Film Festival Favorites
Discover some of the most acclaimed films from the international festival circuit. This collection brings together award winners, audience favorites, and critically celebrated works that have captivated audiences at leading festivals around the world. From bold new voices to acclaimed auteurs, these films showcase the artistic innovation, cultural diversity, and compelling storytelling that define the best of contemporary cinema.
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The Film Festival Favorites collection includes the following titles:
Bad Hair
Pelo malo
Drama, Fiction
Venezuela
A nine-year-old boy’s preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother, in this best-seller tender but clear-eyed coming-of-age film.
Machuca
Drama, Fiction, Classic
Chile, Spain
Set in Santiago during the months leading up to Pinochet’s 1973 coup d’état, this modern classic tells the story of the unlikely friendship between two young boys from different backgrounds.
The Rose Seller
La vendedora de rosas
Drama, Fiction, Classic
Colombia
A poignant portrayal of life in the streets of Medellín, Colombia, directed by the iconic Colombian poet and filmmaker Victor Gaviria.
Sick, Sick, Sick
Sem seu sangue
Fiction, Drama
Brazil, France, The Netherlands
A teenage romance starts abruptly and ends suddenly after a serious accident. Silvia gets sick, her days turning to darkness. Her mourning becomes a quest to bring him back to life.
Our Song to War
Nuestro canto a la guerra
Documentary, Experimental
Colombia, Belgium
Following a massacre by the FARC guerrillas, a Colombian village emerges as a mysterious place where people sing as they guide spirits across a mystic river.
The Orphan
O órfão
Drama, Fiction
Brazil
Jonathas has been adopted, but it doesn't take long until he is returned because he is "different" from the other kids. Inspired by true events.
Damiana
Drama, Fiction
Colombia
Deep in the jungle, a group of teenage girls are being kept under watch. Despite abandonment and hostility, Damiana hopes to reach her father.
Timecode
Drama, Comedy, Fiction
Spain
Luna and Diego are the parking lot security guards. Diego does the night shift, and Luna works by day.
Summer 1993
Estiu 1993
Drama
Spain
In Summer 1993, orphaned Frida, 6, moves from Barcelona to the countryside, facing grief, jealousy, and change as she adapts to a new family life.
Embrace of the Serpent
El abrazo de la serpiente
Drama, Classic
Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela
In the Amazon, a shaman and two scientists bond over 40 years, exploring memory, loss, and colonial scars in a search for the sacred Yakruna plant.
Southern District
Zona sur
Drama, Fiction, Comedy, Romance
Bolivia
Bolivia’s official entry for the Academy® Awards, this searing portrait of a patrician family in flux exposes the bubble of decadence in which they exist. The threat of shifting aristocratic privilege heralds a new era in a seemingly interminable class war.
The Delay
La demora
Drama, Fiction
France, Mexico, Uruguay
An exploration of the intense, painful ambivalence of family responsibility. When her elderly father's mental deterioration becomes a burden for her and three young children, María has to make a drastic decision.
Wilaya
Drama, Fiction
Spain
With unprecedented access to the Sahrawi community, Pedro Pérez Rosado, provides a voice to this unrepresented group of refugees living in a Saharan refugee camp and their struggle for independence.
Yvy Maraey Land Without Evil
Yvy Maraey, tierra sin mal
Drama, Fiction, Adventure
Bolivia
A Bolivian filmmaker and a Guaraní Indian travel together through the forests of southeastern Bolivia to make a film about the Guaraní people.
We Are Mari Pepa
Somos Mari Pepa
Comedy, Drama, Fiction, Musical, Classic
Mexico
Alex has big plans for his summer in Guadalajara. He'll get a girlfriend and a new job, learn a new song with his band, Mari Pepa, and win the ”battle of the bands” concert.
The Kid Who Lies
El chico que miente
Drama, Fiction, Adventure
Venezuela
An intimate tale of a young runaway in search of his disappeared mother, The Kid Who Lies works as a metaphor for those still suffering from the 1999 mudslide tragedy, a natural disaster that claimed more than 10,000 victims in the Vargas state of Venezuela.
