Culture Reviews
Reviews | Film
Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresas y chocolate- Cuba 1993)

Strawberry and Chocolate is a delightful 1993 film by Cuban directors Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabio. It is being screened as part of the CASA FESTIVAL 2021 which will run throughout September 2021. The festival…

Reviews | Film, Food, Fuerza London
‘SON OF MONARCH’ (Hijo de Monarcas) written and Directed by Alexis Gambis - Mexico/ US 2020

A collage of memories and events fragment like dreams when they collide with reality, in French-Venezuelan’s director Alexis Gambis’ film ‘SON OF MONARCH’ 2020.

Reviews | Film
EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF (2020) dramatic documentary directed by Mo Scarpelli

“The root of all shades of machismo is fear, the root of family is love. In ‘EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF’ this fear and love collide.”

Reviews | Film
‘THE FEVER’ (A Febre -2019) by Brazilian director Maya Da-Rin -

“Like a hunter with no prey”- The multi-award winning ‘THE FEVER’ has a haunting, dreamy quality. We are immediately immersed in the quiet, alienated world of the protagonist, who is surrounded by an environment dominated by…

Reviews | Film
Minimalist vampire movie with a twist: ‘MY HEART CAN ONLY BEAT WHEN YOU TELL IT TO” .

Colombian-American Jonathan Cuartas has hit the ground running with his debut feature, ‘MY HEART CAN ONLY BEAT WHEN YOU TELL IT TO’, a moving tale of two dysfunctional siblings trying to protect their frail little brother against…

Reviews | Film, Human Rights
Venezuela: Trochas de la Información

Produced by Circuito Gran Cine, a collective of film makers based in Venezuela, this film is one of a series about the difficulties Venezuelans have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, ranging from water shortages to the lack of…

Reviews | Film
Un Crimen Comun (2020) Dir. Francisco Márquez

This atmospheric film by weaves together the spectre of The Disappeared of the past in Argentina with the all-too-frequent police murders of contemporary news stories.

Reviews | Film
Dystopia feels close to Home in 'Undergods’ by Chino Moya

With UNDERGODS (2020) Spanish, London- based writer director Chino Moya, in his debut feature, has created a dark thriller in a dystopian universe that echoes society’s ills. The film is ironic and full of dark humour. Set in…

Reviews | Film
'Mujer de Soldado' Dir. Patricia Wiesse Risso

In the sleepy Andean town of Manta in Peru’s Huancavelica province, the wounds of the internal civil conflict between the Shining Path, the paramilitaries and the armed forces continue to bleed. Mujer de Soldado is a documentary…

Reviews | Film
The Dose (La Dosis-2020)- thriller by Argentine director Martín Kraut

Angels of Mercy or Angels of Death? The taut psychological thriller ‘The Dose’ (2020) by Argentine first-time writer/ director Martín Kraut screened at the 35th BFI Flare London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, will, no doubt, reopen the…

Reviews | Film
FRANCESCO (2020) Dir Evgeny Afineevsky

THE BRIDGE MAKER- Pope Francis has broken from some traditions, opening his arms and his heart to all sectors of afflicted humanity in the world. Evgerny Afineesky’s moving documentary reveals the huge scope of Pope Francis’…

Reviews | Film
Pool Boy (2021) Directed by Luke Willis

American/Salvadorian actor, model, and intersex rights activist River Gallo stars in the short film ‘Pool Boy’ 2021, written and directed by Luke Willis that is featured in the 2021 BFI Flare London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival.

Reviews | Film
'The Last Days of Gilda' Dir. Gustavo Pizzi

A Mini-series in 4 episodes, this is a lively and entertaining tale about the freedom-loving Gilda, who survives on a diet of love and more love, above all.

Reviews | Film
Latino Short films at BFI FUTURE FILM FESTIVAL

This festival, despite being relatively modest, is sponsored by Netflix and has attracted 45 short films submitted to screen online on BFI Player (UK only). The Festival is highlighting an interesting selection of budding…

Reviews | Film
'THE TRAITOR' Dir. Marco Bellocchio

An Italian/Brazilian/French co-production, 'The Traitor', a BAFTA contender this year, is a true crime drama based on the story of how Tommaso Buscetta, a prominent member of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, decided to become…

Reviews | Film
'The Sleepwalkers' by Paula Hernández

The latest film by Argentine director Paula Hernández who continues her successful run of intimate dramas with ‘The Sleepwalkers’ (Los Sonٞámbulos-2019). Selected to represent Argentina at the 93rd Academy Awards, it tells the…

Reviews | Film
'3 Feet' Dir. Giselle Geney

This charming children’s short film '3 Feet' by Colombian director Giselle Geney is an unaffected and delightful tale of the challenges and dilemmas facing children when faced with the conflict between their dreams and…

Reviews | Film
‘I'm No Longer Here' Dir Fernando Frías de la Parra

Selected to represent Mexico at the 93rd Academy Awards this debut from Fernando Frías de la Parra is profoundly accomplished, bringing a new and highly original voice to Mexican cinema. Garlanded at multiple festivals, the film…

