4th UCLA Latin American and Iberian Film Festival

  • Film
  • Los Angeles
  • Mon, February 01 —
    Wed, February 24, 2016
4th UCLA Latin American and Iberian Film Festival

New edition of the annual festival that brings to UCLA the best in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cinema.

The UCLA Latin American Institute is a proud sponsor of the 4th UCLA Latin American and Iberian Film Festival. Featured films:

Bajarí: Gypsy Barcelona

  • On Monday, February 1, 2016, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
  • Directed by Eva Vila, Spain, 84 minutes, 2013.
  • In Spanish with English subtitles.

As believed by the Gypsies, Flamenco cannot be learned in a dance school or by reading music. It is lived within the home; it is created at the bar; its artistry is perfected on the street corner. Bajarí goes to all those places, following in the steps of its two main subjects: Karime and Juanito. The young bailaora (flamenco dancer) Karime Amaya is working with some of the most talented up-and-coming musicians and dancers to create a show that blends the Gypsy Flamenco tradition with Barcelona’s Rumba tradition. Little 5-year old Juanito Manzano takes his first steps to dance in the show and earn his flamenco boots, despite kidney problems and against his parents’ wishes.

Their adventures and experiences become a journey of discovery of this living tradition and create an intimate portrait of how flamenco’s legacy is kept alive within Barcelona’s tight-knit Gypsy community. A must see documentary for music and dance lovers, Bajarí: Gypsy Barcelona is a private window into the intimate world of this vibrant and living art form.

The Crow’s Nest (Malacrianza)

  • On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.
  • Directed by Arturo Menéndez, El Salvador, 70 minutes, 2013.
  • In Spanish with English subtitles.

The first fiction film from El Salvador to be produced since 1969 and the first ever to see a worldwide release, The Crow’s Nest follows Don Cleo, a humble piñata salesman who receives an extortion letter at his doorstep. If he doesn’t pay $500, a small fortune for him, within 72 hours, he will be killed. Don Cleo quickly decides to gather the money through friends, but the harder he tries to raise the funds, the deeper into trouble he gets. If Don Cleo hopes to survive, he’ll have to face his fears and stand up to his tormentors.

With a magnificent use of deadpan humor and charm, The Crow’s Nest depicts a unique and realistic vision of El Salvador, where evangelical churches, reverence for the concept of the American Dream, the local struggling economy, and violence are everyday experiences for its most vulnerable population. Shot on location in neighborhoods controlled by gangs, the script was based on a collection of real stories.

I Am From Chile

  • On Monday, February 8, 2016, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
  • Directed by Gonzalo Díaz Ugarte, Chile, 108 minutes, 2013.
  • In Spanish with English subtitles.

A coming of age story, I Am From Chile draws from the director’s personal experiences to tell a different kind of immigration story. I Am from Chile is the story of Salvador, who moves to London from Chile to study English and travel around Europe at his parents’ expense. He stays with his aunt María (acclaimed Chilean actress Paulina García of Gloria, Illiterate), who makes a rather decent living renting the rooms of her house to other immigrants. But when a financial crisis back home leaves Salvador with no resources of his own, he has no other choice but to make ends meet with the help of María and his roommates (including a Russian drug dealer and his Japanese girlfriend), taking on a series of short-term, and at times, dangerous jobs. Difficult and challenging situations will force Salvador out of his protected bourgeois reality and into the real world.

Mr. Kaplan

  • On Tuesday, February 16, 2016, from 6 pm to 8 pm.
  • Directed by Álvaro Brechner, Uruguay / Spain / Germany, 98 minutes, 2014.
  • In Spanish with English subtitles.

Uruguay’s official selection for Best Foreign Academy Award, Mr. Kaplan follows Jacob Kaplan’s ordinary life in Uruguay. Like many of his other Jewish friends, Jacob fled Europe for South America because of World War II. But now, turning 76, he’s become rather grumpy, fed up with his community and his family’s lack of interest in their own heritage. One beach bar may, however, provide him with an unexpected opportunity to achieve greatness and recover his family’s respect in the community: its owner, a quiet, elderly German, raises Mr. Kaplan’s suspicion of being a runaway Nazi. Ignoring his family’s concerns about his health, Jacob secretly recruits Contreras, a former police officer whose loyalty far exceeds his honesty, to help him investigate. Together, they will try to repeat the historic capture of Adolf Eichmann: by unmasking and kidnapping the German and secretly taking him to Israel.

Rising filmmaker Álvaro Brechner’s quixotic quest strikes plenty of comedic spark from its bone-dry humor, taking great delight in the reinvigorated ingenuity and pride of its aging protagonist. Even more potently, the film never loses sight of the existential demons that haunt those on the run from their unresolved past and, ultimately, themselves.

Open Cage (Los Bañistas)

  • On Monday, February 22, 2016, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.
  • Directed by Max Zunino, Mexico, 83 minutes, 2014.
  • In Spanish with English subtitles.

Open Cage takes a subtle and ultimately hopeful look into one of society’s mayor issues: the abandonment to its youth and senior populations. Among those affected when the economy collapses are rebel teenager Flavia and her elderly and grumpy neighbor Martín. Outside the building there is a camp of protesters among whom human values still govern coexistence. However, its members have a serious problem: they need a shower. Flavia, Martín, and their neighbors down the street will learn to relate to each other, not only to survive the crisis, but to rediscover the meaning of their lives.

Juan Carlos Colombo as Martín and Sofía Espinosa as Flavia, carry the film with incredible chemistry. With Open Cage, Max Zunino proposes an optimistic solution to a conflict that may appear hard to solve, but that may be lessened by calling on small individual changes that allow us to get along better with others.

Free admission. First come, first served. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

Venue

Venue map

Royce Hall 314, (Conference Room) 340 Royce Drive Los Angeles CA, 90095
310-825-4401

More information

4th UCLA Latin American and Iberian Film Festival

Credits

The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, and SPAIN arts & culture.

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