Each year, the Tribeca Film Festival rounds up some of the best films across the globe and shares it with distinguished cinephiles. Founded by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal in 1988, the festival reportedly attracts three million people and creates over $600 million in revenue. This year, there were several films with an emphasis on Hispanic/Latino culture, actors, and stories.
Here are some of the four favorites:
1. GüEROS: Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, GüEROS is a Spanish-language film that boasts a black-and-white view of Mexico City during a student strike. "A months-long student strike at the National University throws roommates Sombra and Santos into a droll sort of limbo in their shabby apartment in Mexico City, whiling away the hours pining for the girl from the pirate radio show and tricking their neighbor’s daughter into helping them steal electricity," shares Ian Hollander to the festival. "Their idiosyncratic routine is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Sombra’s teenage brother, Tomás, who has been exiled from his home by their mother following an incident involving a baby and a water balloon. The trio sets out on a road trip in search of Tomás’s hero, fabled folk-rock star Epigmenio Cruz, traversing across the city through perilous slums and the rebellious halls of the university to the ritzy nightlife downtown."
2. Mala Mala: Producer and director Dan Sickles dived into the trans community of Puerto Rico in his new film. "In a celebration of the trans community in Puerto Rico, the fissure between internal and external is an ever-present battle," explains Liza Bomnitz to the Tribeca Film Festival. "A unique exploration of self-discovery and activism, featuring a diverse collection of subjects that include LGBTQ advocates, business owners, sex workers, and a boisterous group of drag performers who call themselves The Doll House, Mala Mala portrays a fight for personal and community acceptance paved with triumphant highs and devastating lows. Through riveting cinematography that encapsulates the candy-colored, vivacious personalities as well as their frequently dark personal experiences, directors Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles dynamically present the passion and hardships reflective of this distinctively binary human experience."
3. Manos Sucias: Colombia and cocaine trafficking are notoriously intertwined and that's exactly what director Josef Wladyka focused on for his recent film, which was produced by Spike Lee. "Towing a submerged torpedo in the wake of their battered fishing boat, ‘Jacobo,’ a desperate fisherman and Delio, a naive kid, embark on a journey trafficking millions of dollars of cocaine up the Pacific coast of Colombia," write Holly Voges. "While Jacobo is a seasoned trafficker, young Delio is unprepared for the grim reality. Shot entirely on location—in areas that bear the indelible scars of drug trafficking and guerrilla warfare—director Josef Kubota Wladyka establishes a sense of place with meticulous sensitivity, capturing the visceral paradox of incredible vibrancy yet devastating poverty which permeate this war-torn region. Refusing to glamorize the drug trade, Manos Sucias instead offers a rare glimpse of its devastating effects."
4. Maravilla: Juan Pablo Cadaveira chronicled the life of Argentine professional boxer Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez in his recent film, Maravilla. "Sergio ‘Maravilla’ Martinez’s fearlessness and tenacity has earned him both adulation and disdain in the world of boxing," writes Dan Hunt. "Emerging from rural Argentina, his career has been marred by injury, finances, and political favoritism within the World Boxing Council. A true underdog story, Maravilla follows Martinez as he sets out to reclaim the Middleweight title that was taken from him in 2011 by the more popular Julio Chavez, Jr. amid a cloud of controversy. With stunning access, director Juan Cadaveira follows Martinez through endless hurdles, exposing the overtly political nature of boxing. Focusing on the rise of Martinez from penniless amateur to world champion, Maravilla offers an intimate and unflinching look at the business of boxing and celebrity, unwavering in its hope for true sportsmanship."
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