LATIN AMERICA AND SPAIN FILM FESTIVAL 2017

1 - 5 November 2017 | By Donation

A selection of recent films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Festival includes a wide range of genres, topics and styles, providing an opportunity for audiences to immerse themselves into the cultural and social aspects of the participating countries.

Brought to you by the Latin American and Spanish Embassies in New Zealand and Australia, with the support of Expressions Whirinaki Arts and Entertainment Centre.

Please note there are no films on Friday 3 November and all films have English subtitles.

 


No Filter/Sin Filtro (Chile)

Wednesday 1 November 2017 | 6pm

Comedy | Rating: R13

Pía (Paz Bascuñán) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown: Her boss humiliates her, her husband ignores her, her stepson does not respect her, and her best friend does not listen to her. Pía has a strong chest pain and after trying everything she decides to undergo an acupuncture treatment. The doctor discovers that Pía's pain are all of her feelings that she has not taken out so he removes the filter...

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Take Me Out/Papita, Maní, Tostón (Venezuela)

Wednesday 1 November 2017 | 8pm

Comedy | Rating: PG

Take Me Out is a spirited love story between Andrés (Jean Pierre Agostini) and Julissa (Juliette Pardau), both of whom are passionate fans of baseball. Unfortunately their happiness can't be complete as they support different teams. When Andrés mistakenly gets tickets to see a game in the oppositions VIP Zone, he gets enchanted by Julissa, but the rivalry between their teams may lead them down the road of Romeo and Juliet.

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Miguel and William/ Miguel y William (Spain)

Thursday 2 November 2017 | 6pm

Comedy | Rating: M

Leonor, an inquisitive young woman passionate about theatre, daughter of a Spanish merchant in England, has to leave London to marry a widower, a wealthy Spanish Duke. Leonor leaves a forlorn lover in London, William Shakespeare, a promising comedy author. In Spain, Leonor meets Miguel de Cervantes who has lost his self-confidence in his own talent. She convinces him to write a comedy to celebrate her marriage to the Duke. But Shakespeare appears unexpectedly to stop her marriage to the Duke...

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Son of the Bride/ El Hijo De La Novia (Argentina)

Thursday 2 November 2017 | 8pm

Comedy | Rating: PG

At age 42, Rafael Belvedere is having a crisis. He lives in the shadow of his father, he feels guilty about rarely visiting his aging mother, his ex-wife says he doesn't spend enough time with their daughter and he has yet to make a commitment to his girlfriend. At his lowest point, a minor heart attack reunites him with Juan Carlos, a childhood friend, who helps Rafael to reconstruct his past and look at the present in new ways.

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Decent People/Gente De Bién (Colombia)

Saturday 4 November 2017 | 11am

Drama | Rating: M

Eric, 10, finds himself almost overnight living with Gabriel, his father, who he barely knows. The man has trouble keeping their heads above water and building a relationship with his son. Maria Isabel, the woman Gabriel works for as a carpenter, decides to take the child under her wing.

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Cuba Libre (Cuba)

Saturday 4 November 2017 | 1pm

Historical Drama | Rating: M

After decades long struggle, intensified during The War of Independence of 1895, Cuban liberation army, while exhausted, had almost achieved autonomy from Spanish colonial rule. Simon and Samuel are two Cuban kids who will experience the defeat of the Spanish Army in their country and the ensuing US occupation in 1898, which frustrated the national desire of independence, as an intense period of their lives.

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Promenade Women/Rambleras (Uruguay)

Saturday 4 November 2017 | 6pm

Comedy | Rating: M

The seaside promenade in Montevideo is the setting for three women struggling with life's ups-and-downs as they search for happiness. The women - a single girl, scared of being alone forever, another whose man is still attached to his ex-wife and an old lady who has nobody left - will learn from each other that it's always possible to shift and get out of one's current existence.

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The Story of Me/ O Contador de Histórias (Brazil)

Saturday 4 November 2017 | 8pm

Drama | Rating: R13

Based on the real story of Brazilian storyteller Roberto Carlos Ramos, who at the age of six was committed by his mother to an institution for poor children in the city of Belo Horizonte. After escaping more that 100 times he is considered as irredeemable. An encounter with Margherit, a French pedagogue, will put Roberto's disbelief in his future in check and will challenge Margherit about her own beliefs.

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The Beginning of Time/El Comienzo Del Tiempo (Mexico)

Sunday 5 November 2017 | 1pm

Drama | Rating: M

Antonio and Bertha are an elderly couple whose pensions are suspended due to a social and financial crisis in their country. Their children have not seen them for a number of years and the must survive on their own. They find themselves faced with the harsh reality of having to sell their belongings, prepare street food and even to steal. Their life changes when their son Jonas and their grandson Paco appear unexpectedly.

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Margarita, That Sweet Chaos/Margarita, Ese Dulce Caos (Peru)

Sunday 5 November 2017 | 6pm

Comedy | Rating: PG

Rafo is a divorced father in his forties who lives like a single in his twenties until his determined daughter of 11 years old, Margarita, knocks on his door and moves into his house without previous notice. Margarita will change the life of Rafo and everybody around her, forever.

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Alba (Ecuador)

Sunday 5 November 2017 | 8pm

Drama | Rating: PG

Alba is an eleven year old girl trying to find her way through adolescence. Painfully shy, Alba lives with her divorced and ailing mother, until her mother's collapse sends her to hospital and Alba is sent to live with her eccentric and solitary father, whom she hardly knows.

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