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5x Favela: Agora por nós mesmos (Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 #VLAFF2011) [Movie Review]

jessica — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:00:26 +0000

5xFavela: Agora por nós mesmos
(5xFavela: Now by Ourselves)
Brazil, 2010

This is a recent remake of a concept from the 1970′s in Brazil. Five stories are told, all in and around Brazilian favelas – shanty neighbourhoods. The remake was done in 2010 by members of the favelas themselves. They all touch on families that are doing the best they can to get by in these dangerous neighbourhoods riddled with poverty and crime, but how they unfortunately end up involved in the activities that they were trying to avoid. The cinema quality was outstanding, and the colours and noises made me want to hop on a plane and go to Brazil to see it myself. Even the darkness of the favelas was brought into a redeeming light.

The story that stood out to me most was about kite fliers. Kids and families who competed in friendly kite competitions would suddenly turn ruthless at the sight of another person from a competing Favela. The film was beautiful and funny, yet with a strong message. All of the acts included children, some of which actually starred in the story.

Overall this was a great film. Perhaps if someone is a little squeamish around blood and violence, I would recommend something a bit different. For anoyone who wants to see a taste of the real Brazil, with life stories and a good look at the underlying class, this is exactly the film to see.

5xFavela: Agora por nós mesmos shows tonight (September 9th) again at 7pm at Pacific Cinemathéque. You can get more information and tickets here.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Jessica attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Hermano at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 (review)

Anabelle — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:59 +0000

The story of Hermano has been told again and again, yet retains its poignancy and freshness with the right actors and masterful direction. A touching tale of family, loyalty, brotherhood, justice, revenge, redemption and sacrifice describes what I saw on Sunday afternoon at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival.

Daniel is an exceptional footballer, a phenomenal striker. Julio is the team’s captain, a born leader. As brothers they grew up playing football together in a Caracas slum called “La Ceniza.” While Daniel dreams of playing professional football, Julio supports the family with “dirty” money; he has little time to dream. The opportunity of their lives arrives when a football scout invites them to tryout with the city’s best team: the Caracas Football Club. But tragedy looms nearby. They must choose, on a dusty football pitch, what is most important: family unity, revenge or the chance of a lifetime. On this pitch, life is on the line.

As I said, the story of Hermano is one you’ll be familiar with and that you’ll recognize in the first half hour. But knowing the plot takes nothing away from the quality of the two main actors, the beautiful “shoulder camera” videography and the bittersweet feeling of the finale. It sometimes felt like a more tragic South American version of Slumdog Millionaire, but I don’t hold that against it.

Hermano is a hopeful “from rags to riches” movie but it doesn’t forget the reality of living in slums controlled by drug lords. Too often, the price to pay to leave the life is unbearably high, and the movie does its best to underline that. There is no easy way out for Julio and Daniel, even through football.

Hermano will be showing again on Friday, September 9th at SFU Woodward at 7PM. You can get more information on the VLAFF website.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Anabelle attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Operacion Diablo at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (review)

Anabelle — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:49:53 +0000

It’s only when I don’t need it (i.e. having a media pass) that I win things, like last night’s raffle at the presentation of Operacion Diablo.

I should watch more documentaries. They often present an issue or an event that no one ever heard about, thus bringing awareness to it. And obviously, I’d never heard of Peru farmers’ efforts to keep a big mining company away from their mountain. But here’s a better synopsis of the story:

Father Marco Arana is being followed. A private investigative firm is photographing and videotaping his every move. This humble priest has spent two decades defending Peruvian mountain farmers from a US -owned gold mine, earning him the nickname “El Diablo.” When Father Marco’s allies are tortured and assassinated, he and his supporters take action and develop a counterespionage plan. They obtain graphic footage, photos and reports taken by the spies worthy of a Hollywood spy flick. This real-life thriller exposes the new wave of corporate terrorism faced by Latin America’s human rights defenders.

The movie is short (1 hour) but packs a lot of content in it. After setting the background story, the movie moves on to the heart of the matter: how Newmont, an American mining company, hired private “security” companies (more like mercenaries and ex-intelligence officers) to intimidate, capture, torture and even murder those people involved in stopping the company from exploiting a nearby mountain for gold.

