AFI, the Association of Ibero-American Cultural Attaches and the IDB Cultural Center are proud to present the Washington Latin American Film Festival. Now in its 16th year, the Festival offers an extensive annual exploration of filmmaking throughout the Americas. This year's selection of over twenty of the best and most recent films from the region includes multiple award-winners, festival favorites, local box-office hits and debut works by promising new talents.

AFI would like to thank the Inter-American Development Bank and Mr. Felix Angel; the Association of Ibero-American Cultural Attaches, and Mr. Murilo Gabrielli and Ms. Lydia Bendersky; and Festival co-curator Ms. Patricia Dalone for their invaluable support and collaboration in presenting this event.

All films are in Spanish or Portuguese with English subtitles, unless otherwise noted.

AFI Member Passes will be accepted at all screenings in the Latin American Film Festival.

A R G E N T I N A
KEPT AND DREAMLESS
[Las mantenidas sin sueños]

Vera Fogwill's a druggy single mom who's pregnant again, with no idea who the father is. She can hit her up shrink mom Mirta Busnelli for cash and rely on precocious daughter Lucia Sneig to run the household, but by the time the baby comes she'll need more. Writer/director/star Fogwill's debut feature recalls work by Nicole Holofcener (LOVELY AND AMAZING), but with a flair for comedic melodrama and an irreverent knowingness that bears comparison to Fassbinder and Almodóvar.

DIR Vera Fogwill and Mart’n Desalvo; SCR Vera Fogwill; PROD Axel Pauls. Argentina/Spain, 2005, color, 85 min. UNRATED

Writer, Director, Star VERA FOGWILL at AFI Silver!
Sat 9/24 at 8:50 and Sun 9/25 at 5:20

A R G E N T I N A
BUENOS AIRES 100 KM

Five boys in a small town 100 kilometers from Buenos Aires struggle with the relationships, gossip and stunted dreams that fuel and constrain their departure from adolescence.

DIR/SCR Pablo José Meza; PROD Pepe Salvia, Natacha Rebora and Pablo José Meza. 2004, color, 93 min. UNRATED

Director PABLO JOSE MEZA at AFI Silver!
Fri 9/23 at 7:30 and Sat 9/24 at 12:30

A R G E N T I N A
NEXT EXIT
[Próxima salida]

Darío Grandinetti (TALK TO HER) heads an allstar cast of actors in this drama about laid-off railroad workers and their struggles during ArgentinaÕs recent financial crisis. Debut feature for director Nicolas Tuozzo, son of actress Leonor Benedetto.

DIR Nicolas Tuozzo; SCR Marcos Negri and Nicolas Tuozzo; PROD Marcos Negri and Jorge Rocca. 2004, color, 110 min. UNRATED RATED R

B R A Z I L
BENJAMIM

Aging male model Paulo José starts to relive the pleasures and torments of his past upon meeting Cléo Pires, who bears an amazing resemblance to the late, great love of Paulo's life. But the "reincarnation" also brings a settling of accounts with his guilty conscience. Writer/director Monique Gardenberg displays an assured hand guiding the narrative in and out of flashbacks and daydreams, in this visually elegant, bittersweet memento.

DIR Monique Gardenberg; SCR Jorge Furtado, Monique Gardenberg and Glenio Póvoas; PROD Augusto Casé and Paula Lavigne. 2004, color, 97 min. UNRATED

B R A Z I L
REDEEMER
[Redentor]

A Terry Gilliam-esque satire with nifty special effects. Muckraking journalist Célio Rocha cuts a deal with crooked real estate tycoon Otávio Sabóia to plant a story that will rescue his money-pit condo. Then he has a vision--in the person of a talking Cristo Redentor statue, Rio's famous landmark--that instructs him to give Sabóia's property away. Best Director, Brazilian Film Academy Awards.

DIR Cláudio Torres; SCR Elena Soárez, Fernanda Torres and Cláudio Torres; PROD Leonardo Monteiro de Barros and Cláudio Torres. 2004, color, 110 min. UNRATED

Director JAYME MONJARDIM, Producer RITA BUZZAR, and Actress CAMILA RIBEIRO DA SILVA at AFI Silver!!!
Sun 10/2 at 3:20 p.m.

B R A Z I L
OLGA

In 1930s Germany, Jewish Communist Olga Benário (Camilo Morgado) springs her lover right from the courtroom, then guards revolutionary Luís Carlos Prestes (Caco Cicler, XANGO FROM BAKER STREET, '04 Fest) on his return to Brazil--and finds love. If their coup fails, will the dictator have a gift for Hitler? Super-production based on an all-too-true story, in a debut feature by a titan of the Brazilian miniseries. Winner of three Brazilian Film Academy Awards, and Brazil's 2004 Oscar submission.

