Cinema Studies
A selection of independent, experimental, classic, and unconventional films that celebrates Latin American cinema and the art of filmmaking. Featuring both well-known and films to be discovered, these titles explore the region's cinematic heritage.
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The Cinema Studies collection includes the following titles:
A Film About Couples
Una película sobre parejas
Fiction, Drama, Comedy
Dominican Republic
Equal parts a candid exposition of the cinematic industry and a joyful exploration of marriage.
A Strange Path
Estranho Caminho
Drama, Fiction
Brazil
A young filmmaker returns to his hometown and attempts to reconnect with his father as the pandemic rapidly accelerates across Brazil.
A Useful Life
La vida útil
Drama, Fiction
Uruguay, Spain
An art film enthusiast fears that decrease in attendance will force the Uruguayan Cinematheque to close. To save it, Jorge enters a new world and is exposed to an unknown passion. A modern classic film.
Andrés Reads and Writes
Andrés lee i escribe
Drama, Fiction, Romance
Chile
Andrés Centeno, a young factory worker, realizes that although he has lost its way and forgotten his teenage dreams, it’s still not to late.
Angel Face
Carita de Cielo
Fiction, Comedy, Romance, Musical
Mexico
A singular comedy of errors, this Mexican classic follows Lupe as she pretends to be a thief to infiltrate a criminal cell that is threatening her father.
Before Opening Night
Antes del estreno
Drama, Fiction, Romance
Argentina
Writer-director Santiago Giralt gives us elements of Woody Allen’s nervous comedy and Cassavetes’ melodramatic roller coaster in a storm of egos that takes place on one decisive weekend in the lives of Juana, a popular actress about to star in an important theater production, and her husband Roman, a director suffering from writer’s block.
Behind the Scenes: La Llorona
Documentary
Mexico
The story behind the filming of the iconic film: La Llorona (1933).
Black Bread
Pa negre
Drama, Fiction, Thriller
Spain
The Spanish selection for the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, Black Bread is set in the war-ravaged Catalan countryside of the early 1940s where a local man is accused of murder and his son sets out to find the truth.
Brickmakers (Chircales)
Chircales
Documentary, Classic
Colombia
An essential and highly influential classic, Chircales is the product of two of the most prominent and rebellious voices of the New Latin American Cinema: Marta Rodríguez and Jorge Silva.
Carlos Saura Photographer
Documentary
Germany
Legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura unveils his hidden passion: Photography.
City of God - Ten Years Later
Cidade de deus -10 anos depois
Documentary
Brazil
An investigation into the fate of the young actors who participated in the award winning film City of God, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, featuring actress Alice Braga (Queen of the South) and musician and actor Seu Jorge, among others.
Correspondence
Correspondencia
Documentary
Spain, Chile
From Spain to Chile, award-winning film directors correspond and share their reflections about film, family, heritage, and maternity.
Craft
Riscado
Drama, Fiction
Brazil
Bianca manages a precarious living as a talented but underemployed actress troubled by the belief that she has missed her big break. But an audition leads to a rare opportunity.
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.
Defect
La tara
Documentary, Experimental
Argentina, Spain
A light lens into deep history led by the discovery of the soundtrack to Argentina's sole surrealist film, the 1936 “Tararira: Today's Bohemia.”
El Amparo
El amparo
Drama, Fiction, Thriller
Colombia, Venezuela
In the Venezuelan town of El Amparo, near the border with Colombia, a group of fishermen sets off down the Aruca River. But only two men return, their friends shot down by the military, who claim they were clandestine guerrillas on a mission.
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.
Following Nazarin
Tras Nazarín
Documentary
Spain
A journey through memory accompanied by Buñuel’s photographs taken during the scouting of locations for “Nazarín."
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.
I Travel Because I Have to I Come Back Because I Love You
Viajo porque preciso, volto porque te amo
Documentary, Experimental, Romance, Fiction
Brazil
In this award-winning and hauntingly melancholic film, geologist José Renato travels to Sertão, an isolated region in Northeastern Brazil, to assess possible routes for a canal. For many, the canal will be a source of hope, but for those living on its direct course it only means requisitions, departure, and loss.
In a Whisper
A media voz
Documentary
Spain, France, Switzerland, Cuba
Filmmakers and best friends since childhood, both part of the Cuban diaspora, share how they found themselves and each other in a foreign land.
Infernal Dolls
Muñecos infernales
Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction, Classic
Mexico
In this remastered Mexican classic, four men are cursed by a voodoo priest for stealing a sacred idol from his temple.