The Fire
El incendio
Drama, Fiction
Argentina
A couple withdraw a hundred thousand dollars in cash from their bank to close on their first home. The sale's postponement uncovers the nature of their love as well as their crisis.
Seashore
Beira mar
Drama, Fiction, Romance
Brazil
During a weekend in the winter, two young men attempt to rekindle their friendship, witnessed by a cold raging sea.
The Nobodies
Los nadie
Fiction, Drama
Colombia
Love, hate, broken promises, and five street-siblings who meet in the middle of a hostile city.
The Awakening of the Ants
El despertar de las hormigas
Drama, Fiction
Costa Rica, Spain
Isa finds herself suffocated by rigid gender roles and the cloistered, provincial thinking of a Costa Rican seaside village. She desperately imagines some other way of living.
Alice Júnior
Comedy, Fiction
Brazil
Alice Júnior is a celebration of rebellious youth that offers the potential for future generations to rethink outdated perspectives of gender, sexuality, and differences as a whole.
Los Lobos
Los lobos
Drama, Fiction
Mexico
An absorbing coming-of-age story about migrant life through the prism of its most innocent figures: children.
Night Shot
Visión noctuna
Documentary
Chile
After being raped, a young filmmaker creates a video diary exploring the wounds of abuse, the re-victimizing legal proceedings, and the accompanying friendships. Does rape ever end?
Bixa Travesty
Bixa travesty
Documentary
Brazil
Linn da Quebrada, a Brazilian transgender singer and artist, presents a powerful and courageous feminist film-discourse on the body and its representation.
Sublime
Drama, Fiction, Romance, Musical
Argentina
A thoughtful and tender handling of a teen’s emerging sexuality. When a teenager falls for his best friend, turbulent emotions brew beneath the surface.
Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine
Chico ventana también quisiera tener un submarino
Comedy, Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction, Experimental
Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, The Netherlands, The Philippines
On a cruise ship off the Patagonian coasts, a crewman discovers a magical portal leading into a woman's apartment.
Duo
Dúo
Drama, Experimental
Spain, Spain, Argentina, France, Chile
Set against the backdrop of the Argentine and Chilean Andes, Duo follows two seasoned dancers at personal and professional crossroads.
A School in Cerro Hueso
Una escuela en Cerro Hueso
Drama, Fiction
Argentina
After numerous rejections due to her Autism diagnosis, six-year-old Ema finally finds a safe place to observe and explore the world in silence and at her own pace.
The Heiresses
Las herederas
Drama, Fiction
Paraguay, France, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy
Chela's life takes a turn when her partner is imprisoned, forcing her to drive a taxi and connect with new people and leading to a personal revolution.
Calls from Moscow
Llamadas desde Moscú
Documentary
Cuba, Germany, Norway
An apartment in Moscow becomes the stage for one day in the lives of four queer Cuban exiles, shortly before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine changes everything.
Shakti
Comedy, Romance, Fiction
Argentina
Federico decides to separate from Magda but Magda beats him to the punch in this deadpan comedy by Martín Rejtman.
Watermelon Juice
Suc de síndria
Drama, Fiction
Spain
In the midst of nature, between tears and laughter, Barbara will heal old wounds and redefine her sexuality after a traumatic event.
About Thirty
Arturo a los 30
Drama, Comedy, Fiction
Argentina
A comedy of errors revolving around a hapless 30-year-old named Arturo and his penchant for indiscretions as the film springs between decades.
The Second Mother
A que horas volta ela?
Drama, Comedy
Brazil
A housekeeper’s life is upended when her bold daughter arrives, challenging class lines and redefining family in modern-day São Paulo.
Quebrante
Documentary, Experimental
Brazil
A poetic 16 mm journey with “the Cave Woman” uncovers the ghosts and geology of Brazil’s Trans-Amazonian Highway.
The Trial
El juicio
Documentary
Argentina, Italy, France, Norway
A tour de force of political filmmaking; a chilling record of the trial of nine representatives of Argentina’s military dictatorship for unlawful detention, torture, and murder.
