This year’s twenty-first Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF21) will kick off on Wednesday, May 2nd, with the drama/comedy EL ÚLTIMO TRAJE (THE LAST SUIT), directed by Pablo Solarz and starring Miguel Ángel Solá. Abraham Bursztein (Solá), an 88-year old Jewish tailor, leaves Buenos Aires for Poland to try to find the man who saved him from a certain death after surviving Auschwitz. Escaping from his family who wants to put him in a nursing home, after more than seven decades with no news from him, Abraham sets out to find his old friend and fulfill his promise of returning one day to tell him all about the life he had thanks to his friend’s courage. THE LAST SUIT has won numerous awards, including the Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, and Audience Awards at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and Miami International Film Festival.
On closing night, starting at 7 p.m., May 6th at AFS Cinema, CLAIFF will present this year’s festival winners, followed by a screening of KAYAK TO KLEMTU, with director Zoe Hopkins in attendance. Zoe is an indigenous filmmaker whose first short film premiered at Sundance International Film Festival, and she has since gone on to critical acclaim. Her new film is a story about a 14-year-old girl kayaking the Inside Passage to protest a proposed oil pipeline that would damage her home. One day after KAYAK TO KLEMTU was filmed, the inevitable happened, and Zoe’s home community of Bella Bella was devastated by an oil spill. KAYAK TO KLEMTU premiered at the 2017 imagineNATIVE film festival, winning the coveted Audience Award. We are thrilled that Zoe will be joining us for the screening and a Q&A after the film.
“It’s an annual challenge and delight to coordinate the team who selects all the films and videos that audiences will enjoy at the festival,” said festival director Jean Lauer, “and I’m proud of how it has all come together. We’re looking forward to welcoming new and returning guests to the screenings and events, including the screenwriter and director Zoe Hopkins, some of whose work we’ve shown previously. We’re honored to host Zoe as a guest and jury member for our international Narrative and Documentary Feature Competitions, along with all the guests who will be joining us from Texas and from all over the Americas, in anticipation of celebrating the multiplicity of voices and artists that the selection represents.”
The twenty-first Cine Las Americas International Film Festival will take place May 2 to 6, 2018, in Austin, Texas,. Feature films, short films, and music videos, highlighting a diversity of themes, genres, and styles characteristic of contemporary national and international cinema trends will be presented at three primary partnership venues: AFS Cinema (6406 N I-35 Suite 3100); The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (600 River St.); and MASS Gallery (507 Calles St. Suite 108). Films are presented in English or with English subtitles (if English is not the original language).
Official Selection for the 21st Annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
NEW RELEASES
OPENING NIGHT: El último traje (The Last Suit), Dir. Pablo Solarz, Spain/Argentina
CLOSING NIGHT: Kayak to Klemtu, Dir. Zoe Hopkins, Canada
Additional New Release Titles
Arábia (Araby), Dirs. João Dumans & Affonso Uchoa, Brazil
Cocote, Dir. Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, Dominican Republic
El vendedor de orquídeas (The Orchid Seller), Dir. Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela/Mexico
Estiu 1993 (Summer 1993), Dir. Carla Simón, Spain
Gringo Rojo (Red Gringo), Dir. Miguel Ángel Vidaurre, Chile
