InFocus: Latinx & Hispanic Cinema Shorts II – Generational Echoes

September 26 · 6:15 pm

Virtual Event


Directed by Miguel Angel Caballero, Kate Romero, Jon Ayon, Gabriela Ortega, Fernanda Belmar, Sebastian Torres Greene, Manuel Del Valle, Gustavo Ribeiro

, Mexico, USA, Brazil, 87 min.


NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival
September 25-26, 2020
Los Angeles, CA

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) co-host a virtual edition of the annual NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) Film Festival InFocus: Latinx & Hispanic Cinema event, powered by Seed&Spark. Latin Reel joins this year for the first time as Community Collaborator.

A selection of narrative and documentary films centered on the relationships between generations and the meaningful effects that they have on one another. The program includes the story of a man visiting his deceased father’s partner, a time traveling woman grappling with her younger and older selves, a group of millennials delving into the history of the El Mozote massacre, one woman’s portrait of her father, parents facing the risks of traveling undocumented to see their daughter after an accident, a prehistoric family drama, and a young boy’s relationship with a grandfather whose reality is starting to slip away from him.

ACUITZERAMO
Directed by: Miguel Angel Caballero
16 Mins | USA, Mexico

Salvador, a gay Mexican elder who has lost his partner of 15 years, calls his partner's estranged son, Anthony, to tell him of his father's passing. Unaware of their relationship, Anthony travels from Chicago to a small rural town in Mexico to attend his father's funeral. As family secrets are exposed, identities and perceptions are challenged.

CHRONOLOGY
Directed by: Kate Romero
15 Mins | USA

A time travel drama about one woman forced to confront her different selves over time. When her 16-year-old self rebels against the rules, a struggle for control ensues.

MANZANAL
Directed by: Jon Ayon
7 Mins | USA

Nearly 40 years later, 12 Latinx millennials bear witness to Rufina Amaya's grave testimony about what happened at El Mozote.

PAPI
Directed by: Gabriela Ortega
7 Mins | USA

A daughter documents her youthful father as he introduces her to the world of 4x4 Overlanding travels. Tracing him from the passenger seat, she uses memory and a special day at the beach in the Dominican Republic to capture her father's vibrant, at times performative, and always loving, spirit.

UNDOCUMENTED
Directed by: Fernanda Belmar
9 Mins | USA

A phone call informs the Gómez family, who lives in California, that their oldest daughter has had a severe car accident in New York. Ana, Luis and their youngest daughter Alejandra must find the safest and fastest way to cross the country without getting separated or deported.

NAJHUM
Directed by: Sebastian Torres Greene and Manuel Del Valle
17 Mins | Mexico

A prehistoric family's desperate search for a mythical source of life turns into tragedy when the egos and obsessions of their male members rise to the surface.

NAPO
Directed by: Gustavo Ribeiro
16 Mins | Brazil

John, unable to understand the illness that drives his grandfather between past and present states, stumbles into an old album full of photographs and then let the images guide his imagination, transforming his grandpa's memories into drawing interpretations.

Suggested screening time: September 26th at 6:15pm PT
Live Filmmaker Q&A: September 26th at 8:00pm PT