Horror (México, 93mins)

Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera

FREE - September 14th at 6:00pm @Cornell Cinema

Q&A with filmmaker Garza Cervera and Professor Ignacio Sánchez Prado

Sponsored by the Department of Romance Studies at Cornell University

It should be the happiest time in Valeria’s life. She and her husband, Raul, have finally seen one of their longtime dreams come true: Valeria is pregnant. At first, everything seems perfect. Gradually, though, her mood darkens. With motherhood upon her, Valeria can't shake off heavy self-doubt and a pervasive dread, the latter stemming from visions of spider-like presences and other possibly supernatural threats, all of which may be the work of an entity known as “La Huesera.” Hoping to confront these demons, she reconnects with the old, more carefree life she once gave up for Raul, including rekindling an old flame with her first love, Octavia. (Tribeca)

Documentary (Latinx USA, 79mins)

Directed by Maya Cueva and Leah Galant

FREE - September 16th at 8pm @Ithaca College, Park Auditorium

Q&A with the directors (IC alumni) to follow the film screening

Introduced and sponsored by the Reproductive Rights Film Festival and the Park School of Communications at IC

On the Divide follows the story of three Latinx people living in McAllen, Texas who, despite their views, are connected by the most unexpected of places: the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border. As threats to the clinic and their personal safety mount, these three are forced to make decisions they never could have imagined. (onthedividemovie.com)

Documentary (Latinx USA, 79mins)

Directed by Renee Tajima-Peña

FREE - September 18th at 7pm @Cinemapolis

Introduced and sponsored by the Reproductive Rights Film Festival

No más bebés is the story of Mexican immigrant mothers who sued county doctors, the state, and the U.S. government after they were sterilized while giving birth at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the 1970s. Alongside an intrepid, 26-year-old Chicana lawyer and armed with hospital records secretly gathered by a whistle-blowing young doctor, the mothers stood up to powerful institutions in the name of justice. (PBS)

Drama (Colombia, 90mins)

Directed by Simón Mesa Soto

FREE - September 24 at 6pm @Cornell Cinema

Introduced by Professor Camilo Malagón (IC)

Oscar Restrepo's obsession with poetry brought him no glory. Aging and erratic, he has succumbed to the cliché of the poet in the shadows. Meeting Yurlady, a humble teenager, and helping her cultivate her talent brings some light to his days, but dragging her into the world of poets may not be the way. (imdb.com)

Sci-Fi (Brazil, 94mins)

Directed by Lázaro Ramos

FREE - September 28th at 12pm in Williams Hall 323 at IC

Introduced by Prof. Enrique González Conty

In a dystopian near future in Brazil, an authoritarian government orders all citizens of African descent to move to Africa - creating chaos, protests, and an underground resistance movement that inspires the nation. (imdb.com)

Fiction (Venezuela, 68mins)

Directed by Lorena Alvarado

FREE - October 1st at 6pm @Cornell Cinema

Introduced by Prof. Irina Troconis (Cornell)

Lost Chapters (Los capítulos perdidos) follows Ena, who returns home to Caracas after years spent living abroad. Upon her arrival, she finds herself caught between two worlds in transition: her grandmother is rapidly losing her memory, while her father spends his days searching for rare and forgotten Venezuelan books for his bookstore. Ena's trajectory changes when she discovers a mysterious postcard hidden among the shelves, prompting her to embark on a journey through the city in search of a long-forgotten writer. (Cornell Cinema)

Fiction (Bolivia, 90mins)

Directed by Vinko Tomicic

FREE - October 1st at 8pm @Cornell Cinema

Introduced by professor Liliana Colanzi (Cornell)

Martín is a 13-year-old orphan shoeshine boy from La Paz, Bolivia, who has lived his entire life in the streets with the hope and desire to find his father. Driven by this desire and his imagination, Martin bonds with one of his best clients: Mr. Novoa, a lonely tailor whose only emotional bond is his dog, Astor, a fine German shepherd whom he cares for like a son.

