Palmerston North City Library Massey University School of Language Studies Latin American Society Present the 2010 Latin American Film Festival in Palmerston North 12-23 October – 7pm City Library’s Sound & Vision Zone All films in Spanish with English subtitles Gold Coin Donation With Support from and Friends of the Library TUESDAY 12 OCTOBER – 7 pm El secreto de sus ojos / The Secret in Their Eyes Argentina – Directed by Juan José Campanella Running time: 129 min The Secret in Their Eyes Reviewed by Matthew Turner – The ViewLondon Review Beautifully made and superbly written, this is an emotionally absorbing thriller with a terrific central performance from Ricardo Darin. What's it all about? The winner of the 2010 Oscar for best foreign film, The Secret in Their Eyes is directed by Juan Jose Campanella and stars Ricardo Darin (Nine Queens) as Benjamin Esposito, a recently retired criminal court investigator, whose efforts to write a novel are frustrated when he finds himself unable to shake the memories of a 25-year-old murder case. After visiting his ex-superior Irene (Soledad Villamil), who's now a high court judge, Benjamin decides to reinvestigate the case and we flash back to his first view of the crime scene, where a beautiful young woman was raped and murdered. As Benjamin attempts to recall the details of the case, the various events unfold, from the questioning of the victim's troubled husband (Pablo Rago) to the discovery and arrest of a probable suspect (Javier Godino), only for the authorities to subsequently let him go for nefarious purposes of their own. At the same time, Benjamin considers his relationship history with both Irene and his old colleague Pablo (Guillermo Francella). The Good Ricardo Darin is superb as Benjamin, delivering strong performances in both timelines and generating powerful chemistry with the equally wonderful Villamil - the title is never fully explained but is surely at least partly intended to refer to the way they look at each other. There's also terrific support from Francella, Godino and Rago. The film is beautifully shot throughout, with sumptuous and inventive cinematography by Felix Monti – you strongly suspect that the bravura, all-in-one take football stadium chase sequence had a lot to do with the film winning the best foreign film Oscar. There's also a superb score by Federico Jusid and Emilio Kauderer that adds considerably to the film's swirling blend of reality, memory, fiction and fantasy. The Great The script is excellent. The plot unfolds like a traditional detective story with a powerful story of unrequited love bubbling away at the sidelines. There are also some terrific scenes along the way, including a powerful ending that delivers one hell of a final punch. THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER – 7 pm Corazón del tiempo / Heart of Time Mexico – Directed by Alberto Cortés Running time: 89 min It is a time of revolution and Sonia’s rebellious heart causes further commotion in her village. Recently betrothed to a young community leader, Miguel, she is walking along a path in the Selva Lacandona one day when she locks eyes with those of Julio, a rebel fighter; their passion puts the security of her community and the Zapatista rebels in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Alicia, Sonia’s younger sister, learns to interpret reality (as government forces surround the rebels on land and in the air) through a mirror in her game playing. Her grandmother Zoraida is the one to bring the little girl’s visions back down to earth. Together, Zoraida and Alicia discover in Sonia’s decision a test of wills and traditions. In a world where everything changes, in a land of free Indians who have decided to take a stand and resist, Sonia takes on the struggles of love in the heart of Time. Corazón del tiempo (Heart of Time) Director´s Note It’s been fifteen years since the rebel rising with which the Zapatista Army of National Liberation made an appearance on a 1st of January 1994. Since then, the Mexicans and the world have been witnesses of the innumerable displays of political ingenuity and social imagination on behalf of the zapatistas --marches, tours, debates, proposals, not a single shot on these years. These modern mayas make the weight of their words be felt in conferences and gatherings and managed to keep an efficient relationship with certain sectors of the national and international civil society. In these fifteen years the zapatista communities have been working on a great rehearsal of a new society, within zapatista territory a social transformation of great dimensions has been occurring. What has been going on in these communities is little known, but it is where the essence of the zapatista rebellion resides. “Corazón del Tiempo” (Heart of Time) is a window to this world. For the first time