Father’s Chair
A busca
Drama, Fiction
Brazil
Theo is a successful doctor in the wealthy suburbs of São Paulo. Having always placed his job before his family, he is a failure as both a father and husband. But when his 15-year-old son disappears, selling all of his belongings and leaving town on a newly acquired black stallion, Theo goes to great lengths not only to find his son, but to rediscover himself.
Everybody Leaves
Todos se van
Drama, Fiction, Romance
Colombia, Cuba
A celebration of freedom and a confrontation of the authoritarian Cuban regime of the 1980s, which led to one of the country’s worst economic crises. The film is based on the award-winning novel by Cuban writer Wendy Guerra.
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet
El perro que no calla
Drama, Comedy, Fiction
Argentina
An adventurous and bittersweet cinematic exploration of adulthood, love, loss, and fatherhood in a world rocked by a sudden catastrophe.
Marimbas From Hell
Las marimbas del infierno
Comedy, Fiction, Musical
France, Mexico, Guatemala
Boldly exploring the boundaries of fiction and documentary, up-and-coming Guatemalan filmmaker Julio Hernández Cordón’s (Gasolina) original and entertaining second feature follows three unlikely characters from Guatemala City as they attempt to fuse improbable musical styles.
7 Boxes
7 cajas
Fiction
Paraguay, Spain
Reminiscent of Slumdog Millionare, 7 Boxes follows Víctor as he is offered a chance to deliver 7 boxes with unknown contents in exchange for a quick USD $100, getting himself caught up in a crime he knows nothing about.
My Grandmother's House
La casa de mi abuela
Documentary
Spain
A beautifully constructed documentary that depicts with great subtlety the changing ways in suburban Spain. Adán Aliaga has turned a simple subject into a dashing and fast paced, remarkably candid documentary on family life in Spain, modernization and generational change. A tribute to grandmothers everywhere, filled with painterly images of southeastern Spain and a director’s love for his family.
The Apostate
El apóstata
Drama, Fiction, Comedy
France, Uruguay
An existential comedy about a young man in the increasingly quixotic quest of formally having his name struck from the Catholic church’s baptismal record.
Los Hongos
Fiction, Drama
Colombia
During the day, street artists RAS and Calvin band together with other graffiti artists to paint a tribute to student demonstrators.
The Sleepwalkers
Los sonámbulos
Drama, Fiction
Argentina, Uruguay
Following the path of La Cienega‘s family reunion subgenre, this submission to the Academy Awards® focuses on the pressures and quiet rage that push women to their limits.
A Decent Woman
Los decentes
Drama, Fiction
Austria, Korea (South), Argentina
A housemaid in a gated community on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, embarks on a journey of sexual and mental liberation in a nudist swinger club bordering the high security walls.
My Emptiness and I
Mi vacío y yo
Drama, Fiction
Spain
Working at a Barcelona call center, romantic dreamer Raphi grapples with her gender dysphoria diagnosis. As she chases an elusive image of modern love, surprises and shifts await. A queer film classic.
Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won't Fit Into His Suit
Al motociclista no le cabe la felicidad en el traje
Fiction, Drama, Experimental
Mexico
There he sits proudly on his beautiful motorbike, certain that he alone can explore the jungle. A playful re-enactment with reversed roles that takes aim at colonialism.
Vicenta B
Drama, Fiction
Cuba, France, United States, Colombia, Norway
A gifted Afro-Cuban woman with the unique ability to see into the future finds herself in a crisis when her only son decides to leave the country.
La Suprema
Drama, Fiction
Colombia
Laureana’s uncle will box in a world championship, so she talks the town into watching it live on TV. One problem: they have no electricity nor a TV set. Colombia’s submission to the Academy Awards®.
Miúcha, the Voice of Bossa Nova
Miúcha, a voz da Bossa Nova
Documentary
United States, Brazil, France
Unseen footage, rare recordings, and vibrant animations unveil the hidden story behind the Bossa Nova movement from Miucha’s distinctly female perspective.
Wild Woman
La mujer salvaje
Drama
Cuba
A mother in Havana races against time and public shame on a single day to reclaim her son after scandal and viral violence uproot her life.