La memoria de mi padre (My Father’s Memory), Dir. Rodrigo Bacigalupe Lazo, Chile
Las hijas de Abril (April’s Daughter), Dir. Michel Franco, Mexico
Los versos del olvido (Oblivion Verses), Dir. Alireza Khatami, France/The Netherlands/ Germany/Chile
Mi mejor amigo (My Best Friend), Dir. Martín Deus, Argentina
Nadie (Nobody), Dir. Miguel Coyula, Cuba
Niñas araña (Spider Thieves), Dir. Guillermo Helo, Chile
Pariente (Guilty Men), Dir. Iván D. Gaona, Colombia
Zama, Dir. Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/Brazil/Spain/France/The Netherlands/Mexico/ Portugal/USA
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
El vigilante (The Night Watch), Dir. Diego Ros, Mexico
Jovens Infelizes ou Um Homem que Grita Não é Um Urso que Dança (Young and Miserable or a Man Screaming Is Not a Dancing Bear), Dir. Thiago B. Mendonça, Brazil
Marisa en los bosques (Marisa in the Woods), Dir. Antonio Morales, Spain
Tourments d’amour (Torments of Love), Dir. Caroline Jules, France/Guadeloupe/French West Indies
Vigilia (Being Awake), Dir. Julieta Noemí Ledesma, Argentina/Uruguay
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
52 Segundos (52 Seconds), Dir. Javier Andrade, Ecuador
El proyecto (The project), Dir. Alejandro Alonso, Cuba
Estado de Exceção (State of Exception), Dir. Jason O’Hara, Brazil/Canada
My Bolivia, Remembering What I Never Knew, Dir. Rick Tejada-Flores, USA/Bolivia
Nada queda sino nuestra ternura (Nothing Is Left but Our Tenderness), Dir. Sébastien Jallade, Peru
HECHO EN TEJAS
Feature Film
A Strike and an Uprising (in Texas), Dir. Anne Lewis, USA
Short Films
Atmahaú Pakmát, Dir. Cameron G. Quevedo, USA
Autopista Norte (North Highway), Dir. Andrés F. Torres, USA
Calling, Dir. Artemis Anastasiadou, USA
Hacia el sol (Towards the Sun), Dir. Monica Santis, UK/USA
Hakla (Stammer), Dir. Tania Romero, USA
Retornados (The Returned), Dirs. Sarah M Kuck & Meredith Hoffman, Honduras/USA
The Allied King, Dir. Jason Outenreath, Mexico/USA
NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION
Capacocha, Dir. Tomás Pernich, Argentina
La hora de la merienda (Teatime), Dir. Alba González de Molina, Spain
La suerte del salao (Unlucky’s Luck), Dir. Felipe Holguín Caro, Colombia
Macanao, Dir. Clarissa Duque, Venezuela
My Soul is Old, Dir. Claudia González-Rubio, Mexico
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION
Abigail, Dirs. Isabel Penoni & Valentina Homem, Brazil
Den Himmel Berühren (Touch the Sky), Dir. Rosa Baches, Spain/Germany
Palenque, Dir. Sebastián Pinzón Silva, Colombia
Sigo acá (I’m Still Here), Dir. Tana Gilbert, Chile
Umunhum, Dirs. Andy Miller & Robin Moore, USA
AMBULANTE SHOWCASE
Feature Films
Batallas íntimas (Intimate Battles), Dir. Lucía Gajá, Mexico
El sembrador (The Sower), Dir. Melissa Elizondo, Mexico
Mi vida dentro (My Life Inside), Dir. Lucía Gajá, Mexico
Short Film
Nos faltan (Missing), Dirs. Lucía Gajá & Emilio Ramos, Mexico
FEMME FRONTERA SHOWCASE
Child, Bride, Mother: Nigeria, Dirs. Stephanie Sinclair & Nichole Sobecki, Nigeria
Do not Come to Europe, Dirs. Minna Lundberg, Hanna Pousette & Pontus Joneström, Sweden/Uganda
Filip, Dir. Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, Sweden
That Day Will Come, Dir. Sarah Hope, USA
Raven, Dir. Razelle Benally, USA
We Did not Fall from the Sky, Dirs. Tabs Breese & Georgia Oakley, India/UK
Windows, Dir. Maru Buendia-Senties, USA
OFFICIAL SELECTION, PANORAMA
Feature Films
Abrazos imborrables (Unforgettable Hugs), Dir. Pablo Hadis, Argentina
Ceux qui viendront, l’entendront (Those Who Come, Will Hear), Dir. Simon Plouffe, Canada
El reino de la Sirena (The Mermaid Kingdom), Dir. Luis Rincón, Dir. Mexico