Hoping for a reward, he steals the beloved German Shepherd from the lonely tailor whom he has begun to imagine as a father. Yet, as Martín and Mr. Novoa spend more time together, an unexpected bond begins to form.

Fiction (Puerto Rico, 114mins)

Directed by Cristian Carretero y Lorraine Jones

Free - October 5th at 6pm @Cinemapolis

Sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Program at IC

Introduced by Prof. Enrique González Conty (IC)

Bebo, a teenager from a coastal Puerto Rican town, lives with his brother in a public housing complex. They fish for a living, but growing desperation drives them to illegal dealings that promise easy money. When a job goes wrong and blood is spilled, Bebo flees with Lola, a wealthy girl seeking to escape her troubled reality. As they navigate the labyrinth in e mountains, they encounter remnants of a fading way of life, contrasting with the violence that follows them. As hitmen close in, Bebo must confront his choices and decide if redemption is possible, or if the sea will be their final escape. (Experimento Lúdico)

Documentary (Argentina, 119mins)

Directed by Lucrecia Martel

FREE - October 7th at 6pm @Cornell Cinema

Introduced by Prof. Jonathan Ablard (IC)

In October 2009, Javier Chocobar, a member of the indigenous Chuchagasta community in northwest Argentina’s Tucumán Province, tried to defend himself and his people from being forcibly evicted from their land by a local landowner and two former police officers. As a result, the 68-year-old Chocobar was shot and killed, and two other community members were wounded. (Cornell Cinema)

Fiction (Chile, 104mins)

Directed by Diego Céspedes

FREE - Monday October 12th at 12pm in Williams Hall 323

Introduced by Cine con Cultura students

Sponsored by the LGBTQIA Center at IC

1982. Eleven-year-old Lidia lives with her beloved queer family in a desert mining town in northern Chile. As an unknown and deadly disease begins to spread, legend has it that it is transmitted between two men, through a simple glance, when they fall in love. While people are accusing her family, Lidia must find out whether this myth is real or not. (festival.cannes.com)

Documentary (Colombia, 84mins)

Directed by Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf

Free - Wednesday October 14th at 6PM in Williams Hall 323 at IC

Presented by the Cine con Cultura students.

Sponsored by the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at IC

In a Colombian shelter for teenage girls, directors Nicolas van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf ask a group of young women to close their eyes and imagine the life story of a fictional classmate named Alis. Like them, Alis‘s story begins on the merciless streets of Bogota, where she struggles to survive. Alis becomes their blank canvas, a projection of their past selves and experiences. With a sensitive and compassionate lens, the directors show how the girls’ initial fiction begins to weave into reality, and how this distance has given them a moment to step outside of themselves and see their own experiences through a different perspective. As they gently open their eyes, we get to know these young women deeply, and see their perseverance to break the cycle of violence and embrace a brighter future. (latidofilms.com)

Documentary (Cuba, 24mins)

Directed by Susana Barriga

FREE - October 15th at 6pm @Cinemapolis

This short will be screened with two other of hers: Cómo construir un barco (2006) and Patria (2007)

Q&A with filmmaker Barriga and Professor Cecelia Lawless (Cornell)

Susana tries to remember her father’s face. After 26 years imagining it, she has traveled from Cuba to England looking for her dad and has seen him for the first time. Now she only has a few blurry images recorded in secret with her camera and the desire to repair the illusion that existed before the meeting. (cinelatinoamericano.org)

Documentary (Argentina, Chile, Brazil, 61mins)

Directed by Gabriel Silvestre

FREE - Wednesday October 21st at 5pm in Williams Hall 323 at IC

Introduced by Prof. Pamela Sertzen (IC)

Sponsored by the Committee on US-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR)

Through personal stories marked by struggle, hope, and collective action, the cities of Rosario (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), and Belo Horizonte (Brazil) offer a new perspective on what it means to resist and build community in the face of urban inequality. It is an invitation to imagine cities differently. (LASA Film Festival)