DIR Jayme Monjardim; SCR Rita Buzzar, from the book by Fernando Morais; PROD Rita Buzzar. 2004, color, 141 min. UNRATED

B R A Z I L
MY UNCLE KILLED A GUY
[Meu tio matou um cara]

Tough times for 15-year-old Darlan Cunha: he's got a crush on his childhood friend Sophia Reis, but she only has eyes for his buddy Renan Gioelli. Then his uncle Lázaro Ramos crashes in to announce he's shot his girlfriend's ex-husband! But Cunha, explorer of virtual crime scenes, smells a rat--and maybe he can figure out that triangle thing too. From the director and star (Ramos) of last year's THE MAN WHO COPIED.

DIR Jorge Furtado; SCR Guel Arraes and Jorge Furtado; PROD Guel Arraes, Nora Goulart, Paula Lavigne and Luciana Tomasi. 2005, color, 87 min. UNRATED

Producer Carla Esmerelda Pinheiro Pereira at AFI Silver!
Sat 10/1 at 12:25 p.m. & Mon 10/3 at 9:00 p.m.

B R A Z I L
DIARY OF A PROVINCIAL GIRL
[Vida de menina]

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, this adaptation of one of Brazil's most beloved works of literature-- Helena Morley's 19th century diary--is a record of a country's transition into modernity that parallels Morley's transformation from adolescence into maturity. Director Helena Solberg (CARMEN MIRANDA: BANANAS IS MY BUSINESS) recreates with Bergman-esque wonder the insightful observations of her strong-willed narrator--a teenager more apt to play in the street than sit still during etiquette lessons.

DIR Helena Solberg; SCR Elena Soárez and Helena Solberg; PROD David Mayer. 2004, color, 101 min. UNRATED

B R A Z I L
CAZUZA: TIME DOESN'T STOP
[Cazuza: O tempo não pára]

This biopic of Brazilian music superstar Cazuza, whose career was cut short by his death from AIDS in 1990 at age 32, was a box office and critical smash last year, winning seven Brazilian Film Academy Awards, including Best Feature, Lead Actor, Cinematography and Adapted Script. Daniel de Oliveira is magnetic in the lead, from early success with rock group Barão Vermelho through maturation, with the fast pace and brilliant music never letting down.

DIR Sandra Werneck and Walter Carvalho; SCR Fernando Bonassi and Victor Navas; PROD Daniel Filho. 2004, color, 98 min. UNRATED

C H I L E
BAD BLOOD
[Mala leche]

Winner of the Horizons Award at the 2004 San Sebastian Film Festival, this gritty feature debut captures the aimlessness of drug-infested delinquent youth culture in Santiago. Framed by documentary-style realism, two junkies, played with violent urgency by Mauricio Diocares and Luis Dubó, embark on a crime spree to pay back Yao, the stuttering kingpin.

DIR León Errázuriz; SCR León Errázuriz and Matias Ovalle; PROD Matias Ovalle. 2004, color, 101 min. UNRATED

C H I L E
MY BEST ENEMY
[Mi mejor enemigo]

A profound indictment of war's cruel futility from first-time writer/director/producer Alex Bowen. Set in 1978, during "the war that never was" (a border dispute between Chile and Argentina), a Chilean border patrol unit gets lost in the Argentine pampas, then locked down in a trench with Argentine troops. Stalemate gives way to a truce, but when fighter planes and tanks arrive, the friends are forced once again to fight.

DIR Alex Bowen; SCR Alex Bowen, Julio Rojas and Paula de Fierro; PROD Alex Bowen and Pablo Trapero. Chile/Argentina/ Spain, 2004, color, 100 min. UNRATED

Director ALEX BOWEN at AFI Silver!
Wed 9/28 at 6:20

C H I L E
FAILING GRADES
[Promedio rojo]

The treachery and awkwardness of high school have never been so embarrassing, seen through the eyes (and overactive imagination) of nerdy comic book aficionado Ariel Levy (whose character's name, Roberto Rodriguez, pays homage to comic book geek and SIN CITY director, Robert Rodriguez). Told with comic-book style, Levy and his stock John Hughes-movie loser sidekick battle bullies.