What’s most shocking about Operacion Diablo is that it’s not a movie. It’s real life, real people, real women being abused and raped by these para-military groups protecting Newmont’s billions. The movie exposes how money can make people do these horrible things to each other, how the lure of gold and more billions can ever justify such a flagrant disrespect of basic human rights. Because it’s not a war against terrorism fought in Peru: it’s corporate terrorism used against the poorest farmers in rural Peru.

Operacion Diablo is part of the Al Jazeera Documentary Competition and is definitely worth watching. The next (and last) showing is Monday September 5th at 1PM at the Pacific Cinémathèque on Howe Street, downtown Vancouver. More information on the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 website.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Anabelle attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 (overview)

Raul — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:42:41 +0000

Year after year, it looks like my involvement with the communities I’m part of is growing, and I am very proud to announce that Hummingbird604.com is a media sponsor for the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011. I have been covering the VLAFF for years, but this is my first year as a media sponsor. We will be providing A LOT of coverage on my site and reviewing films.

LAFF is a registered non-profit charitable organization with the mission to provide a forum for the promotion and exhibition of Latin American cinema. This annual festival promotes dialogue between cultures and explores historical and social issues through the eyes of filmmakers. Since 2003, VLAFF has continued to provide audiences with the unique opportunity of experiencing Latin American cinema in Vancouver.

VLAFF Mission
+ To conduct a Film Festival for the purpose of educating and advancing the public’s understanding and appreciation of Latin American cinema.
+ To conduct educational workshops and seminars.
+ To provide independent filmmakers with the opportunity to display their artistic efforts.
+ To provide Canadian audiences with an opportunity to observe a variety of films, which closely reflect the society and people of Latin American countries.
+ To generate a network between the Canadian and Latin American film industries and forge an artistic alliance between the two.

I am doubly proud because next Spring 2012 I will be teaching Latin American Environmental Politics and I will be able to share some Latin-American films that have showcased problems of resource scarcity, water and solid waste management issues, etc.

This year, as part of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, September 1-11, 2011, VLAFF 9 will once again feature the section Canada Looks South. This special program is dedicated to Canadian and Latin-Canadian filmmakers who explore Latin American subjects and whose work has been gaining international recognition. The 2011 edition of Canada Looks South includes four feature-length films as well as two special programs.

Beyond the Miracle (Detrás del milagro)
Friday Sept. 2, 4:45 p.m. | SFU Harbour Centre (Free admission, $2 VLAFF Membership required)
Sunday Sept. 4, 3 p.m. | Pacific Cinémathèque

Directed by Montreal-based Chilean filmmaker, Orlando Arriagada. This documentary features interviews with four of the thirty-three miners who survived over two months trapped in the San José mine in northern Chile in 2010. Los 33, as they are known, became popular heroes after their ordeal. They were assailed by the media, recognized in the street, and always in demand. But beyond their miraculous rescue, who are these men that everyone has been fighting over?

Orlando Arrigada will participate in Q&A sessions following both screenings.

Summer of Goliath (Verano de Goliat)
Friday Sept. 2, 3 p.m. |SFU Harbour Centre (Free admission, $2 VLAFF Membership required)
Friday Sept. 9, 3 p.m. | Pacific Cinémathèque

Directed by Toronto-based Mexican filmmaker, Nicolás Pereda. Blending fiction and documentary, Verano de Goliat is a journey through the characters and landscape of a small town in Mexico. The film drifts with the main character, Teresa, through spaces and people suffering the effects of lost loved ones, broken promises, disconnection and eternal longing.

(Competing for the Youth Choice Award)

To Flower From Skin, A Bouquet from Colombia (A Flor de piel, un ramo de Colombia)
Friday Sept. 2, 6:15 p.m. | SFU Harbour Centre (Free admission, $2 VLAFF Membership required)

Directed by Vancouver-based Québécois filmmakers, Sarah and Simon Charland-Faucher.

The VLAFF opening night party is at the Waldorf Hotel. You should totally check it out! Also, the lineup of films looks amazing. Your membership costs only $2 and each film’s ticket price is $10 (which is really inexpensive if you think this is a world-class, first-rate film festival). You can get tickets here.