these free men and women decide to open this window to the world (to show through a fiction movie and with full consciousness of the art of representation) and allow us to see themselves as they are, in a rural and indigenous movie that penetrates the heart of an autonomous community and shows that the times in the southeast Mexican mountains are now being very different. Alberto Cortés SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER – 7 pm Personal Belongings Cuba – Directed by Alejandro Brugués Running time: 98 min “Before you leave, make sure to take all your personal belongings with you.” Ernesto has been trying to leave the country since he can remember. His only occupation is going from embassy to embassy, trying to get a visa. He lives in his car, and all his belongings fit in a small bag. Ana´s family left Cuba on a raft. She decided to stay behind, alone in her huge and empty house. She´s determined to show them they made the wrong choice. From the moment they met, Ana and Ernesto fall hopelessly in love to the point where they can´t live without each other, even though they both know they have chosen completely different paths to live their lives. Ana knows she can´t ask Ernesto to stay behind her, and Ernesto knows he can´t ask her to leave with him. But how do you help the person you love get away from you? And how far are you willing to go to keep them by your side? On Location: Street Filmmaking During Times of Transition Anne Marie Stock Street Filmmakers working with low budgets and without industry infrastructure must rely on their ingenuity and contacts – and also on serendipity. With Personal Belongings, Brugues and Herrera were fortunate to have all three. Their film premiered soon after a new Cuba–based Internet portal was created. Maria Caridad Cumana, film critic and historian at the FNCL, recognized the need for a space that would coordinate and disseminate information on Cuban and Latin American cinema. Under her leadership, the portal came into being. So when Brugues and Herrera submitted Personal Belongings to the Works-in-Progress section of the Berlin Festival, they directed members of the selection committee to the portal to access reviews of their film. Personal Belongings was accepted, making it the only Latin American film selected for that event. Brugues and Herrera acknowledge the efforts of Cumana and the portal in helping them get a foothold in the international film world. He and Herrera had contracted the Mexico-based agency Latinofusion to promote their film. Their decision had been a sound one, given that Personal Belongings was indeed travelling on the international festival circuit. What lies ahead for these two Street Filmmakers? Shortly after completing Personal Belongings, Herrera was looking forward to a time when all that is occurring now in ―alternative sectors‖ will be transformed into the normal way of making films. ―I dream that our way of making films becomes as valid as the industry mode that existed in Cuba until just a few years ago. That it ceases to the framed as a problem, and instead be seen as a solution.‖ A year later, Herrera was participating in the Muestra; he shared his expertise on a panel devoted to audiovisual production in Cuba. Without a doubt, the boundaries between Street Filmmaking and industry endeavours have blurred. Individuals working outside and within state structures acknowledge the importance of collaboration; combining their respective strengths is key to making and marketing Cuban films. TUESDAY 19 OCTOBER – 7 pm Historia de un día / Story of a Day (Documentary – Venezuela). Produced, directed by Rosana Matecki. Running time: 89 min Story of a Day Reviewed by Robert Koehler – Variety Rosana Matecki's inventive and impassioned Story of a Day is a striking paean to the lives of the rural poor. Rather than a variation on a wretched-of-the-earth perspective, the pic views both the daily rituals and special events in various Venezuelan farming communities as a kind of dance or poem, with dashes of celebration, mystery, surrealism and comedy. This flagrantly noncommercial film is set to become a talking-point item at fests worldwide, and reps a breakthrough for Venezuela's widely dismissed national cinema. Through a series of short docs made over the past decade and focused on indigenous people, Matecki has been quietly building toward her first feature, which discards much that's de rigeur in standard documaking (lengthy explanatory onscreen text, dramatic music, individual storylines), allowing the viewer to ponder a complex multiethnic world (set in the villages of Carrizales, San Jose, La Guardia, Manzanillo, Manuare and Nazareth) via graceful lensing, lengthy shots that often contain lots of activity and a soundtrack heavy on natural sound, sung music, electronic sampling and little if any dialogue.