This year was once again an outstanding year for Latin American cinema. At the beginning of the year the Chilean actress Paulina García was awarded at the Berlin Film Festival with the Silver Bear for the film GLORIA, by Sebastián Lelio. Later on in May, the Mexican director Amat Escalante took the prize for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for his film HELI, and in an unprecedented achievement in Venezuelan film history, PELO MALO, by Mariana Rondón won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival.
For the third year in a row, the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival asks different experts in Latin American cinema to choose their Top-Ten Latin Films of the year. As many of these films did not have commercial release in many countries outside of their own, we asked the experts to choose films that had their international premieres at film festivals in 2013. We also asked for their list of ''What to watch for in 2014'' and their picks of the top shorts.
We hope this list serves you as a guide to find out more about Latin American cinema.
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Sandro Fiorin. (Brazil, based in Los Angeles) Sandro is originally from Brazil and is based in Los Angeles where along with Alex Garcia, he founded FiGa Films, a sales agent and distribution company specializing in finding the best contemporary films from Latin and Ibero America. This year the Argentine film market Ventana Sur, held a retrospective on the films represented by FiGa Films. Even though FiGa films represents some of the most succesfull Latin films of 2013, Sandro decided not to include them on his list.
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- DE MENOR (Underage) by Caru Alves de Souza (Brazil)
- O QUE SE MOVE (The Moving Creatures) by Caetano Gotardo (Brazil)
- GLORIA by Sebastián Lelio (Chile)
- HELI by Amat Escalante (Mexico)
- CLUB SANDWICH by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
- LAS HORAS MUERTAS (The Empty Hours) by Aarón Fernández (Mexico)
- LA JAULA DE ORO (The Golden Cage) by Diego Quemada-Diez (Mexico)
- LA VIDA DESPUÉS (The Life After) by David Pablos (Mexico)
- LAS BÚSQUEDAS (The Searches) by José Luis Valle (México)
- TANTA AGUA (So Much Water) by Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge (Uruguay)
Top short films of the year.
- QUE JE TOMBE TOUT LE TEMPS? by Teddy Williams (Argentina)
- A CIDADE by Liliana Sulzbach (Brazil)
- SANA by Marcos Pimentel (Brazil)
- VERONA by Marcelo Caetano (Brazil)
- SOLECITO by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia)
What to watch in 2014
- DOS DISPAROS by Martin Rejtman (Argentina)
- CARMIN TROPICAL by Rigoberto Perezcano (Mexico)
- A PRAIA DO FUTURO by Karim Ainouz (Brazil)
Gerardo Salcedo Romero (Mexico) Gerardo is the programming director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Mexico. He is a film critic and a film professor. For more than a decade he was the head programmer at the Cineteca Nacional (Mexico’s National Cinémathèque). In 201 he served as a consultant for the Raindance Film Festival in London, England.
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- SOPRO (Breath) by Carlos Pimentel (Brazil)
- EL VERANO DE LOS PECES VOLADORES (The Summer of Flying Fish) by Marcela Said (Chile)
- CLUB SANDWICH by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
- QUEBRANTO by Roberto Fiesco (Mexico)
- HELI by Amat Escalante (Mexico)
- WORKERS by José Luis Valle (México)
- LA JAULA DE ORO (The Golden Cage) by Diego Quemada-Diez (Mexico)
- TANTA AGUA (So Much Water) by Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge (Uruguay)
- ANINA by Alfredo Soderguit (Uruguay)
- PELO MALO (Bad Hair) by Mariana Rondón (Venezuela)
Top short films of the year.
- A GALINHA QUE BURLOU O SISTEMA by Quico Meirelles (Brazil)
- MEMORIA DE RÍO by Roney Freitas (Brazil)
- ALGO TAN PEQUEÑO by Gabriel Mariño (Mexico)
- LA CASA TRISTE by Sofia Carrillo (Mexico)
- ANINGAAQ by Jonás Cuarón (Mexico)
What to watch in 2014
- LAS OSCURAS PRIMAVERAS by Ernesto Contreras (Mexico)
- SOMOS MARI PEPA by Samuel Kishi (Mexico)
- ECO DE LA MONTAÑA by Nicolas Echevarría (Mexico)
Lucile de Calan (France) Lucile is currently one of the head programmers at the Biarritz Film Festival. She is a great connoisseur of Latin Cinema and is working on her fourth year as a programmer at the Biarritz Festival.
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- LA PAZ by Santiago Loza (Argentina)
- DE MENOR (Underage) by Caru Alves de Souza (Brazil)
- GLORIA by Sebastián Lelio (Chile)
- EL OTRO DÍA (The Other Day) by Ignacio Aguero (Chile)
- MELAZA by Carlos Lechuga (Cuba)
- WORKERS by José Luis Valle (México)
- LA JAULA DE ORO (The Golden Cage) by Diego Quemada-Diez (México)
- CLUB SANDWICH by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
- EL MUDO (The Mute) by Daniel & Diego Vega (Peru)
- PELO MALO (Bad Hair) by Mariana Rondón (Venezuela)
Top short films of the year.
