The Hispanic Film Society of Victoria presents…
The 12th Annual
The 12th Annual
Latin American and Spanish Film Week
+ Concert and Dance
Sept 20 to 25, 2022
In 2022 we are back live in Cinecenta for our 12th installment. We are featuring movies from Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain.
We have two special events this year: on Friday September 23, the director of the film Guie’dani’s Navel (El ombligo de Guie’dani), Xavi Sala, will be in attendance. After the screening, we will have a conversation and Q&A session with him and UVic professors Dr. Carmen Rodriguez de France (Indigenous Education) and Dr. Gabriela McBee (Hispanic and Italian Studies).
On Saturday September 24, after the screening of Omara, join us for live music and dance with Vancouver-based Locarno at Vertigo in the Student Union Building (UVic campus). The concert is at 8.30 PM (doors open at 8.15). Tickets at the door or register at Eventbrite (Locarno at Vertigo – UVic): $ 15 General audience – $ 5 students with ID
TUESDAY Sept 20:
Ironland (Lavra) by Lucas Bambozzi (Brazil, 2021 – 99 min)
After an environmental disaster in Minas Gerais, a Brazilian geographer returns home committed to unveiling how mining has both shaped and harmed her native region and its inhabitants. Ironland is a hybrid film, a documentary where the main character interacts with real people and situations. It is also a road movie about belonging and identity, about losing a world and trying to recover it. It explores the challenges of community building in times of environmental stress.
WEDNESDAY Sept 21:
Josefina by Javier Marco (Spain, 2021 – 90 min)
Juan is a shy and sloppy fifty-year-old man who works as a prison officer. Through the safety monitors, he silently observes every Sunday the visit of Berta, the mother of one of the inmates. Even though they have never spoken, he begins to feel an attraction to her. Berta spends most of her time enclosed at home, taking care of his sick husband, who has been bedridden for years. The day he finally approaches her, he pretends to be the father of an inmate daughter. Josefina explores, in nuanced fashion, the need for empathy, companionship and hope. The film was nominated for Best New Director and Best Actress (Emma Suárez) at the Goya competition.
THURSDAY Sept 22:
Maixabel by Iciar Bollaín (Spain, 2021 – 115 min)
Acclaimed filmmaker Iciar Bollaín is back with Maixabel, the inspiring true story of a woman who, after having violently lost what was most precious to her, decided to take a brave step towards coexistence and peace by agreeing to face the imprisoned ETA terrorist behind the murder of her husband. A film ripe with emotion and humanity, with stand-out performances by Blanca Portillo and Luis Tosar.
FRIDAY Sept 23:
Guie’dani’s Navel (El ombligo de Guie’dani) by Xavi Sala (Mexico, 2018 – 119 min)
Guie’dani, an indigenous girl, and her mother leave their native Oaxaca in southern Mexico to take up work as maids with an upper middle class family in Mexico City. The girl does not fit in with her new household, and conflicts begin to creep up. Her life changes when she meets Claudia, a rebellious girl with whom she becomes close friends. Guie’dani’s Navel is a poignant and timely social drama that reflects on issues of social class, economic disparities and indigeneity in Mexico.
Director in attendance! Stay for a conversation and Q & A session with Xavi Sala, the director, and UVic professors Dr. Carmen Rodriguez de France (Indigenous Education) and Dr. Gabriela McBee (Hispanic and Italian Studies)
SATURDAY Sept 24:
Omara by Hugo Perez (United States/Cuba, 2021 – 76 min)
If you’ve listened to the Buena Vista Social Club, then you’ve heard the unforgettable voice of Omara Portuondo. At 90, Cuba’s legendary diva has been a driving force in Afro-Cuban music for over half a century. In this first-of-its-kind look at the life of one of the nation’s biggest stars and last grandes dames, director Hugo Perez brings audiences along on an intimate journey into the heart of Cuba’s “Bride of Feeling,” following Omara as she celebrates and shares the music of her beloved island with the world.
After the screening, join us for live music and dance with Vancouver-based Locarno at Vertigo in the Student Union Building (UVic campus)
8.30 PM (doors open at 8.15)
Tickets at the door or register at Eventbrite (Locarno at Vertigo – UVic): $15 General
audience – $ 5 students with ID
SUNDAY Sept 25:
The Good Boss (El buen patrón) by Fernando León de Aranoa (Spain, 120 min)
Básculas Blanco, a Spanish company producing industrial scales in a provincial Spanish town awaits the imminent visit from a committee that will decide whether they deserve a local Business Excellence award: everything has to be perfect when the time comes. Working against the clock, the company’s proprietor, Blanco (Javier Bardem) pulls out all the stops to achieve his goal. However, life has in store for him some unexpected turns for him. The Good Boss is a smart, entertaining comedy about dysfunctional human interactions.
We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.