“The High’s Latin American Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary with a stellar lineup of award-winning films. This year’s festival includes poetic documentaries, black comedies and finely acted, gorgeously shot dramas,” said Linda Dubler, curator of media arts at the High. “We are very proud to have been the home for this series for 25 years and look forward to many more years of bringing such diverse film selections to Atlanta.”
In “It’s Your Fault” on Friday, Oct. 22, it’s a typical evening at home for young mother Julieta. Her two boys are tussling, bickering and generally driving her crazy; a report for work needs to be completed; and her husband, from whom she is separated, hasn’t shown up when he said he would. Anahí Berneri’s unsettling, brilliantly acted film probes not just relationships between couples and their children, but the costs exacted on us all by consumerism and the endless demands of the new virtual workplace.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” follows Baby, a chain-smoker who’s a couple of decades too old for her nickname, as she fills her days giving guitar lessons to an assortment of tone-deaf students and spends her nights alone. When a bachelor moves into the apartment next door, she immediately starts planning the menu for their first meal together and considering which body parts need to be waxed. Anna Muylaert’s multiple-award-winning black comedy made its international debut as part of The Museum of Modern Art’s “Premiere Brazil!,” where it was called “wacky and utterly charming.”
“Those Who Remain” on Wednesday, Oct. 27, is an intimate film about the impact of migration on families and villages left behind by loved ones who have traveled north for work. The film is punctuated by wonderful music and was made with a lively, fresh approach to its subject, winning Best Documentary for directors Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman at the Guadalajara and Los Angeles film festivals.
On Friday, Oct. 29, “Northless” centers on Andrés, a farmer from Oaxaca, who is caught crossing the border illegally and ends up stranded in Tijuana. As he kills time before attempting to cross again, he finds a job helping out at a bodega and becomes involved with both its owner and her friend—two women left behind by men like Andrés. Understated and poignant, “Northless” was a major award-winner at Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The series concludes on Saturday, Oct. 30, with “Carancho,” by Pablo Trapero. The film follows an ambulance-chasing lawyer named Sosa and twenty-something emergency room doctor Luján after they meet among the carnage of a car crash. He’s caught up in shady insurance schemes but is anxious to find a way to come clean; she’s ambitious and capable, but takes the edge off of sleep deprivation and adrenaline jitters with a regular fix. In Trapero’s electrifying thriller neither conscience nor love comes without cost, and corruption casts an omnipresent shadow.
Film Series Schedule
Unless otherwise noted, all films begin at 8 p.m. and are screened in the Richard H. Rich Theatre. The theatre is located in the Memorial Arts Building, adjacent to the High at Peachtree and 15th Streets in midtown Atlanta (MARTA stop N5).
All films are shown in their original languages with English subtitles.