Portraits of Influence
A compelling look at the lives of remarkable individuals who shaped our world through art, politics, science, and social change. Each film reveals the personal journeys behind their enduring impact.
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The Portraits of Influence collection includes the following titles:
Angélica [a tragedy]
Angélica [una tragedia]
Documentary
Spain
Recipient of important awards in Spain and abroad, Angélica Liddell's dramaturgy is considered one of the most avant-garde in contemporary European theater. As Liddell starts working in her new play, director Manuel Fernández-Valdés decides to capture her rehearsal process on camera.
Bécquer and the Witches
Bécquer y las brujas
Documentary
Spain
An exploration of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's "Letters from My Cell" and the witchcraft legends of Trasmoz, blending history, mysticism, and poetry.
Carlos Saura Photographer
Documentary
Germany
Legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura unveils his hidden passion: Photography.
Chillida: The Depth of Air
Chillida: Lo profundo es el aire
Documentary
Spain
A poetic and fast-paced reminiscence of one of the most prominent sculptors of the 20th century.
Dear Werner (Walking on Cinema)
Documentary
Spain
In 2020, a young filmmaker follows in Herzog ́s footsteps in an act of reverence to one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
El Eternauta´s Wife
La mujer de El Eternauta
Documentary
Argentina, Spain
Elsa Sánchez's life is evidence of the cruelty of Argentina’s repressive dictatorship, which took the lives of her husband and family.
Fidel
Documentary
United States
Just 9 years after Cuba's Revolution, filmmaker Saul Landau joined Fidel Castro in Cuba for an unprecedented interview for this classic documentary.
Gabo & Cinema
Gabo y el cine
Documentary
Mexico
A commendable and well documented contribution to the general study of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez’s cultural production. In the voice of his friends and accomplices, the documentary takes us beyond his literary figure and immerses us in his cinematic one.
Goya: The Secret of the Shadows
Goya, el secreto de la sombra
Documentary
Spain
Ramón, a fine art photographer, purchases an anonymous 19th-century portrait in Barcelona. He and the singular experts advising him believe that it is none other than a “Goya in the shadows.”
Joaquín Sorolla: Journeys of the Light
Joaquín Sorolla: viajes de la luz
Documentary
Spain
In 1900, Spanish naturalist painter Joaquín Sorolla was awarded the Grand Prix at The Paris Universal Exhibition. When American billionaire Archer Milton Huntington meets him, he will make the greatest commission of his life: The decoration of the Hispanic Society of America in New York, “Vision of Spain.”
Juan of the Witches
Juan de las Brujas
Documentary
Mexico, United States
An homage to 82-year-old Juan Medellín, a founding member of Mexico City's prestigious Ballet Folklórico de Amalia Hernández.
Karen
Drama, Fiction
Spain
An intimate late-African portrait of Danish colonist Karen Blixen, author of "Out of Africa".
Looking for El Santo
Documentary
Mexico, Cuba
This intimate short documentary reveals the surreal story of Santo's debut in cinema, during the Cuban Revolution.
Magnicides, Ep. 01 -Tupac Amaru
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Tupac Amaru sought peace with Spanish authorities amid abuses against Indians, but his execution failed to end the rebellion he inspired.
Magnicides, Ep. 02 - Bartolina Sisa
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Bartolina Sisa, "Queen of the Inca," organized guerrilla battalions against Spain, but was betrayed and sentenced to hanging and dismemberment.
Magnicides, Ep. 03 - Manuel Dorrego
Documentary, Series
Argentina
A military leader, Manuel Dorrego was a prominent Federalist. His execution intensified Argentina's civil conflicts between Federalists and Unitarians.
Magnicides, Ep. 04 - Emiliano Zapata
Documentary, Series
Argentina
A key leader of the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata symbolized peasant resistance but was betrayed and assassinated, ending the uprising.
Magnicides, Ep. 05 - Juan José Valle
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Peronist officer Juan José Valle led a 1956 uprising against Aramburu's dictatorship but was captured and executed in a massacre.
Magnicides, Ep. 06 - Ernesto Che Guevara
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Che Guevara was a key figure in the Cuban Revolution. Captured in Bolivia and executed, he remains a global icon of resistance and anti-imperialism
Magnicides, Ep. 07 - Salvador Allende
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Salvador Allende was the Chile's first elected Marxist president. He died resisting General Pinochet's military coup under unclear circumstances.
Magnicides, Ep. 08 - Marielle Franco
Documentary, Series
Argentina
Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist Marielle Franco remains a symbol of resistance, a voice for those representation excludes.
Marina Abramovic in Brazil: The Space in Between
Documentary
Brazil
Marina Abramović travels through Brazil in search of personal healing and artistic inspiration, experiencing sacred rituals and revealing her creative process.
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.
Murillo's Last Journey
Murillo, el último viaje
Documentary
Spain
The Sevillian Baroque master painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo underwent a calculated spoliation that scattered most of his work around the world’s top museums. Murillo's Last Journey follows the enthralling journey of one of his most celebrated pieces, “The Young Beggar,” from Paris to Seville in the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth.
