SPOTLIGHT FILM SHOWCASE
A
collection of award-winning films, the latest projects from established masters, thought-provoking works from emerging artists, and crowd-pleasing fare. The Spotlight Films Showcase has something for everyone and is a great sampling of what the festival has to offer. AMPARO Dir. Simon Mesa Soto (Colombia / Sweden / Qatar, 95 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama) 3/12 / 8:20 / S8 3/14 / 5:45 / S5
Amparo, a single mother of two, finds out that her son has been drafted during an army raid and will be sent to the front in a notorious war zone near the border. His fate seems sealed. With only a single day left until his departure, Amparo manages to contact a man who offers to alter Elias' files and get him out. With nothing much on her side, she embarks on a race against time to free her son in a society ruled by corruption. Spotlight Films. CHARLOTTE Dir. Simón Franco (Paraguay, 80 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Dramedy) 3/12 / 1:30 / S10 3/16 / 6:30 / S6 Available virtually 3/19
EL MAYOR Dir. Rigoberto López (Cuba, 117 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Historical Drama / War) 3/20 / 3:35 / S6
A historical epic about the life of Major General Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz, a pivotal figure in the Cuban War of Independence, directed by the late, great filmmaker Rigoberto López. Spotlights Films Showcase. LOS MINUTOS NEGROS Dir. Mario Muñoz (Mexico, 96 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Crime / Thriller) 3/18 / 7:20 / S8 3/20 / 8:30 / S7 Available virtually 3/11
In the late 1970s, a group of young cops led by ex-musician turned detective Vicente Rangel will face the darkest minutes of their lives while attempting to catch a serial killer of young girls in a corrupt oil town in the Gulf of Mexico. Starring Leonardo Ortizgris, Sofia Espinosa, and Kristyan Ferrer. Spotlight Films Showcase. LAS MOTITOS Dirs. María Gabriela Vidal, Inés María Barrionuevo (Argentina, 84 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama)
3/12 / 5:20 / S10 3/14 / 9:10 / S7 Available virtually 3/17
A forgotten movie star learns that the director who made her famous will be filming his last film in Paraguay. She and her faithful Taiwanese companion set out on an unusual journey in search of the role of a lifetime-- but in the process they learn so much more about life, friendship, and each other. Spotlight Films Showcase.
Juliana and Lautaro live in a poor neighborhood surrounded by policemen. They are in love but facing an unwanted pregnancy. They don’t know what to do. Who will they turn to in order to avoid illegality and abandonment? Juliana’s mother, Flor, finds out what’s happening and decides to take action. Spotlight Films Showcase.
EL GRAN MOVIMIENTO
OCEAN GIRL
Dir. Kiro Russo (Bolivia / France / Qatar /Switzerland, 85 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama) 3/11 / 9:20 / S8 3/17 / 8:10 / S5
Stunningly shot in the Bolivian mountains, jungles, and in contemporary La Paz, the film follows Elder who arrives in the capital after a seven-day journey seeking to get back his work at a mine. Once in the city, Elder gets a job but his health soon deteriorates. An elderly woman known as Mama Pancha sends him to Max, a mysterious man who resides in the rainforest and occasionally heads to La Paz for work as a street performer. To save Elder, Max performs a series of shamanic rituals that slowly brings the young man back to life. Spotlight Films Showcase. MIS HERMANOS SUEÑAN DESPIERTOS Dir. Claudia Huaiquimilla (Chile, 85 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama) 3/10 / 6:30 / S7 3/20 / 6:25 / S8
Ángel and his younger brother Franco have been incarcerated in a juvenile prison for a year. Despite the difficulties, they have formed a solid group of friends with whom they spend their days sharing dreams of freedom. Everything changes when the arrival of a rebellious young man offers a possible escape: the only door to make those dreams come true. Inspired by many true events, and starring Paulina García (La novia del desierto). Content Warning: Features an assault attempt that may be triggering to viewers. Spotlight Films Showcase.
12
Dir. Djin Sganzerla (Brazil / Japan, 99 min., 2020, English, Japanese, Portuguese w/ English Subtitles, Drama)
3/12 / 5:50 / S8 3/15 / 8:30 / S6 Available virtually 3/18
After relocating to Tokyo, a Brazilian writer begins a new novel, provoked by her experiences in Japan and by one of the last scenes she witnessed in Rio de Janeiro: a female swimmer tearing up the horizon with powerful strokes in the wide, open sea. Those two women apparently share no connection, until their lives start to interfere with one another's, strangely linked through the sea. Hannah, the writer, plunges into a journey of self-discovery in Japan, while Ana, the swimmer in Rio de Janeiro, oddly has her body transformed into some kind of inner Ocean. Spotlight Films Showcase. EL OTRO TOM Dir. Rodrigo Plá, Laura Santullo (Mexico/ USA, 111 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, English, Drama)
3/11 / 7:00 / S8 3/15 / 5:00 / S8 Available virtually 3/20
Elena is a single mother who relies on Social Services. Her son Tom has behavioral issues and is stigmatized at school as a “problem child” in the border city of El Paso, Texas. An absent father further complicates their difficult relationship. Tom is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and prescribed psychiatric medication, but a strange accident alerts his mother as to its side effects. When Elena refuses to continue administering the drugs to Tom, Social Services threaten to remove him from her custody, leading to life-altering decisions. Spotlight Films Showcase.
SDLFF
