comedy film by Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea which pokes fun at the bureaucracy and red tape and how it affects the lives of the common people who have
to waste time and overcome hurdles just to get on with their ordinary lives. This is astonishing and still, by contemporary standards, an extremely fresh critique of bureaucracy with emphasis on red tape ritualism and inertia.
Ilusiones S.A (Mexico): A group of professional actors who are dedicated to pretending to be real-life situations are hired by a wealthy man to pretend to be his grandson’s family, thus avoiding great pain for his wife, who is anxiously waiting for them after receiving a letter.
Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon (Peru): Ainbo was born and grew up in the deepest jungle of the Amazon. One day she discovers that her homeland is being threatened. With the help of her spirit guides “Dillo” a cute and humorous armadillo and “Vaca” a heavy-set tapir, Ainbo embarks on a journey to save her homeland. As she fights to save her paradise against the greed and exploitation by illegal miners, she struggles to reverse this destruction and the impending evil of the “Yacaruna”, the darkness that lives in the Amazon. Guided by her mother’s spirit, Ainbo is determined to save her land before it’s too late.
Temas Propios/Family Album (Uruguay): Manuel is 18 and passionate about music, but he’s in the midst of a vocational crisis. César is 45 but acts like a teenager. He is an immature father who feels liberated and rejuvenated since the separation. Virginia is 49 and teaches English in her kitchen. She is a mother overwhelmed by work, her teenage children, and the separation. Agustín is 15 and is on the verge of being expelled from school. Amid the family storm, César and Manuel come up with the idea of forming a band, a dream that César was unable to fulfill. But the generational clash between them makes the family band unsustainable. Temas Propios is a comedy that explores the challenging journey of becoming an adult, the relationship between parents and children, and the world of rock bands.