22nd Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Sept 5-15, 2024

  • Guián (with Three Rooms)

    Guián (with Three Rooms)


    September 11, 2024

    As a consequence of her grandma Guián passing away, Nicole starts meeting up with people who had known her. In them, Nicole finds a poetic resemblance between these members of the Chinese-Costa Rican community and her deceased grandma.

    From these conversations Nicole finds the need to go to Engping, the village in Southern China that her grandma fled amidst the rise of communism. This will be the first time Nicole steps onto Chinese soil. Having never learned Chinese, she must confront the reality of a country and culture she thought she knew.

    Received Special Mention as part of the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Réel, 2023.

    Preceded by the short film THREE ROOMS (dir. Andrea López, 10 mins)

    Cineworks
    1131 Howe Street (entrance in back lane)
    Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
  • Open Sky (with The Vampires of Poverty)

    Open Sky (with The Vampires of Poverty)


    September 12, 2024

    A Peruvian father labours patiently, chipping at the white volcanic stone that forms an extraordinary landscape. His son is part of the modern world: he uses cameras and drones in order to create the digital model of a church on a computer. Separated by the mysterious death of the wife/mother figure in the family, these men do not connect, and yet their paths cross in a ghostly manner.

    Preceded by THE VAMPIRES OF POVERTY (1977, 28 min)
    A classic film of Colombian cinema by directors Carlos Mayolo & Luis Opsina that simulates being a documentary about filmmakers who exploit misery with mercantilist purposes. It is a scathing criticism of “porno-misery” and the opportunism of the dishonest documentary making “socio-political documentaries” in the third world to sell them in Europe and win prizes.

    Cineworks
    1131 Howe Street (entrance in back lane)
    Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
    Elis and Tom (with Spell)

    Elis and Tom (with Spell)


    September 12, 2024

    Los Angeles, February 1974. Tom Jobim, the incarnation of Bossa Nova, and Elis Regina, then Brazil’s most popular singer, met to record what would become one of the most iconic albums in the history of Brazilian music. Through a collection of rare images, never seen before, “Elis & Tom” reveals the conflict and the joy of this unique moment, travelling in time and exposing the intimacy of the creative process as well as the extraordinary personalities of these fantastic artists.

    Preceded by the short film SPELL (dir. Khalil Charif, 6 min)

    The Cinematheque
    1131 Howe Street
    Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
  • Four Seasons of Youth

    Four Seasons of Youth


    September 13, 2024

    A wannabe movie director films his experience at one of the most important universities in Brazil. As the years go by, we follow the hopes and fears of students facing an unprecedented educational crisis.

    Cineworks
    1131 Howe Street (entrance in back lane)
    Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
  • Open Sky

    Open Sky


    September 14, 2024

    Director Felipe Esparza Pérez in attendance!

    A Peruvian father labours patiently, chipping at the white volcanic stone that forms an extraordinary landscape. His son is part of the modern world: he uses cameras and drones in order to create the digital model of a church on a computer. Separated by the mysterious death of the wife/mother figure in the family, these men do not connect, and yet their paths cross in a ghostly manner.

    The Cinematheque
    1131 Howe Street
    Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
    Vera and the Pleasure of Others

    Vera and the Pleasure of Others


    September 14, 2024

    ¡Calientico!, a sizzling collaboration between VLAFF and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival

    In this erotic coming-of-age comedy, 17-year-old Vera runs a secret business renting out an apartment to her classmates who need a place to get intimate. Bored by the banal routine of high school and volleyball practice, she discovers her own sexual desires as she covertly eavesdrops on her classmate’s most private moments.

    Join us afterwards for the FUEGO/FOGO Cuir Party at THE BIRDHOUSE!

    International Village
    This Is Ballroom

    This Is Ballroom


    September 14, 2024

    ¡Calientico!, a sizzling collaboration between VLAFF and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival!

    On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, the city’s top ballroom houses convene in a sweaty, euphoric competition, in this electrifying portrait of contemporary queer Brazil.

    Join us afterwards for the FUEGO/FOGO Cuir Party at THE BIRDHOUSE!

    International Village