22nd Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, Sept 5-15, 2024
-
Opening Night: La Suprema
Opening Night: La Suprema
September 5, 2024
Director Felipe Holguín Caro in attendance!
A feisty teenage girl dreams of being a boxer, but life is not making it easy for her. She lives in the remote community of La Suprema, so remote, in fact, that it's not even on the map. When she learns that her estranged uncle is going to be boxing for the World Championship, she becomes obsessed with watching the match... There's just one hitch: no one in the village has a TV and there's no electricity for miles.
Winner of the Audience Award at FICCI - Cartagena Film Festival, 2024SFU Woodward'sOpening Night PartyOpening Night Party
September 5, 2024
Join us for the Opening Party at a new venue this year... THE PEARL at 881 Granville Street!! Featuring music by Ypsilone, followed by the irresistible salsa beats of the Wasakaka All Stars!!
-
Skin in Spring
Skin in Spring
September 6, 2024
Sandra, the new security guard at a shopping centre, crosses paths with a bus driver during her daily commute through Medellín. Through various experiences of desire, she begins a journey towards self-discovery and reclaiming her sexuality.
Nominated for Best First Feature Award at Berlinale, 2024.
The CinemathequeTomorrow Before After/Mañana antes despuésTomorrow Before After/Mañana antes después
September 6, 2024
Director Alfonso Quijada in attendance!
In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman, with the help of an abandoned dog, searches for other survivors while trying to cope with an unborn child growing inside of her.6:15 pm: English narration
8:30 pm: Spanish narration with English subtitlesThe CinemathequeMañana antes después/Tomorrow Before AfterMañana antes después/Tomorrow Before After
September 6, 2024
Director Alfonso Quijada in attendance!
In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman, with the help of an abandoned dog, searches for other survivors while trying to cope with an unborn child growing inside of her.6:15 pm: English narration
8:30 pm: Spanish narration with English subtitlesThe Cinematheque -
La Suprema (with Kuayé)
La Suprema (with Kuayé)
September 7, 2024
Repeat screening of LA SUPREMA. Preceded by the short film KUAYÉ (13 min).
A short documentary film filled with the rhythm, flavour, and joy of the music of the Colombian Pacific. Fredy “Sebastián” Cuero, charismatic artist and marimba player, guides us from Guapi, Cauca, to Cali with his contagious smile and optimism, and his dream of being one of the best players in the world.The CinemathequeIgualada (with Three Rooms)Igualada (with Three Rooms)
September 7, 2024
In Colombia, a nation marred by profound racial and socio-economic disparities, a Black woman from a rural background challenges the status quo by launching a presidential campaign. Re-appropriating the term “igualada,” Francia Márquez, catapults a movement to the upper echelons of power, by refusing to “know her place.” Fifteen years in the making, this documentary peels back the curtain on how unprecedented change can happen.
Nominee, Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 2024
Preceded by the short film THREE ROOMS (dir. Andrea López, 10 min)
The CinemathequeSign HereSign Here
September 7, 2024
Director Enrique Vázquez and actress Regina Blandón in attendance!
In the near future, the ideal love relationship only lasts 4 years. The 4EVER company adeptly pairs single people with their perfect next match. When Fran is set up with Roque, she feels something new. Will 4 years be enough, or will they defy the system?
The Cinematheque -
Paths of Bulla and Tambó / Al Sabor Afro
Paths of Bulla and Tambó / Al Sabor Afro
September 8, 2024
Producer Natalia Rodriguez Garavito in attendance!
The documentary PATHS OF BULLA AND TAMBÓ: The Moñitos Heritage is a compilation of portraits of Bullerengueros and Bullerengueras from Moñitos, Córdoba, Colombia. Through songs and drumbeats, it creates sensitive and musical journeys that encourage encounters and conversations among people of different ages, vocations, and social conditions.
AL SABOR AFRO unfolds the culinary history of Afro-descendant women in the municipality of Moñitos, Córdoba (popularly called “the paradise of the Caribbean”) through the eyes of Amalia, a young entrepreneur from the community.
The CinemathequeSign HereSign Here
September 8, 2024
Director Enrique Vázquez and actress Regina Blandón in attendance!
In the near future, the ideal love relationship only lasts 4 years. The 4EVER company adeptly pairs single people with their perfect next match. When Fran is set up with Roque, she feels something new. Will 4 years be enough, or will they defy the system?
The Cinematheque -
The Soldier's Lagoon
The Soldier's Lagoon
September 9, 2024
Directed by Pablo Alvarez-Mesa, this riveting experimental work delves deep into the misty Páramo region, into an ecosystem rich in water, but also saturated with oral narratives that populate the territory like foggy patches. Reflecting on the construction of oral history and its relation to the land, the film traverses a living and elusive archive, suspended between Simon Bolivar’s past and Colombia’s present.
