26th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Program

The 8th annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase features short films by women and non-binary filmmakers from the U.S.-Mexico border regions of El Paso, Texas, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México.

The Sepulveda family reunites to revive a cherished tradition in honor of their late grandfather. But as they come together, long-held secrets and simmering tensions threaten to unravel their close-knit bonds. The biggest revelation: matriarch Anselma's risky move to help her grandson Matias puts their family restaurant and livelihood at stake, forcing them all to reassess their roles within the family.

Chiara is the matriarch of an Italian-descendant family torn apart. After her youngest son moves out, she decides to go along with her husband Alfredo on his trips as a salesman to the bars of Serra Gaöcha. Their trust in each other breaks down when Chiara finds out about Alfredo's life on the road and he realizes she hides something. A turtle and a deck of cards will put their 50-year relationship to the test.

Three married couples undergoing therapy are summoned by their female psychologist to a meeting. The psychologist won’t be attending the reunion herself, but she will give to them instructions about what they must do. Thus, to the sound of a trumpet (literally), the six protagonists will gradually air their dirty laundry concerning their relationships and bring up issues like taking care of the kids, the different home tasks, money, jealousy and sex, until it all leads to a most unexpected and equally shocking end.

Desi, a 12-year old girl, spends her days dreaming on the beaches of Boca Chica of becoming a famous singer, but her goal is threatened by the insidious future that awaits some of the girls in her town. A future that is perpetruated by some of those closest to her. Only her music can save her. Juxtaposing the realities and expectations of a young girls in the Dominican Republic, Boca Chica shines a light on the insidious child sex trade and the lives it seeks to destroy.

The 1960s. María Margarita is the youngest of four siblings from a family living in a mining town in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Their most special time of the week is Sunday, when they all go to the cinema to enjoy stories that transport them to other worlds. The girl's parents soon realise that the young girl has a very special gift, an almost uncanny ability to retell films. The girl's extraordinary talent will spread throughout the village, changing the fate of her family at the same time that the country is being transformed forever. With standout performances from Academy Award® nominee Bérénice Bejo, BAFTA nominee Daniel Brühl, and multiple-time Goya Award winner Antonio de la Torre, The Movie Teller is a celebration of our capacity to defy even the harshest circumstances, to find love, community, inspiration, and hope where there seems to be none.

Federico and his brother Simón live their adolescence to the fullest until the day Simón dies when he falls from a balcony at a party. While his family environment crumbles before his eyes, Federico tries to live his last weeks of school normally. Unable to mourn, he grows closer to Laura, his brother's ex-girlfriend, with whom he seems to find relief and, above all, love. Together, not only will they live a story far from everything they imagined, but they will finally be able to begin their mourning.

Trapped in a destiny she did not choose, Leni joins her father, Reverend Pearson, in his Evangelical mission. The car is having trouble working, so they need to stop in Gringo´s car repair shop, a man dramatically opposed to faith, who lives with Tapioca, a teenager under his guard. Time drags, a storm is coming and Reverend Pearson is getting obsessed with saving Tapioca´s soul. Leni sees in the power Pearson is exerting on the young man, echoes of her own story. She confronts him for the first time, believing her life will start at that very moment, accepting her destiny.

Celebrate a special section of the Festival showcasing works by filmmakers 19 years or younger. The works screened in this category are eligible for Jury and Audience Awards for Best “Emergencia” Youth Film.

“Hecho en Tejas” is a series of films produced in Texas. The films are eligible for an Audience Award and a Jury Award presented in partnership with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI).

In the not-so-distant future of 2084, Ángel finds himself trapped as a climate migrant in an unspecified smart city, under constant surveillance. Amidst a bleak and oppressive existence, Ángel makes a living by cultivating plants, preserving the fading wisdom of seeds. Within this desolate landscape he crosses paths with Sofia, another climate migrant who works at a recycling facility. Fate intertwines their lives when a chance encounter reveals an unexpected connection: a shared language. Fueling Ángel's longing for human connection and a glimmer of hope, he reaches out to Sofia. Aware of the omnipresent digital monitoring, Ángel decides to communicate with her through the timeless medium of pen and paper, fostering an intimate, clandestine bond. As their secret correspondence unfolds, a friendship grows between Ángel and Sofia as does their desire for liberation from excessive control.

Rosa still lives by her husband’s rules despite the fact that he died six months ago. Her worsening relationship with her son has left her estranged from her only family. When she meets Juan, a divorcee, with whom she shares her passion for tango, she starts to rediscover herself and something starts to change. But before she can move on she's confronted with some uncomfortable truths.

Suellen, a Brazilian toll booth attendant and mother, falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. In doing so, she realizes she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally for a so-called noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest.

The five most ruthless right-hand men in Pinochet’s dictatorship are serving out sentences amounting to several hundred years in a luxury prison at the foot of the Andes, for their crimes against humanity. The place has a pool, gardens and aviaries where they are watched over by guards who feel more like their employees. When one of the inmates gives a TV interview, his declarations fuel an unexpected backlash. The fear of a possible move will make the men do everything in their power to stay put, unraveling delirium and violence.

After a cartel gunman from a small Mexican town is murdered, Sujo, his beloved four-year-old son, is left an orphan and in danger. Sujo narrowly escapes death with the help of his aunt who raises him in the isolated countryside amidst hardship, poverty, and the constant peril associated with his identity. When he enters his teens a rebelliousness awakens in him, and like a rite of passage, he joins the local cartel. As a young man, Sujo attempts to make his life anew, away from the violence of his hometown. however, when his father’s legacy catches up with him, he will come face-to-face with what seems to be his destiny.

Rocío and David are two siblings who meet again after ten years without seeing each other. David has been incarcerated all this time. When he takes advantage of a prison furlough to escape with his sister to Puerto Plata, the tourist town where they used to spend the summer as a family, they reconnect, recovering memories and making up for lost time.