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Issue 89

We have gathered a list of films based on the most relevant discussions on the dossier but widening the scope to add some very relevant films from Latin American countries we couldn’t explore. The list was thought only as an introduction to relatively easy to find features within the Anglosphere. The scope of moving images in our subcontinent is extremely wide and exciting, and a list such as this will never be comprehensive.

As you can infer, most of the listed titles are spoken in Spanish or Portuguese, but in the 21st century there is an increasing number of films spoken in other languages, American and European, and we have highlighted this. Sometimes, as in Guarani spoken films, it is hard to determine where the West, or the Mestizo-West starts and where the First Peoples realities lie.

Films in indigenous languages directed by Western Latin Americans are collected under the global order Nation-States in which they were produced; films produced by First Nations are listed under each nation to highlight the diversity of our countries. First Nations titles were selected by Natalia Möller-González.

Argentina

  • All of Lucrecia Martel’s features: La ciénaga (2001), La niña santa (The Holy Girl, 2004), La mujer sin cabeza (The Headless Woman, 2008) and Zama (2017)
  • Lisandro Alonso’s La libertad (Freedom, 2001), Los muertos (2004) and Jauja (Land of Plenty, 2014)
  • Albertina Carri’s Los rubios (The Blonds, 2003), documentary, and La rabia (The Anger, 2008)
  • Mariano Llinás’ Historias extraordinarias (Extraordinary Stories) and La flor (The Flower, 2018)
  • Elefante blanco (White Elephant, Pablo Trapero, 2012)
  • Matías Piñeiro’s Viola (2012), La princesa de Francia (The Princess of France, 2015), and Hermia y Helena (2016)
  • Rojo (Red, Benjamin Neishtat, 2018)

Viejo calavera (Dark Skull, Kiro Russo, 2016)

Bolivia

  • Viejo calavera (Dark Skull, Kiro Russo, 2016)

Brazil

  • A Casa Cinza e As Montanhas Verdes (The Grey House and the Green Mountains, Deborah Viegas, 2016)
  • As Boas Maneiras (Good Manners, Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra, 2017)
  • Arábia (Araby, Affonso Uchoa, João Dumans, 2017)
  • O Grande Circo Místico (The Great Mystical Circus, Carlos Diegues, 2018)
  • Inferninho (My Own Private Hell, Guto Parente, Pedro Diógenes, 2018)
  • Sedução da Carne (Júlio Bressane, 2018)

Chile

  • Play (Alicia Scherson, 2005)
  • The Larraín brother’s (Pablo, director, and Juan de Dios, producer) trilogy on Chilean dictatorship: Tony Manero (2008), Post Mortem (2010), and No (2012).
  • Sebastián Lelio’s El año del tigre (The Year of the Tiger, 2011), Gloria (2013) and Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman, 2017)
  • Dominga Sotomayor’s De jueves a domingo (Thursday till Sunday, 2012) y Tarde para morir joven (Too Late to Die Young, 2018)
  • El viento sabe que vuelvo a casa (The Winds Know I’m Coming Back Home, José Luis Torres Leiva, 2016), documentary
  • Tierra sola (Solitary Land, Tiziana Panizza, 2017), documentary

Colombia

  • El vuelco del cangrejo (Crab Trap, Óscar Ruiz Navia, 2009)
  • La tierra y la sombra (Land and Shade, César Acevedo, 2015)
  • The work by Ciro Guerra (director) and Cristina Gallego (producer/director), particularly, El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent, Guerra, 2015), partialy spoken in the Cubeo, Huitoto and Ticuna languages, and Pájaros de verano (Birds of Passage, Gallego and Guerra, 2018), a Wayuu theme and language film
  • Los nadie (Juan Sebastián Mesa, 2016), documentary

Por las plumas (All About the Feathers, Neto Villalobos, 2013)

Costa Rica

  • Por las plumas (All About the Feathers, Neto Villalobos, 2013)

Guatemala

  • Las Marimbas del Infierno (Marimbas from Hell, Julio Herández Cordón, 2010)
  • Ixcanul (Ixcanul Volcano, Jayro Bustamante, 2015), an Ixil theme and language film

Mexico

  • Amores perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga, 2000)
  • All of Fernando Eimbcke’s features: Temporada de patos (Duck Season, 2004), Lake Tahoe (2008) and Club sándwich (2013)
  • Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light (Stellet Licht, 2007), a Mennonite themed and Plautdietsch language film, and Éste es mi reino (This Is My Kingdom, shortfilm, 2010)
  • Somos los que hay (We Are What We Are, Jorge Michel Grau, 2010)
  • El infierno (El Narco, Luis Estrada y Jaime Sampietro, 2010)
  • Tempestad (Tatiana Huezo, 2016), documentary
  • William, el nuevo maestro del judo (William, the New Judo Master, Ricardo Silva and Omar Guzmán, 2017), documentary
  • La libertad del Diablo (Devil’s Freedom, Everardo González and Diego Enrique Osorno, 2017), documentary

Hamaca paraguaya (Paraguayan Hammock, Paz Encina, 2006)

Paraguay

  • Hamaca paraguaya (Paraguayan Hammock, Paz Encina, 2006), a Guarani language film

Peru

  • Dioses (Gods, Josué Méndez, 2008)
  • La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow, Claudia Llosa, 2009), a Quechua themed and partially Quechua language film

Uruguay

  • Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, 2004)

Desde allá (Lorenzo Vigas, 2015)

 Venezuela

  • Postales de Leningrado (Postcards from Leningrad, Mariana Rondón, 2007)
  • Desde allá (Lorenzo Vigas, 2015)

First Nations cinema

Huni Kuin nation (Brasil)

  • Já Me Transformei em Imagen (I’ve Already Become an Image, Zezinho Yube, 2008)

Mapuche nation (Chile)

  • Ilwen (The Earth Smells of Father, Francisco Huichaqueo, 2013)
  • Mala Junta (Bad Influence, Claudia Huaiquimilla, 2016)

 Asháninka nation (Brasil)

  • Shomõtsi (Wewito Piyãko, 2001)

Aymara nation (Bolivia/Peru)

  • Venciendo el miedo (Conquering Fear, María Morales, Bolivia, 2004)
  • Wiñaypacha (Eternity, Óscar Catacora, Peru, 2017)

P’urhépecha nation (Mexico)

  • Cheranasticotown (Dante Cerano, 2005)

Puruhá nation (Ecuador)

  • Pillallaw (William León, 2012)

Sirionó nation (Bolivia)

  • Sirionó (collective film, 2010)

Tzotzil nation (Mexico)

  • Bankilal (Eldest Brother, María Dolores Arias Martínez, 2014)