- QUE JE TOMBE TOUT LE TEMPS? by Teddy Williams (Argentina)
- SOLECITO by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia)
- RODRI by Franco Lolli (Colombia)
- KENDO MONOGATARI by Fabián Suárez (Cuba)
- LOXORO by Claudia Llosa (Peru)
What to watch in 2014
- EL GRILLO by Matias Herrera (Argentina)
- LA SALADA by Juan Martin Hsu (Argentina)
- SOMOS MARI PEPA by Samuel Kishi (Mexico)
Hebe Tebachnik. (Argentina, based in Los Angeles). Hebe is currently the Ibero American Programmer at Los Angeles and Palm Springs Film Festivals, she is also the Short Film Programmer at Los Angeles Festival; she is a Member of the Screening Committee of the International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards and a Member of the Board of Directors of Dance Camera West. This year, Hebe started working as the director and producer of FICG in LA (Guadalajara Film Festival in Los Angeles)
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- WAKOLDA by Lucia Puenzo (Argentina)
- O LOBO ATRÁS DA PORTA (The Wolf Behind the Door) by Fernando Coimbra (Brazil)
- GLORIA by Sebastián Lelio (Chile)
- RAÍZ (Root) by Matías Rojas (Chile)
- LAS HORAS MUERTAS (The Empty Hours) by Aarón Fernández (Mexico)
- WORKERS by José Luis Valle (México)
- LA JAULA DE ORO (The Golden Cage) by Diego Quemada-Diez (México)
- HELI by Amat Escalante (Mexico)
- PURGATORIO by Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico)
- EL MUDO (The Mute) by Daniel & Diego Vega (Peru)
Top short films of the year.
- SAN JUAN, LA NOCHE MAS LARGA by Claudia Huaiquimilla (Chile)
- LAS MUJERES Y EL PASAJERO by Patricia Correa & Valentina Mac-Pherson (Chile)
- LA TRUCHA by Luis Ernesto Doñas (Cuba)
- DEMASIADA AGUA by Nicolas Botana & Gonzalo Torrens (Uruguay)
What to watch in 2014
- CIENCIAS NATURALES by Matias Lucchesi (Argentina)
- MATAR UN HOMBRE by Alejandro Fernández (Chile)
- LOS BAÑISTAS by Max Zunino (Mexico)
Carlos Gutierrez (Mexico, based in New York) Carlos and Monika Wagenberg launched Cinema Tropical in February 2001. Cinema Tropical has played a major role in introducing U.S. audiences to the burgeoning Latin American cinema. This year the organization celebrated the fourth edition of the Cinema Tropical awards, recognizing the best of Latin American Cinema.
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- GLORIA by Sebastián Lelio (Chile)
- CRYSTAL FAIRY by Sebastián Silva (Chile)
- EL OTRO DÍA (The Other Day) by Ignacio Aguero (Chile)
- MELAZA by Carlos Lechuga (Cuba)
- LOS INSÓLITOS PECES GATO (The Amazing Cat Fish) by Claudia Sainte-Luce (Mexico)
- CLUB SANDWICH by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico)
- EL ALCALDE (The Mayor) by Carlos Rossini, Diego Osorno & Emiliano Altuna. (Mexico)
- HELI by Amat Escalante (Mexico)
- TANTA AGUA (So Much Water) by Ana Guevara & Leticia Jorge (Uruguay)
- PELO MALO (Bad Hair) by Mariana Rondón (Venezuela)
Carlos did not include any short films.
What to watch in 2014
- DOS DISPAROS by Martin Rejtman (Argentina)
- LA PRINCESA DE FRANCIA by Matias Piñeiro (Argentina)
- LA TERCERA ORILLA by Celina Murga (Argentina)
Lucile is currently one of the head programmers at the Biarritz Film Festival. She is a great connoisseur of Latin Cinema and is working on her third year as a programmer at the Biarritz Festival. - See more at: http://www.vlaff.org/article/top-latin-films-2012-those-were-underrated-...
Christian Sida-Valenzuela. (Mexico, based in Vancouver) Christian is the director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival and the adjunct coordinator of the Durango Film Festival of Mexican Cinema. This year Christian served as a juror at the Huelva (Spain) and Havana (Cuba) Film Festivals.
Top-10 Films (In alphabetical order by country)
- LA PAZ by Santiago Loza (Argentina)
- YVY MARAEY (Land Without Evil) by Juan Carlos Valdivia (Bolivia)
- IL FUTURO (The Future) by Alicia Scherson (Chile)
- CRYSTAL FAIRY by Sebastián Silva (Chile)
- GLORIA by Sebastián Lelio (Chile)
- LAS ANALFABETAS (Illiterate) by Moisés Sepulveda (Chile)
- WORKERS by José Luis Valle (México)
- LA JAULA DE ORO (The Golden Cage) by Diego Quemada-Diez (México)
- LOS INSÓLITOS PECES GATO (The Amazing Cat Fish) by Claudia Sainte-Luce (Mexico)
- PELO MALO (Bad Hair) by Mariana Rondón (Venezuela)
Top short films of the year.
- MARÍA by Mónica Lairana (Argentina)
- SOLECITO by Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia)
- KENDO MONOGATARI by Fabián Suárez (Cuba)
- OSLO by Luis Ernesto Doñas (Cuba)
- JERUSALÉN by Alicia Segovia (Mexico)
What to watch in 2014
- EL CERRAJERO by Natalia Smirnoff (Argentina)
- LOS ADIOCES by Alejandra Sánchez (Mexico)
- GONZÁLEZ by Christian Diaz Pardo (Mexico)