There is a number of great films I’m looking forward to catching, but one of them is the feature in the Mexican gala night (Sunday September 11th): Las Buenas Hierbas (from Maria Novaro). Check out the trailer below. Hopefully you’ll be as excited with the VLAFF as I am.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page

Los Viajes del Viento (guest movie review by @OnlineStrategy)

Raul — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:00:09 +0000

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets from my friend Raul to attend opening night gala at the 8th Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF).

VLAFF’s focus in 2010 is on Colombian cinema, so it was just fitting that “Los Viajes Del Viento” (“The Wind Journeys”) was the first production screened at the Festival. If one’s intention in watching a movie is to be transported to far-away realities, then “The Wind Journeys”, directed by Ciro Guerra, certainly accomplishes that, as we’re led on a long trip to the northern region of Colombia.

The plot is simple: take a teenager coming of age during a long journey, mix it with doses of undeserved loyalty, add a man’s bitterness, and there’s the essence to the story.

With Colombia’s diverse geography as the backdrop, we watch as young Fermín (skillfully portrayed by Yull Nuñez) follows master accordion player Ignacio Carrillo (Marciano Martínez) on a trip to take a prized accordion back to its original owner. The cinematography certainly does justice to the country’s rich colours, and spectators are shown landscapes that they probably never guessed existed in that country.

There are several light-hearted moments throughout the film, largely made possible by Yull Nuñez brilliant performance as Fermín. You don’t need to understand Spanish – or read the subtitles – to understand his emotions. His face says it all.

There was also some suspense and several quirky elements to keep the senses alert, such as a strange group of party revellers that spoke a strange dialect and seemed intent on wearing their shades – even at night.

Nuñez superb acting, and the great cinematography (by Paulo Perez), were the highlights of a film with a predictable screenplay. Having said that, “The Wind Journeys” was a pleasant introduction to Colombian cinema and I’d still recommend it.

Guacira Naves is an online marketing specialist with over 10 years of experience in the digital space. She can be reached at The Online Strategy House.

Win tickets to the Mexican gala (Vancouver Latin American Film Festival) Sep 9th

Raul — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:16:08 +0000

I’m Mexican, and it would be embarrassing and a shame if I didn’t promote the films originated in my own country. So, I am pleased to announce that I am giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the Mexican gala of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2010. The feature film is Alamar by Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio (video below). For a chance to win tickets, simply tweet the sample tweet below, drop a comment on this post or retweet the post using the Twitter button below.

Jorge and Roberta have been separated for several years. They simply come from opposite worlds. He likes an uncomplicated life in the jungle, while she prefers a more urban existence. He is Mexican and she is Italian, and she has decided to return to Rome with their five-year-old son, Natan. But before they leave, Jorge wishes to take young Natan on a trip, hoping to teach him about his Mayan origins in Mexico. As father and son spend more time together, Natan begins a learning experience that will remain with him forever. “Alamar was inspired by the simplicity of happiness.” – Pedro González-Rubio

A sample tweet below (you can also drop a comment or retweet from within the blog post):

I want to win tickets to the Mexican gala of @VLAFF

You have until Wednesday September 7th at 10am to enter my giveaway.

Win tickets to the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival Opening Night Film #VLAFF @vlaff

Raul — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:21:18 +0000

I love the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, and lucky for me, they love me back. VLAFF has kindly generously given me 3 (three) pairs of tickets to the opening night film, Los Viajes del Viento (The Wind Journeys), Spanish with English subtitles / 117 min (Colombia/Netherlands/Argentina/Germany, 2009). Opening night for VLAFF is September 2nd, at Empire 7 Cinemas on Granville Street. The trailer for Los Viajes del Viento is shown below.

To enter this giveaway, you can do one of two things. The first, simply drop a comment on this post indicating which one of the numerous films of VLAFF are you looking forward or interested in seeing. There is a fabulous lineup you can check here. I will be drawing three (3) random winners on Tuesday August 31st at 4pm, from all entries (Twitter and blog). The second mode of entry is to tweet the following sample (you can do either or, or both):

I entered @hummingbird604 and @VLAFF’s giveaway for tickets to opening night. Colombia feautred country #VLAFF2010 http://is.gd/eDPGb

I am really looking forward to seeing many of the VLAFF 2010 films – particularly as I know that there will be several Mexican productions. VLAFF takes place from September 2nd to the 12th, 2010. For more information on VLAFF and how to purchase tickets you can check their Facebook and Twitter presences.