Reviews | Film
THE MOLE AGENT (2020) Dir. Maite Alberdi

“I love the fact that everything I would like to invent already exists; the challenge is to find it!” With this attitude, Chilean director Maite Alberdi brings her highly original eye to her documentaries, not least THE MOLE…

Reviews | Film
Seré Millones Dir. Omar Neri, Fernando Krichmar & Mónica Simoncini

They robbed the bank then and now they will rob it again for a movie about the heist! Nicknamed ‘The Blowtorch Heroes’ by their political party, Oscar ‘El Gordo’ Serrano and Ángel ‘El Turco’ Abus (with his wife Laura ‘Beba’ Zona…

Reviews | Film
‘Ropes’ (Cuerdas) Dir. José Luis Montecinos

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. With multiple awards for his six short films behind him, writer/ director José Luis Montecinos has finally plunged into his first feature with a dark thriller laced with horror at every turn.

Reviews | Film
‘ASFIXIA’ Dir. Kenya Márquez

Mexican writer/director Kenya Márquez excels with her second feature ‘Asfixia’ (Suffocation 2018), to be screened (free) online at the Raindance Film Festival 2020, in the Female Gaze strand. It is a tale of redemption and love,…

Reviews | Film
Nuevo Orden (2020) Dir. Michel Franco

In ‘New Order’ (2020) the third feature written and directed by Mexican Michel Franco, no one is innocent. There is no ‘get out of jail free card’ here! Michel Franco’s powerful film, screened at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival…

Reviews | Film
ELLA ES CRISTINA Dir. Gonzalo Maza

Life is in colour but sometimes we need to see it in black and white. In ‘Ella es Cristina’ (This is Cristina, 2020), award-winning Chilean writer/ director Gonzalo Maza explores the power of female friendship set against the…

Reviews | Film
'Sin Señas Particulares' Dir. Fernanda Valadez

The Devil is Alive and well on the Mexican Border in ‘Sin Señas Particulares’ (Identifying Features - 2020), one of the Latino highlights at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival - a moving, multi-award-winning Opera Prima from…

Reviews | Film
75 Days (2020) Dir. Marc Romero

Screened at the 2020 London Spanish Film Festival, in his film ‘75 Days’ (2020) Writer/director Marc Romero re-visits a horrifying real-life event that remains a brutal and dark mystery. In 1992, in an area known as Alcàsser,…

Reviews | Film
'Memory House' Dir João Paulo Miranda María

Set in modern-day Brazil, with a fantastical narrative using hallucinations and dreams, in his film Memory House 2020, João Paulo Miranda María explores the lonely and tortured life of Cristovam as he suffers the harsh clash of…

Reviews | Film
'Window to the Sea' Directed by Miguel Ángel Jiménez

“Those that take risks get the life they want”, not as easy as it sounds, but pretty close to the decisions made by María (Emma Suárez) in this very moving film about love and loss, when María discovers she only has a few months…

Reviews | Film
‘Los Conductos’ (2020) Directed by Camilo Restrepo

Colombian experimental filmmaker, writer and director Camilo Restrepo, known for 5 award-winning short films, including ‘La Bouche 2015’, has won the Berlinale’s GWFF Best First Feature Award with his ópera prima ‘Los Conductos…

Reviews | Art, Film, Tango Music
BELFONSO - A Story of Love and Betrayal

Belfonso is a powerful tableau-video tale of love, jealousy, rage and betrayal played out between three dwarf characters. It is the result of an artistic collaboration between Argentine painter Ricardo Cinalli and the Argentine…

Reviews | Art, Film, Tango Music
BELFONSO - A Story of Love and Betrayal

Belfonso is a powerful tableau-video tale of love, jealousy, rage and betrayal played out between three dwarf characters. It is the result of an artistic collaboration between Argentine painter Ricardo Cinalli and the Argentine…

Reviews | History, Literature
'Britain and the Dictatorships of Argentina and Chile' by Grace Livingstone

Ask anyone active in the British left during the 1970s and 1980s and they are likely to remember stories about Chile: Hawker Hunter jets bombing the presidential palace, the murderous Pinochet regime (1973-1990), Chilean refugees…

Reviews | Film
THE UNCERTAIN KINGDOM

THE LIFE TREE, directed by Paul Frankl, is a mystical film forming part of this exciting compilation of short films called THE UNCERTAIN KINGDOM.

Reviews |
'Rage of Narcissus' wowed audiences at the Pleasance Theatre

Thrilling, captivating, and unexpectedly horrifying are just a few words that can be used to describe ‘Rage of Narcissus.’ Sam Crane -the solo performer that narrates this ghostly thriller- tells a fictionalized version of the…

Reviews | Film
LEONA

In a moving film set in the Syrian Jewish community in Mexico, director Isaac Cherem examines how cultural pressures affect a young girl who breaks with tradition and falls in love with a non-Jewish lad.

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