La Llorona
Fiction, Classic, Thriller, Drama
Mexico
A new restoration of Mexico's pioneering horror sound film, La Llorona is a romantic melodrama with expressionist and supernatural elements based on the chilling tale of the ‘wailing woman’.
La Soledad
La soledad
Drama, Fiction
Venezuela, Canada, Italy
Handyman José lives with his family in La Soledad, a ramshackle villa located in what was once among Caracas’ most affluent neighborhoods. Might a fabled treasure supposedly hidden in La Soledad’s walls offer José’s family a chance at a better life?
La Yuma
Drama, Fiction
Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain
Nicaragua’s first full-length feature in 20 years, La Yuma tells the story of a young woman who dreams of transcending her bleak life in the slums of Managua by becoming a boxer.
Leading Actor
El actor principal
Drama, Fiction
Mexico, Argentina
Luis, an amateur actor, forgoes his movie premiere at a renowned festival to be with Azra, a chambermaid from Albania with an enigmatic scar.
Left Entranced
Documentary
Brazil
A cinematographic opera, a musical version of the events that shook Brazil and the political left in 2016.
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.
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.
Machuca
Drama, Fiction, Classic
Chile, Spain
A political and emotionally charged story, experienced by two 11-year-old boys coming from opposite ends of the social spectrum in the days leading up to the military coup in Chile.
Menina Casilda
Drama, Comedy, Fiction
Spain
During the lockdown in Madrid, an unemployed actor, Diego, kidnaps Sara, a law student. She will be his audience…
Mute Fire
Pirotecnia
Documentary
Colombia
A personal essay that examines the relationship between film footage, the events of the war in Colombia, family history, and the origins of cinema in Colombia.
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.
Neighborhood Cinemas
Cines de video
Documentary
Peru
Elder Peruvian cinema workers screen a movie in which they are the protagonists, sharing intimate tales from their past in old theaters.
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?
Ninosca
Documentary
Sweden
The story of a woman who left her abusive husband and set off into the world with the dream of a simple life, seeking a way to support her family.
Panther Women
Las mujeres panteras
Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Classic
Mexico
Panther women are worshipers of Satan and perform rituals in their honor and sacrifice. The fighters will face them up and down the ring.
Perdida
Documentary
Mexico
After being told that her family had made some of the worst films in the history of Mexican cinema, Viviana García Besné unearths 100 years of cinematic legacy.
Rompiente
Drama, Fiction
Argentina
It’s the first day shooting a low-budget film. The director tries to shoot a sex scene, secretly keeping the camera running between takes, to capture brief moments of intimacy.
Santo vs. the Evil Brain
Santo contra Cerebro del Mal
Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Classic
Mexico, Cuba
In this cult classic from El Santo's saga, an undercover police officer is kidnapped by Dr. Campos who brainwashes him into becoming a member of his gang.
Santo vs. the Infernal Men
Santo contra Hombres Infernales
Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, Classic
Mexico
El Santo helps an undercover agent take down a gang of drug smugglers in this new restauration of the Mexican cult classic.
Santo vs. the Riders of Terror
Santo contra los Jinetes del Terror
Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Classic
Mexico
A new restoration of the cult classic film featuring El Santo. A group of violent lepers escape from a sanatorium unleashing the terror on the inhabitants who have no choice but to turn to El Santo to save them.
Searching for Oscar
En busca del Óscar
Documentary
A film critic and President of the Spanish Association of Film Critics, Óscar Peyrou has a peculiar method for reviews: instead of seeing films, he critiques them by their posters.
Silent Witnesses
Mudos testigos
Experimental, Drama, Documentary, Romance
Colombia, France
An imaginary trek through the history of Colombia (and its cinema) during the first half of the 20th century, using footage of Colombian silent film.
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.
Spain in Two Trenches: The Civil War in Color
Documentary
Spain
The extraordinary and moving story of the convulsive years of the Spanish Civil War (1935-1939) is explained as never seen before thanks to the coloring and restoration of 150,000 frames.
Stigmata
Estigmas
Drama, Fiction, Experimental
Spain
Told by a hulking, gentle giant of a man, Stigmata follows Bruno as he wakes up one morning bleeding from mysterious wounds on his hands. A hauntingly beautiful and lyrical tale based on the Italian cult graphic novel by Lorenzo Mattotti and Claudio Piersanti.