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (@VLAFF) 2010

Raul — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:42:39 +0000

All the amazing festivals are coming up and the good thing is, most of them are totally right up my alley and the audience that reads my blog.

I am (as many of you know) Latin American, and for that reason, I feel very strongly about promoting my own cultural heritage. Last year, the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (in its 8th incarnation this year) was incredibly generous to me and gave me a number of tickets to give away. This year, it looks like I’ll be able to give tickets again.

VLAFF is a registered non-profit charitable organization with the mission to provide a forum for the promotion and exhibition of Latin American cinema. This annual, non-competitive festival promotes dialogue between cultures and explores historical and social issues through the eyes of filmmakers. Since 2003, VLAFF has continued to provide audiences with the unique opportunity of experiencing Latin American cinema in Vancouver.

I am really looking forward to seeing some of the films at VLAFF, particularly excited to see if Viaje Redondo (Round Trip, Mexico, 2009, Spanish with English Subtitles) makes it to the selection , which will be a special presentation on August 17th at Pacific Cinematheque at 8pm.

Win tickets to Dos Crimenes (Two Crimes) VECM

Raul — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:06:59 +0000

No plans for Valentine’s Day? Trying to figure out which movie to go to (if you’re doing dinner and a movie)? Well, the kind folks at Vancouver Latin American Film Festival and Pacific Cinematheque gave me a pair of tickets for tonight’s (8:45pm) showing of Dos Crimenes (Two Crimes, aka Kissing Cousins).

Two Crimes (also known as Kissing Cousins), a delightful comedy adapted from a novel by Jorge Ibargüengoitia, was Sneider’s debut, and won Mexico’s Ariel Award for Best First Feature. Damián Alcázar (the lead in Carlos Bolado’s Under California: The Limit of Time, also screening in this retrospective) plays Marcos, a Mexico City architect who finds himself flat broke and then falsely accused of a murder. He hightails it to the sleepy town of Cuevano, where he has family, and insinuates himself into the household of his wealthy uncle Ramon (José Carlos Ruiz). Irascible Ramon enjoys carousing with Marcos, and seems to buy Marcos’s lies: that he’s come to town to acquire a local gold mine — and maybe Uncle Ramon would like to invest? But Ramon’s sons are having none of it, and the ensuing manipulation and mayhem teaches big-city Marcos that small-town life may be more complicated (and dangerous) than he supposed. Colour, 35mm, in Spanish with English subtitles. 107 mins.

To enter the contest, simply re-tweet this post (it should be tagged #sanvalentin, St. Valentine’s, in Spanish). I will draw a winner at 2pm and inform the winner via Twitter AND email. If you’re not on Twitter, please drop a comment on this post and I’ll inform you via the email address you provide.

Viva El Cine Mexicano at Pacific Cinémathèque Feb 10th to 21st

Raul — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:55:29 +0000

I was recently walking by the corner of Broadway and Main and all of a sudden, I stopped on my tracks. I saw a poster, written in perfectly good Spanish, “Viva El Cine Mexicano” (Hooray the Mexican Cinema). I stopped in my tracks and wondered “what is this?”. It wasn’t until I read that it was presented at Pacific Cinémathèque, that I figured that this might be a joint production of VLAFF and the Mexican Consulate in Vancouver. I wasn’t wrong. I have always had really great relationships with the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (I covered the festival last year), and recently I’ve started to talk more to the Mexican Consulate.

I figured I’d highlight this very worthy event. Given that the Vancouver 2010 Olympics will be well underway during a few of the days of the duration of the Festival, I wonder if the attendance might skyrocket. If that’s the case, I would strongly encourage you to get your tickets for this festival soon.

Mexican cinema (particularly in recent years) has experienced a renaissance. This particular event commemorates 2 big milestones in Mexican history, the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence from the Spaniards and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. The Viva El Cine Mexicano festival will offer a broad variety of excellent movies:

The program showcases works spanning 75 years of illustrious Mexican cinema. Included are classics by Emilio Fernández, Fernando de Fuentes, Luis Buñuel, Paul Leduc, and Arturo Ripstein; two celebrated films dramatizing the Revolution, de Fuentes’s El Compadre Mendoza (1934) and Leduc’s Reed: Insurgent Mexico (1973); and key films by some of contemporary Mexican cinema’s most important and acclaimed directors, including Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, Carlos Carrera, Dana Rotberg, Roberto Sneider, María Novaro, and Carlos Bolado.

