Spotlight film showcase

Acollection 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

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.

EL GRAN MOVIMIENTO

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. 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

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.

OCEAN GIRL

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.

UNA PELÍCULA SOBRE PAREJAS

Dirs. Natalia Cabral, Oriol Estrada (Dominican Republic, 89 min., 2021, Catalan, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Dramedy / Relationships)

3/16 / 5:00/ S8 3/20 / 4:15 / S5

Natalia and Oriol are a couple of filmmakers in their thirties who have a young daughter named Lía. They decide to make a film about couples and relationships, and along the way realize there's work to be done in their own partnership.

Spotlights Films Showcase.

PLAZA CATEDRAL

Dir. Abner Benaim (Panama / Mexico / Colombia, 94 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama) 3/12 / 7:20 /S10 3/20 / 8:15 / S8

Ilse Salas stars in this film as Alicia, a grieving mother who has gone through an inexplicable tragedy. When a 13 year old boy named Chief enters her life, she’ll find a new lease on life, and more importantly, force her to question her own circumstances.

Spotlight Films Showcase.

PODEROSO VICTORIA

Dir. Raúl Ramón (Mexico, 117 min., 2022, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama / Adventure) 3/15 / 7:15 / S8 3/19 / 7:00 / S6

La Esperanza, a town in the Northern Mexican desert, receives the devastating news that their mine will be shut-down along with their railroad service. Facing the risk of being cut off from civilization, the townsfolk unite under the leadership of a young mechanic with big dreams to execute a wild idea-- they will build their own steam train. Starring Gerardo Oñate, Damián Alcázar, Joaquín Cosío, Édgar Vivar, Adal Ramones, Lalo España, Roberto Sosa, and Said Sandoval among many others. Spotlight Films Showcase.

LAS VACACIONES DE HILDA

Dir. Agustín Banchero (Uruguay, 88 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English Subtitles, Drama) 3/14 / 8:30 / S6

Available virtually 3/10

Hilda, a lonely woman living in the town of Conception, Uruguay, intentionally shatters any kind of emotional bond with the people around her. As her eldest son announces a visit, she hurries to improve her house and her own appearance, but a last-minute cancellation of the visit pushes her into a tailspin, reliving a bitter summer holiday from long ago. Spotlight Films Showcase.

YO Y LAS BESTIAS

3/17 / 8:25 / S6 3/19 / 8:15 / S5 Dir. Nico Manzano (Venezuela, 78 min., 2021, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Dramedy)

An alternative rock band’s singer-guitarist starts a solo career, seeking inspiration as Venezuela’s crisis roils, with the help of “The Beasts”, two mysterious masked beings. Spotlight Films Showcase.

EL OLVIDO QUE SEREMOS

Dir. Fernando Trueba (Colombia, 136 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Drama) 3/10 / 8:35 / S6 3/13/ 6:40 / S5

EL OLVIDO QUE SEREMOS describes the life of Héctor Abad Gómez (Javier Cámara), a doctor and a human rights activist concerned with both his own children and the children of the underprivileged classes in the violent 1970s in Medellin, Colombia. At his home, you can breathe the vitality and creativity that are the result of a progressive education based on tolerance and love. But driven by sadness and rage when a terrible cancer takes the life of one of his daughters, Héctor devotes himself to the social and political causes of the time, without regard to his personal safety. This is an intimate story seen through the eyes of his only son, Héctor Abad Facilionce, one of the most outstanding writers in contemporary Colombia. Spotlight Films Showcase.

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