Stories Our Cinema Did (Not) Tell
Histórias que nosso cinema (nāo) contava
Documentary
Brazil
A review of the military dictatorship in Brazil told only through images and sounds from pornochanchada films, a genre of erotic film that was the most popular during that period.
Stronger than Love
Mas fuerte que el amor
Fiction, Drama, Romance
Mexico, Cuba
Newly restored, this Mexican clasic melodrama and social critique of class tensions follows a humble man's fight to be accepted by the upper class after making millions.
Swing and Sway
Vai e vem
Documentary, Experimental
United States, Brazil
Against the backdrop of a tumultuous 2020 marked by pandemics, elections, and social upheavals, the two friends embark on a thought-provoking exploration of feminist cinematic expression and the female experience.
Take Me in Your Arms
Llévame en tus brazos
Fiction, Drama, Musical, Romance
Mexico
One of the most important melodramas of the decade where a fishing-village girl sacrifices her reputation to the local banker to protect her family. Newly restored!
The Bat Woman
La mujer murciélago
Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction, Classic
Mexico
A new restoration of a fascinating and little-known Mexican entry in the Batman superhero canon.
The Calm After The Storm
Como el cielo después de llover
Documentary
Argentina, Colombia
After studying abroad, Mercedes returns to her native city to join her father, acclaimed filmmaker and writer Victor Gaviria (The Rose Seller), in the shooting of his next film
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.
The Film Justifies the Means
El film justifica los medios
Documentary
Colombia
Inside our editing rooms are images by filmmakers revealing a country in conflict. Five decades later we see a memory that refuses to disappear.
The Phantom of the Monastery
El fantasma del convento
Fiction, Drama, Classic, Thriller
Mexico
The sexual tension between a trio of friends is being punished by the super natural experiences at an abandoned convent.
The Queen of the Lizards
La reina de los lagartos
Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy, Fiction
Spain
The most groundbreaking love story of recent Spanish cinema stars a single mother and an alien.
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.
The Territories
Los territorios
Documentary
Argentina, Brazil
An engrossing exploration into what it means to be a journalist, the film is about how we approach the conflicts and the role the press plays in times of fake news.
The Welles Raft
A jangada de Welles
Documentary
Brazil
During Orson Welles' filming of It's All True in Brazil, a fishermen's raft vanishes at sea, evoking memories of dictatorship, WWII, and labor rights battles.
This is Cristina
Ella es Cristina
Comedy, Drama, Fiction
Chile
A Chilean generational comedy produced by Salma Hayek and directed by the multitalented Gonzalo Maza, screenwriter of A Fantastic Woman and Gloria.
Time Theorem
Teorema de tiempo
Documentary
Mexico
Years after the death of my grandmother Anita, I found thousands of photographs and hundreds of home movies. The images revealed their secret profession as amateur filmmakers.
Timecode
Drama, Comedy, Fiction
Spain
Luna and Diego are the parking lot security guards. Diego does the night shift, and Luna works by day.
Uncertain Journey
Camino incierto
Documentary
Spain
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pedro Costa, Manoel de Oliveira, Luis Miñarro, and Pablo García Pérez de Lara share images, sounds, and words as they walk the line where life meets film.
Untouched
Sombra verde
Fiction, Drama, Romance, Adventure
Mexico
A romance set in the jungle around Veracruz, where a scientist searches for barbasco roots. Lost in the interior, he meets a machete-wielding stranger and his beautiful daughter.
Urgent Love
Amor urgente
Comedy, Fiction, Romance
Argentina
Fresh and endearing, Urgent Love uses highly original photography and exceptional artwork to create the playful world where Agustina and Pedro fall in love. Everything is intentionally exposed in this subtle, intelligent, and entertaining comedy that dares to be different.
Video-Dérives: Sol
Video-dérives: Sol
Documentary, Experimental
Spain
An exploration of how citizens register images during the biggest social protests in Spain.
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.
We Need It Yesterday
Para ayer
Fiction, Comedy
Spain
An emerging production company is ready to do whatever it takes in order to get the job from an award-winning advertising agency.
With You, With You and Without Me
Contigo, contigo y sin mi
Documentary, Drama, Comedy, Animation, Romance
Spain
Amaya reflects on four love relationships over 20 years, blending documentary and animation to explore love, guilt, and evolution of relationships.
Woody and Woody
Fiction, Animation, Comedy
Spain
A young Woody Allen meets an old Woody Allen having a drink in a bar. A great dialogue begins.