The Latin American and Spanish Film Week returns to Cinecenta, on the campus of the University of Victoria, Sept. 19-22. (photos courtesy Dan Russek)
The Latin American and Spanish Film Week returns to Cinecenta, on the campus of the University of Victoria, from Sept. 19 to 22. Now in its 14th season, this year’s event will offer movies from Argentina, Mexico and Spain, with all screenings taking place at 7 p.m. Each showing will have English subtitles.
The cinematic fiesta is put together by the Hispanic Film Society of Victoria. The society’s mandate is to promote Latin American and Spanish films in the city through the annual film festival. It also aims to further the knowledge and enjoyment of Spanish-language films through cultural and academic events to benefit the community.
Jewish community member Prof. Dan Russek, the organizer of the event, which began in 2010, said, “As part of the UVic faculty and a member of the Hispanic community, I am proud to bring this cultural event to Victoria again. It should interest folks not only from Latin America and Spain but also members of the community at large.
“There is no need to speak Spanish to understand the movies,” Russek added. “They all feature contemporary, relatable stories, and they function as windows to the diverse societies, cultures, histories and politics of the Spanish world. Our mission is to expand the horizons of our audience, and we believe, at the society, that we have achieved this goal again.”
The week will actually start on Sept. 18 at Caffe Fantastico (965 Kings Rd.) at 6 p.m. with a presentation from the society that will feature five local artists, all of whom hail from Latin America. They will discuss their experiences as migrants to Canada, their process of adaptation and their artistic practices.
Cuban pianist Pablo Cardenas, Mexican classical violinist Pablo Diemecke and Mercedes Batiz-Benet, a Mexican writer, theatre director and producer, will start the evening. They will be followed by Cuban trumpeter Miguelito Valdes and Chilean actress and theatre producer Lina de Guevara. The event is free, though audience members are encouraged to purchase food and drinks.
The first film offering, on Sept. 19, is Totem, a Mexican movie from director Lila Aviles. The family drama focuses on 7-year-old Sol, who bears witness to the preparations of a party in honour of her cancer-stricken father, Tona.
Totem was Mexico’s entry for best foreign feature for the 2023 Academy Awards. It picked up the Ecumenical Award for Best Film at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, and Aviles received an award for best director at the 2023 Jerusalem Film Festival.
Puán, an Argentine-Italian-French-German-Brazilian international co-production, will hit the screen on Sept.20. The 2023 comedy-drama from Maria Alché and Benjamin Naishtat tells the tale of Marcelo, a philosophy professor in Buenos Aires who sees his plans upended upon the arrival of his former colleague, who is based in Germany – the charismatic Rafael. Their conflict is set amid the crisis in Argentina’s education sector.
“The hapless but deeply lovable and tragically self-aware Marcelo needs and deserves a psychological makeover, and Naishtat and Alché are too fond of him to deny him one. How and where it happens is a treat,” Jessica Kiang wrote in Variety.
Lillian Torres’s Mamifera will represent Spain on Sept. 21. The 2024 film tells the story of Lola, who, along with her partner, Bruno, enjoys a happy life until an unexpected pregnancy turns everything upside down. Her previous determination not to be a mother is challenged by social expectations and the inner fears she faces. In a review for the Austin Chronicle, Jessi Cape wrote that the film “tackles an endlessly complicated, often excruciating, sometimes beautiful topic with grace, humour and easily relatable characters.”
The festival concludes Sept. 22 with Bernardo Arsuaga’s 2023 documentary The Michoacán File, which traces the history of Mexican food and the efforts of a group of diplomats, chefs and intellectuals to make the country’s cuisine an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, an acknowledgement granted by UNESCO. After the film, the public is invited to stay for a conversation and Q&A about Mexican food with Israel Alverez Molina, owner and chef of Victoria’s MaiiZ Nixtamal Eatery and Tortilleria, and Maria Elena Cuervo-Lorens, the author of two cookbooks on Mexican cuisine.
For more information about the Latin American and Spanish Film Week, visit the Hispanic Film Society of Victoria website, hispfilmvic.ca.
Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.