Many of these artists are represented by their debut or breakthrough works. Five of the films screening here won the Ariel Award (Mexico’s equivalent of the Oscar) for Best First Feature; seven received the Golden Ariel for Best Film. Our exhibition opens with Jorge Fons’s multiple-prize-winning Midaq Alley (1995), which may be the most honoured Mexican film in history. We close with Carlos Reygadas’s extraordinary Silent Light (2008), one of the great films of current world cinema. (Silent Light also screens this January/February cycle in Pacific Cinémathèque’s “Best of the Decade” program, as do additional features by both Cuarón and del Toro — some measure perhaps of the ascendancy, in recent years, of Mexican filmmakers to a place of true international prominence).

All screenings at Pacific Cinémathèque (1131 Howe), $ 9.50 single bill, $ 11.50 double bill. The cost of tickets is really inexpensive, and for the quality of movies they’re showing, really worth it. I encourage all my readers to check at least one of the films of this fantastic festival “Viva El Cine Mexicano”. I will inquire with the VLAFF office to see if I can have some tickets to giveaway. If that’s the case, I’ll update the post and run a contest.

UPDATE – VLAFF and the Viva El Cine Mexicano Festival have given me TWO double passes to El Compadre Mendoza on Thursday, February 11 at 7pm. I’ll draw a winner on Wednesday February 10th at 1pm. To enter the contest, simply drop a comment on this post. I’ll draw two winners, one per each double pass. Have fun!

Win tickets to “La Buena Vida” (closing film of Vancouver Latin American Film Festival)

Raul — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:33:46 +0000

The folks at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival have treated me extraordinarily well, and they have been kind enough to offer a pair of tickets to the closing film of VLAFF, “La Buena Vida” (The Good Life). You may remember that this year’s country of focus (2009) was Chile. Well, La Buena Vida is a Chilean/Spaniard co-production.

La Buena Vida tells the story of four characters – Teresa, Edmundo, Mario and Patricia – in Santiago, Chile, in 2008. All are strangers to each other, but live in the same bustling city. All of them are chasing their dreams: Teresa tries to save lives as a psychologist; Edmundo is a hairdresser who dreams of owning a car; Mario wishes to join the Philharmonic; and Patricia works on surviving daily life. As they follow their dreams, but struggle with misfortune, each of the characters will be surprised by where life takes them.

Drop a comment on this post any time before 4pm on Friday September 18th, 2009 and I’ll draw the winner at 4pm and announce it both on Twitter and here on this post. Thanks again to VLAFF for sponsoring this contest!

NOTE – La Buena Vida will be shown at 7pm on Sunday September 20th, 2009 Granville 7 Cinemas (GR 7) at 855 Granville Street (at Robson).

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival

Raul — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:00:35 +0000

I think it’s no surprise to anyone given my name and last names that I’m from Latin American roots. Moreover, I think with all my film coverage that you can tell that I am a huge promoter of film festivals in Vancouver. In particular, I am a big fan of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. My dearest friend LB (now Dr. LB, as she recently defended her PhD in Political Science, looking at a Latin American country as her research case study) and I were always looking forward to attending VLAFF. She and I spoke in Spanish frequently and we loved watching Spanish-language films together. Alas, she is now in Ottawa and I will have to go to VLAFF with other friends (but i’ll be thinking of LB too).

While I sadly was unable to go to the opening night of “Arráncame la Vida” (a Mexican film, delightful, starring Ana Claudia Talancón and Daniel Giménez Cacho, and with a screenplay based on the Angeles Mastretta story), I will definitely make an effort to check some of the VLAFF. My understanding is that this year’s focus country is Chile.

Also, for my readers, stay tuned because I’ll be giving away free tickets for some of the films. Arráncame La Vida is the official Mexican nomination to the Oscars, and I believe it should win, it’s a beautiful film.

The trailer to Arrancame La Vida is shown below. You can get tickets to the VLAFF by following this hyperlink. I’m really tempted to check Lake Tahoe (not surprisingly, a Mexican film). But honestly, every single film shown offers a great opportunity to delve into Latin American film. If I could watch all these films (if I had the time) I would!

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