DIR/SCR Nicolás López; PROD Miguel Asensio, Santiago Segura and Nicolás López. Chile/Argentina, 2004, color, 98 min. UNRATED

C O L O M B I A
ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS
[Sumas y restas]

Medellín, 1984: ambitious engineer Juan Uribe needs capital to implement his big building plans, but, except for an occasional recreational snort, won't mess with that drug stuff. That is, until he meets charismatic garage owner/smuggler Fabio Restrepo. Best Film, Best Actor (Restrepo, in his film debut!), Miami Latin Film Festival; from the director of THE ROSE SELLER, smash hit of the '98 Fest.

DIR Víctor Gaviria; SCR Víctor Gaviria and Hugo Restrepo; PROD Víctor Gaviria and Enrique Gabriel. 2004, color, 105 min. UNRATED

C O S T A . R I C A
CARIBE

Costa Rica's multicultural Caribbean coast is torn when an American oil company attempts to set up shop. Concerns about environmental damage are countered by the need for jobs. Jorge Perugorria (STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE), a biologist recruited by the company to sell the plan, grapples with his social conscience while engaging in a dangerous affair with the half-sister (Cuca Escribano) of his wife (Maya Zapata).

DIR/PROD Esteban Ramírez; SCR Ana Istarú and Esteban Ramírez. 2004, color, 90 min. UNRATED

D O M I N I C A N . R E P U B L I C
THE CURSE OF FATHER CARDONA
[La maldición del padre Cardona]

This romantic comedy from the Dominican Republic marks the country's first appearance in the Washington Latin American Film Festival. Itinerant priest Father Cardona (Koldo) has been called to Constanza to free it from deviltry-- something to do with cursed beans--but must fight a new temptation in stunning Zoe Saldaña (PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN, THE TERMINAL, GUESS WHO), who already has padreissues with Father Jerónimo (Anthony Álvarez).

NOTE: This is a Spanish-language film WITHOUT English subtitles.

DIR/SCR/PROD: Félix Gérman; PROD Carlos Gérman. 2005, color, running time t/b/d. UNRATED

Director FELIX GERMAN at AFI Silver!
World Premiere! Tues 9/27 at 9:30

E L . S A L V A D O R
SHORT FILMS

The culture of the smallest Central American country comes brilliantly to life in four brief--and very different--films. CORN HIKERS offers gripping testimonies of migrant workers deformed in train accidents, then cared for in human rights worker Olga Sanchez's shelter. PORTRAITS OF CLEMENTINA centers on artist Clementina Suarez. In Oscar Rodriguez' animated THE GIFT, the Mora family prepares for Christmas--aided by talking animals, fruits, and vegetables. And be careful whose shoes you steal before that job interview (ARQUIMEDES' SHOES)!

ALL UNRATED

DIR David Ulloa; original story Nelly Ash; PROD Julia Herrera. 2004, color, 8 min.

DIR Santiago Gutierrez; SCR Ernesto Villalobos; PROD Carlos Figueroa. 2004, color, 20 min.

Producer CARLOS FIGUEROA at AFI Silver! Sun 9/25 at 12:30

DIR/SCR/PROD Paula Heredia. 2003, color, 8 min.

DIR Adrián Hernández; SCR Oscar Rodriguez and Adrián Hernández; PROD Luis Balibrera, Oscar Rodriguez, Adrián Hernández and Edmundo Landaverde. 2005, color, 17 min.

Producer LUIS BALIBREA at AFI Silver! Sun 9/25 at 12:30

G U A T E M A L A
WHERE THE ROAD ENDS
[Donde acaban los caminos]

At the turn of the 20th century, doctor Raúl Zamora opts to practice in a native village on the edge of Lake Atitlán. Determined to treat all in need regardless of race or class, he falls for Maria Xahil, a native. Beautifully filmed on location near Lake Atitlán, with the colonial city of Old Guatemala showcasing the country's landscapes.

DIR Carlos García Agraz; SCR Reynaldo León and Mario Monteforte Toledo, based on the novel by Mario Monteforte Toledo; PROD Mario Monteforte Toledo and José Toledo Ordoñez. 2003, color, 82 min. UNRATED

M E X I C O
NOOSE ENDS
[Matando cabos]

This pitch-black comedy intertwines stories of a workplace mishap involving a tyrannical boss (who had it coming) and a ransom scheme gone horribly awry. As stylishly vivid as the Coen Brothers' FARGO or Quentin Tarrantino's PULP FICTION--and as madcap and meandering as HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE.