Jeffrey, Dir. Yanillys Perez, Dominican Republic/France
La selva negra (The Modern Jungle), Dirs. Charles Fairbanks & Saul Kak, Mexico/USA
Olancho, Dirs. Chris Valdes & Ted Griswold, Honduras/USA
Out of State, Dir. Ciara Lacy, USA
Por los camiones del sur (On Southern Buses), Dirs. Sven Kirschlager & Sirio Magnabosco, Germany/Mexico
Si yo muero primero (If I Die First), Dir. Rodolfo Muñoz, Ecuador
Ukamau y Ké (That’s how It Is, and What!), Dir. Andrés Ramírez, Ecuador/Bolivia
Short Films
2 Spirit Dreamcatcher Dot Com, Dir. Thirza Cuthand, Canada
Beneath the Trees, Dir. Crystal Avila, USA
Casting in Jaguey Grande, Dir. Thomas Winston, Cuba/USA
DACAmented, Dir. St. Clair Detrick-Jules, USA
Detroit’s Rivera, Dir. Julio Ramos, USA
Gifts of Silver, Dir. Eddie Frost, Chile/UK
Kat Waj, Dir. Teresa Jiménez, Guatemala
Kitci Nehirowiskwew (The Great Atikamekw Lady), Dir. Sipi Flamand, Canada
Lecciones de vuelo (Flying Lessons), Dir. Patricio Pino Hernández, Chile
Mariah ¡qué baile! (Dance, Mariah!), Dirs. Anita Abbasi & Martin Baena, Canada
Merê, Dir. Urânia Munzanzu, Brazil
Nacimientos (Giving Birth), Dir. Analicia López, Canada/Panama
Nan Isht Aiokpachi (The Gift), Dir. Steven Paul Judd, USA
Ni una sola línea (Not Even a Line), Dir. Víctor E.D. Somoza, Spain
Poliangular, Dir. Alexandra Castellanos Solís, Mexico
Polvo de estrellas (Stardust), Dir. Aldo Sotelo Lázaro, Mexico
Porgies & Bass, Dir. Thomas Barnes, USA
Taller protegido nº19 (Protected Workshop #19), Dirs. Danielle Hebscher & Fernando De Negro, Canada/Argentina
Tengo talent (Dance with Your Heart), Dir. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Cuba/USA
MUSIC VIDEOS
Competition Line-up
Barlovento by Bairoa, Dir. Juanchi González, Puerto Rico
Black Lipstick by Chicano Batman, Dir. Bernabé Bolaños, USA
Campesino by Quitapenas, Dir. Shireen Alihaji, USA
No Regreso by Combo Chimbita, Dir. Hugo Rubiano, USA/Colombia
Sobrenatural by Jassiel, Dir. Vadim Lasca, Venezuela
Official Selection, Non-competition Line-up
All Nations Rise by Lyla June, Dir. Lyla June Johnston, USA
Gospel No. 1 by Shireen Alihaji, Rene Pacheco, Andrew Ramirez, Crystal Cerecedes, Jonathan Rivera & Art Zavala Jr., Dirs. Shireen Alihaji & Brandy Young, USA
Make It Right (Dile) by Olmeca, Dir. Olmeca, USA
Marea de Lumbre (Tide of the Flame) by La Chamba, Dir. Luis Horacio Pineda, USA
Never Been Alone by El Bles, Dir. Giovany Revelle, USA
Special Presentation, Videos by @stereosonico
Back Again by Lemarroy, Dir. Andres Ibañez Diaz Infante, Mexico
Blueboy by Subdivision, Dirs. Andres Ibañez Diaz Infante & Stacy Perskie, Mexico
Como quisiera by MonteNegro, Dir. Andres Ibañez Diaz Infante, USA
Todavía by Matisse, Dir. Andres Ibañez Diaz Infante, Mexico
Vía Láctea by Zoe, Dirs. Andres Ibañez Diaz Infante & Stacy Perskie, Mexico
EMERGENCIA YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL
Special Presentations
A World in Motion, PHS Productions, Dirs. Khue Tran, Makayla Moore & An Nguyen, Pflugerville, TX, USA
Latinitas Video, Latinitas Magazine, Austin, TX, USA
The Trail, Creative Action Youth Cinema Collective, YCC Group Project, Austin, TX, USA
YouthCam Student PSA Contest, 1st-Place Award Winners, Various Travis County High Schools, TX, USA
Emergencia, Competition Lineup (Audience: All Ages)
A Tale of Four Sisters, Dir. Emily Silva/Real to Reel, Lynn, MA, USA
Blanche’s Bichon Buzz, Dir. Isabella Caroline Sharp, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Celestial Anomaly, Dirs. Jose Miranda & Abraham Serrano, Dallas, TX, USA
Find a Way, Dirs. Akil Carrillo & Ellie Aronica/BAYCAT, San Francisco, CA, USA
Hart Immigration Movie, Dir. