Latin Wave 11: New Films from Latin America

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Latin Wave 11: New Films from Latin America. The 11th edition of Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America welcomes a group of new films to the Museum from April 28 to May 1, 2016.

Over the past decade, in collaboration with creative partner Fundación PROA (Buenos Aires) and with the generous support of Tenaris, the Museum has premiered dozens of films reflecting the vibrant and innovative cinema scene thriving throughout Latin America.

Each year, several filmmakers travel to Houston to present their films and engage audiences in conversations. With Latin American film specialist Diana Sanchez as programmer, the 11th festival promises to be another strong edition.

Selections include Ixcanul from Guatemala, a fusion of fact and fable with a mesmerizing lead performance by a young first-time actress; the character study Desde allá, set in contemporary Caracas; master documentarian Patricio Guzmán’s inquiry into Chile’s nearly extinct, indigenous “water people,” The Pearl Button; and from Colombia, Embrace of the Serpent, a historical epic tracing two parallel odysseys up the Amazon.

Latin Wave 11 brochure

SCHEDULE OF 2016 SCREENINGS:

LATIN WAVE 11 features the recent Oscar winner for Best Animated Short: Bear Story, from Chile, as well as two Oscar-nominated features. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent traces the results of colonialism on a stretch of the Amazon, shown through a shaman who witnessed the effects of the rubber trade as a young man and again 40 years later. In the Best Animated Feature Film category, Brazilian Alê Abreu’s poignant film Boy and the World depicts the longing a young boy has for his father, who leaves his family to find work in the city. This engaging, gorgeous film is great for audiences of all ages.

This year, three of the ten features are debuts. In From Afar, the Venice Golden Lion (2015) winner, Venezuelan filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas weaves a suspenseful story of an unexpected friendship between two men from very different sides of the social strata. From Guatemala, Jayro Bustamante’s Volcano, which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, depicts the lives of the indigenous Kaqchikel people. And Mexican filmmaker Alejandra Márquez Abella’s Semana santa portrays a mother and son on vacation with her new boyfriend—the lush tropical setting only highlights their disconnectedness to one another.

Chilean maestro Patricio Guzmán’s latest, The Pearl Button, follows up on his gorgeous Nostalgia for the Light. In Our Last Tango, German Kral introduces viewers to tango’s greatest couple and their stormy relationship in a film that celebrates Argentina’s national dance.

Brazil has a strong presence this year with three features. Alongside Boy and the World, Chico Teixeira’s Absence and Anna Muylaert’s The Second Mother provide deeper reflections on the nature of families. Julio Hernández Cordón’s latest film about friendship and young male love, I Promise You Anarchy, follows the lives of skateboarders involved in the illegal blood trade.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to catch the best of Latin American film, mix and mingle with film industry professionals, and absorb all that LATIN WAVE 11 offers.

We know you’ll enjoy the ride.
—Diana Sánchez, Programming Director, LATIN WAVE: New Films from Latin America

Thursday, April 28, 2016

• 6:00 p.m. LATIN WAVE 11 Happy Hour (Cash bar. must be 21 or older to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.
• 7:00 p.m. Our Last Tango (85 min.) Un tango más
• *9:00 p.m. From Afar (93 min.) Desde allá Presented by writer-director Lorenzo Vigas.

Friday, April 29, 2016

• 5:00 p.m. The Second mother (112 min.) La segunda madre
• *7:15 p.m. Volcano (91 min.) Ixcanul Presented by writer-director Jayro Bustamante.
• 9:00 p.m. I Promise You Anarchy (100 min.) Te prometo anarquía

Saturday, April 30, 2016

• 1:00 p.m. Boy and the World (80 min.) El niño y el mundo
• 3:00 p.m. The Pearl Button (82 min.) El botón de nácar
  Preceded by Bear Story (11 min.) Historia de un oso
• *5:00 p.m. Semana santa (85 min.)  Presented by Cristina Garza, producer and international sales agent.
• 7:00 p.m. From Afar (93 min.) Desde allá
• 9:00 p.m. Embrace of the Serpent (125 min.) El abrazo de la serpiente

Sunday, May 1, 2016

• 1:00 p.m. Our Last Tango (85 min.) Un tango más
• 3:00 p.m. Volcano (91 min.) Ixcanul Presented by writer-director Jayro Bustamante.
• *5:00 p.m. Absence (87 min.) Ausência Presented by Cristina Garza, producer and international sales agent.
• 7:00 p.m. Embrace of the Serpent (125 min.) El abrazo de la serpiente

*Indicate screenings introduced by a filmmaker or producer.

READ MORE ABOUT THE FILMS & GUESTS.