The CinemathequeAll The Fires (with Passiflora)All The Fires (with Passiflora)
September 9, 2024
A teenager's journey of self-discovery takes him on a path of fire and destruction. In his search for answers, he must confront his past, his sexuality, and his place in the world.
Nominated for the Golden Leopard at Locarno International Film Festival, 2023
Preceded by PASSIFLORA with director Gabriel Nunes Souza in attendance.
The Cinematheque -
Skin in Spring
Skin in Spring
September 10, 2024
Sandra, the new security guard at a shopping centre, crosses paths with a bus driver during her daily commute through Medellín. Through various experiences of desire, she begins a journey towards self-discovery and reclaiming her sexuality.
Nominated for Best First Feature Award at Berlinale, 2024.
Cineworks -
Bridges Over the Sea (with Teresa's Choice)
Bridges Over the Sea (with Teresa's Choice)
September 11, 2024
Director Patricia Ayala in attendance!
Alicia and Michael, her teenage son, live in a palafitic neighbourhood in Tumaco, an area in the Colombian Pacific that concentrates all the beauty and also the terror of this country. She knows that the armed group, which controls her neighbourhood, can recruit her son at any time. It is why she guards him, watches over him and protects him. But one day, Michael does not return from school and she begins a frantic search that will lead her to face her worst fears, finding the way out in the love and solidarity of her people.Preceded by the short film TERESA'S CHOICE with director Marlene Castaños in attendance.
The Cinematheque -
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 -
Bridges Over the Sea
Bridges Over the Sea
–
September 13, 2024
Director Patricia Ayala in attendance!
Alicia and Michael, her teenage son, live in a palafitic neighbourhood in Tumaco, an area in the Colombian Pacific that concentrates all the beauty and also the terror of this country. She knows that the armed group, which controls her neighbourhood, can recruit her son at any time. It is why she guards him, watches over him and protects him. But one day, Michael does not return from school and she begins a frantic search that will lead her to face her worst fears, finding the way out in the love and solidarity of her people.
Cineworks -
Children of the Coast
Children of the Coast
September 14, 2024
Following Afro-Mexican musicians from Costa Chica, this documentary immerses us in the region’s popular culture. Its music reveals the history of a community that pays tribute to its people, the sea, and its land.
The CinemathequeOpen SkyOpen 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 CinemathequePlaceada: The Intimate Story of an Ex-AssassinPlaceada: The Intimate Story of an Ex-Assassin
September 14, 2024
Director Alejandra Sanchéz in attendance!
PLACEADA reveals the riveting and disturbing story of Gabriela López, a woman who entered the ranks of organized crime in Juarez, Mexico at the age of 13, and at 16 dedicated herself to planning and executing murders. After 20 years in prison, she is now trying to find a new meaning to her existence. She doesn't want to go back to prison or return to her previous life...or end up dead by saying too much. This is an intimate testimony that offers a platform for discussion around what are the possible origins and causes of a violence that has kept the entire country on edge.
The Cinematheque🔥FUEGO / FOGO Cuir Party 🔥🔥FUEGO / FOGO Cuir Party 🔥
September 14, 2024Voguing. DJs. Gogo Dancers. Brazilian Batucada. Come party Latine Queer/Cuir style with VLAFF and VQFF! This night promises a fiery lineup of Latine excellence. Come hungry, Boteco Brazil will be waiting for you with delicious bites to fuel your tank so that the flame of perreo burns all night long. Somebody call 911, there’ll be fire burning on the dancefloor.
VQFF Passholders, VLAFF Passholders, and ticket holders from the following screenings get free entry: Queer Pix: QUERIDE, THIS IS BALLROOM, and VERA AND THE PLEASURE OF OTHERS. Show your physical pass/ticket or digital ticket at the door for entry.
The Birdhouse -
Nudo Mixteco (w/ The Doldrums or How to Cure Sadness)
Nudo Mixteco (w/ The Doldrums or How to Cure Sadness)
September 15, 2024
Director Ángeles Cruz in attendance!
In a compelling and carefully crafted narrative, three women’s stories intertwine during the celebration of San Mateo, the patron saint, in a Mixtec village in Oaxaca. María returns home to bury her mother and face her father’s rejection. An unpleasant reunion awaits Chabela when her husband, Esteban, returns from the US, after not having heard from him in three years; Toña relives her own childhood pain when she suspects her daughter is facing the same fate as her. Self-reliant and defiant, all three women face a confrontation that leads to a powerful turning point in their lives.
Preceded by the short film THE DOLDRUMS OR HOW TO CURE SADNESS
The CinemathequeValentina or the SerenityValentina or the Serenity
September 15, 2024
Director Ángeles Cruz in attendance!
After Valentina's father disappears in an accident, she puts all her efforts into believing that he is still alive. With the help of her friend Pedro, she searches for him everywhere, trying to conjure his existence. An intimate and moving look into the depths of loss and the curative power of love.
Winner of the Golden Colón for Best Film at Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival, 2023
The Cinematheque