The Latin American Film Festival at New York University will present 12 recent feature films and documentaries from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay. The festival takes place at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South, unless otherwise indicated. The films are free and open to the public. Film directors will be present at select screenings.

Latin American Film Festival at NYU, Feb. 24 through March 2

The Latin American Film Festival at New York University will present 12 recent feature films and documentaries from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay. The festival takes place at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South, unless otherwise indicated.  The films are free and open to the public. Film directors will be present at select screenings. For more information, call 212.998.3650 or visit www.nyu.edu/kjc or the festival blog page: http://laffatnyu2011.wordpress.com/

Schedule of films:
Thurs., Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
Cochochi (Dirs.: Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas. Mexico. 87 min. 2007)
Synopsis: Drama about two indigenous brothers from northwest Mexico who set off on a journey that becomes longer than expected. (Spanish and Rarámuri with English and Spanish subtitles.)
*Directors present for Q&A after the screening.

Fri., Feb. 25
Location: 13-19 University Place, Room 102
6 p.m.
Gatos Viejos / Old Cats (Dir.: Sebastián Silva and Pedro Peirano. Chile. 88 min. 2010)
Synopsis: Drama about an older couple whose well-ordered life is thrown into chaos by a broken-down elevator and the arrival of their wild-child daughter. (Spanish with English subtitles.)

8 p.m
El Vuelco del Cangrejo / Crab Trap (Dir. Oscar Ruíz Navia. Colombia. 95 min. 2009)
Synopsis: Drama about a feud between the leader of a native Afro-Colombian community and a white landowner who wants to build a hotel on the beach. (Spanish with English subtitles.)

Sat., Feb. 26
6 p.m.
Rehje (Dir.: Anais Huerta and Raul Cuesta. Mexico. 67 min. 2009)
Synopsis: A documentary that follows a woman who returns to her home town of Mazahua after living in Mexico City for forty years and encounters a water scarcity that threatens the town’s existence. (Spanish and Mazahua with English and Spanish subtitles.)

7:15 p.m
Esencia / Essence (Dir. Sol Garzón and Jose Antonio Guayasamín. Ecuador. 30 min. 2010
Synopsis: A documentary about the life of three older people (Mary, 73; Sergio, 67; and Juan Manuel, 77) who live very different realities. (Spanish and Quechua with Spanish subtitles.)

8 p.m.
Baltazar Ushka, El Tiempo Congelado / Baltazar Ushka, Ice Man
(Dir. Igor Guayasamín and Jose Antonio Guayasamín. Ecuador.  22 min. 2008)
Synposis: A documentary of the last hielero (ice man) of Chimborazo, one of the world’s highest volcanoes. The film uses footage from the documentary Los hieleros de Chimborazo (The Ice Men of Chimborazo) shot by Gustavo and Igor Guayasamín in the late 1970s.

8:30 p.m
Tarata (Dir. Alan Ferszt. Bolivia. 42 min. 2010)
Synposis: A documentary about Tarata, a small Bolivian town that is nearly deserted due to migration of its young population to urban centers. (Spanish and Quechua with English subtitles.)

Sun., Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
Mutum (Dir.: Sandra Kogut. Brazil. 86 min. 2007)
Synposis: A poetic adaptation of the Brazilian short story Campo Geral by João Guimarães Rosa. (Portuguese with English subtitles.)
*Director present for Q&A after screening.

Mon., Feb. 28
Location: 13-19 University Place, Room 102
7 p.m.
Cachila (Dir. Sebastian Bednarik. Uruguay. 57 min. 2008)
Synoposis: Patriarchy, hierarchy, and cultural traditions are at the core of this documentary about Afro-Uruguayan musician Waldemar “Cachila” Silva’s efforts to preserve his cultural roots by way of the next generations of the family. (Spanish with English subtitles.)

8 p.m.
Esta Cajita Que Toco Tiene Boca y Sabe Hablar/ This Box That I Play Has a Mouth and Knows How to Speak (Dir. Lorena Garcia. Argentina. 61 min. 2009)
Synposis: A documentary about journeys made by women from different regions of Argentina through the land of the coplas (folksongs) played with the caja (percussion instrument). (Spanish with English subtitles.)

Tues., March 1 at 7 p.m.
Location: 13-19 University Place, Room 102
Mal Día Para Pescar / Bad Day to go Fishing (Dir. Álvaro Brechner. Uruguay. 104 Min. 2009)
Synopsis: Comedy about “the strongest man on earth,” now a washed-up alcoholic, and his crafty manager who make good money staging bogus wrestling matches in small South American towns. (Spanish with English subtitles.)

Weds., March 2 at 7 p.m.
Dzi Croquettes (Dir. Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez. Brazil. 98 min. 2009)
Synopsis: Documentary about Dzi Croquettes, an infamous Brazilian dance-theater group at the heart of the 1960s Tropicália cultural movement. (Portuguese with English subtitles.)
*Directors present for Q&A after the screening.

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