28th August, 2008
Behind the inviting red image of a screening room that our poster evokes, the fifth edition of the DLA Film festival brings together an eclectic mix of internationally acclaimed feature films, documentaries and short films. The program is complemented with Film & Culture events conveying the richness of Latin America film history and stimulating debate with panels, talks, and Q&A sections.
Latin American films are thriving in international film festivals around the world. We have joined them to showcase the best in contemporary Latin American cinema. In this light we are promoting emerging talents such a Claudia Llosa’s highly acclaimed opera prima Madeinusa (Peru, 2006), or the seeds of the new generation of Chilean promising directors Sebastian Campos’ La Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) (Chile, 2004) and Matías Bize’s En La Cama (In Bed, Chile,2005)
For the first time the prestigious opening night at Odeon Covent Garden will feature a Brazilian film with the UK premiere of Proibido Proibir (Forbidden to Forbid, 2006 awarded best picture at Biarritz film festival) with film director Jorge Durán as a special guest to present the film.
The festival includes several other UK and London premieres, such as Emilio Maillé’s Rosario Tijeras (Colombia, 2005) Best film and best actress at the Cartagena Film Festival, Benito Zambrano’s Habana Blues (Cuba, 2005) Goya awarded for best editing and best original score and Andrucha Waddington’s Casa de Areia (House of Sand, Brazil, 2006) featuring celebrated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro and daughter Fernanda Torres.
We are delighted to welcome our special guests, Mexican film director Emilio Maillé (Rosario Tijeras), Peruvian director Claudia Llosa and actor Carlos de la Torre (Madeinusa) for the gala evenings in the occasion of their London premieres.
Take the opportunity to catch up with Adrian Caetano’s latest film Buenos Aires 1977 (Argentina, 2006) presented in Cannes this year and multiple-awarded films such as Tristan Bauer’s Iluminados por el Fuego (Blessed by fire, Argentina,2005) and Luis Mandoki’s Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices, Mexico, 2005)
This is a very exciting year for the festival. With such a great line of contemporary feature films we are urged to introduce for the first time the opportunity to choose your favourite film for the audience award. We hope you get inspired by the cultural wealth of Latin American films as presented in this year’s program. This ranges from dead-pan comedies, creative documentaries, fictions reconstructing reality and films reflecting contemporary society and its uncertainties.
The DLA film festival celebrates through these moving images stories that unfold the diversity of our cinema today. Enjoy!
Yos Rivas
Film & Culture Director
DLA Film Festival
Making the Spirit of Latin America available through film