DIR Alejandro Lozano; SCR Alvaro Bernat, Kristoff Raczynski and Alejandro Lozano; PROD Billy Rovzar and Fernando Rovzar. 2004, color, 90 min. RATED R

M E X I C O
DUCK SEASON
[Temporada de patos]

Deadpan drollery from debut helmer Fernando Eimbcke, sensitively attuned to teenage tenderness and reminiscent of the early work of Jim Jarmusch. Teenage friends Flama and Moko have a parent-free apartment in the suburbs for an afternoon of video games, music and porno mags. Then the pretty neighbor asks to use the oven to bake some curiously strong brownies. Jury Award, AFI FEST 2004.

DIR Fernando Eimbcke; SCR Paula Markovitch and Fernando Eimbcke; PROD Jaime Ramos and Christian Valdelievre. 2004, b&w, 90 min. UNRATED

M E X I C O
@FESTIVBERCINE.RON

Co-writers and directors Gabriel Retes and Lourdes Elizarrarás co-star as clownishly self-important director Mariano Pacheco and his lead actress in this Altman-esque comedy that uses the real-life Guadalajara festival in Mexico as its backdrop. Featuring cameos by Fidel Castro, Harry Belafonte, the late Cuban director Pastor Vega and internationally renowned actress Daisy Granados. Despite the universal rejection of their film WELCOME as a betrayal of Latin American cinema, Retes and Elizarrarás manage to hustle it into festival contention. Their fortunes change when rumors surface that Spielberg is interested.

DIR/PROD Gabriel Retes and Lourdes Elizarrarás; SCR Gabriel Retes and María del Pozo. 2004, color, 95 min. UNRATED

N I C A R A G U A
ALONG THE PATHWAYS
[Por los caminos]

A passionate testament to the strength of the Nicaraguan people in the face of protracted political turmoil, extreme poverty and cultural disillusionment, this documentary follows citizens from every walk of life as they strive for a better future.

DIR/SCR Gabriel Traversari; PROD Julia Sevilla Hopping and Gabriel Traversari. 2004, color, 54 min. UNRATED

Director GABRIEL TRAVESARI at AFI Silver!
Sun 9/25 at 12:30

Director Rafael Kohan at AFI Silver!
Sun 10/2 at 12:30 & 8:30

P A R A G U A Y
RIGHT - LEFT
[Derecha-izquierda]

Seven Holocaust survivors now residing in Paraguay give riveting accounts of their pre-Nazi lives, how they endured the concentration camps, and the triumph of their liberations. A different view of a familiar subject, recorded just before the colors will inevitably fade.

DIR/SCR Rafael Kohan; PROD Javier Mamrud and Rafael Kohan. 2005, color, 92 min. UNRATED

P E R U
PAPER DOVE
[Paloma de papel]

A bus ride through the Andean highlands causes one just-released prisoner to reminisce about his childhood. Once a farmboy, he was dragooned into El Sendero Lumino (The Shining Path), along with other child guerillas. A powerful indictment of civil war and the costs visited upon the poor, this film was one of Peru's biggest local hits ever, and the country's Oscar submission a year ago.

DIR/SCR/PROD Fabrizio Aguilar. 2004, color, 90 min. UNRATED

U R U G U A Y
WHISKY

Struggling factory owner Andrés Pazos feels the need to impress his successful younger brother Jorge Bolani, recently returned to Montevideo for their mother's funeral. He hires Mirella Pascual to pose as his wife, with unintended consequences. Like Finland's Aki Kaurismaki, writer/directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll masterfully wring comedic pathos from their oddball characters. Winner of numerous international awards, including the FIPRESCI prize, Cannes 2004.

DIR/SCR Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella; SCR Gonzalo Delgado Galiana; PROD Fernando Epstein. 2004, color, 99 min. UNRATED

V E N E Z U E L A
HABANA, HAVANA

On his first trip ever to Havana, 40-ish peasant Manuel Porto can't find anyplace to get those perfect shoes for his little girl, then gets mistaken for someone else at knifepoint. Luckily, lonely widow Eslinds Núñez (MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT, LUCIA) helps him out. At first a near-wordless tone poem of the city, then a chamber play for two--with a shocking, ironic conclusion. Best Screenplay, Miami Latino Film Festival. From festival regular (A HOUSE WITH A VIEW OF THE SEA, ONE LIFE AND TWO TRAILS) Arvelo.

DIR Alberto Arvelo Mendoza; SCR Carlos Díaz; PROD Pedro Mezquita Arcaya. 2004, color, 80 min. UNRATED