Nacho Dean. The Sea Traveller
Nacho Dean. El caminante del mar
Documentary
Spain
Naturalist and explorer Nacho Dean embarks on a swim around the world, warning about ocean conservation and documenting marine ecosystems.
Narciso Yepes. A Heart of Ten Strings
Narciso Yepes, Un corazón de diez cuerdas
Documentary
Spain
Recovering the memory of the genius Narciso Yepes, not only as a great guitar player but as an extraordinary man.
Persistent Woman
Mujer perseverante
Documentary
Argentina
In 1994, the people of the northern Argentina were left without work when mines closed. There, a kolla woman creates an organization of weaving women.
Port of Destiny: Peace
Documentary
United States
This film follows Nobel laureate Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's President, as he pursues peace, battling FARC guerrillas, orchestrating rescues, and facing political consequences.
Prosecutor
Prosecutor
Documentary
Canada
Offering front-row seats to the historic events that will determine whether the International Criminal Court is a groundbreaking new weapon for justice or an idealistic dream.
Red Gringo: American Pop Culture and Cold War in Latin America.
Gringo rojo
Documentary, Musical
Chile
Reminiscent of Searching for Sugarman, the film follows Dean Reed, a North American singer who became a pop idol during the ʼ50s and ʼ60s in Chile and the Americas.
Roberto Clemente
Documentary
United States
Explore the life of Roberto Clemente, the man who broke racial barriers to become baseball’s first Latino superstar.
Seeds: Black Women in Power
Sementes: Mulheres pretas no poder
Documentary
Brazil
The 2018 elections turned into the biggest political uprising led by Black women in Brazil's history, in response to the brutal execution of Marielle Franco.
Tania Libre
Tania libre
Documentary
Cuba, United States, Germany
In a fascinating and novel approach, Lynn Hershman Leeson allows us to eavesdrop on one of the world’s most celebrated—and daring—Cuban artists, Tania Bruguera’s session with Dr. Frank Ochberg, a New York-based psychiatrist and pioneer in post-traumatic stress disorder and the Stockholm syndrome.
Tanja - Up in Arms
Tanja – Tagebuch einer Guerillera
Documentary
Germany
What makes a nice, young middle-class Dutch woman want to join a revolutionary struggle thousands of miles from home?
The Apizaco Shaman
El brujo de Apizaco
Documentary
Mexico
The stormy life of Mexican bullfighter Rodolfo Rodríguez González and his alter ego "THE PANA," who worked as a baker, gravedigger, and bundles loader before becoming a bullfighter.
The Art of Cooking with Fire
Bittor Arginzoniz. Vivir en el silencio
Documentary
Spain
Self-taught grill genius Bittor Arginzoniz shares his sources of inspiration and motivation in his world famous restaurant Asador Etxebarri in Spain.
The Padilla Affair
El Caso Padilla
Documentary
Spain, Cuba
La Habana, 1971: poet Heberto Padilla has just been released from prison and “self-confides” as a counter-revolutionary before the writer’s guild, marking a before and after in the Cuban regime.
The Socialist Dream: Lázaro Cárdenas and the Reconstruction of Post-revolutionary Mexico
El sueño socialista
Documentary
Mexico
In the violent times of a post-revolutionary Mexico, a complex and divided country, the ideas of a man paved the way towards social transformation. Radical, practical, and courageous, Lázaro Cárdenas and a socialist dream shaped the future of a Mexico in reconstruction with their political concepts.
The Sweet Taste of Success
El dulce sabor del éxito
Documentary
Spain
An intimate reflection on the concept of success, with an extraordinary main character and interviews with internationally renowned figures.
They Called Me King Tiger: A Biography of the Chicano Malcolm X
Me llamaban el Rey Tigre
Documentary
Mexico
A balanced view of Reies López Tijerina, who inspired Mexican-American college students of the late 1960s and early 1970s to start the Chicano Civil Rights Movement that stressed ethnic pride, ethnic studies, and opposition to police brutality.
Velázquez, Art and Power
Velázquez, el poder y el arte
Documentary
Spain
Who was Diego Velázquez? Why his obsession with nobility? Was his painting an end or an instrument? And above all: why did he hide his own life?
Vicenta
Animation, Documentary
Argentina
A film as necessary as it is beautiful, Vicenta explores the struggle for the right to a legal, safe, and free abortion.
Willie Velasquez: Your Vote is Your Voice
Documentary
United States
Willie Vleasquez examines obstacles Latinos had to overcome to obtain representation and addresses issues facing Latinos today.
Zurita, You Will See Not to See
Zurita, verás no ver
Documentary
Chile
National Literature Award Laureate Raúl Zurita is not only one of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial living poets; he is also a rocker, a human rights activist, a public figure, and a tireless struggler. This documentary is an account of his travels and daily life, as he reflects on topics such as state terrorism and death.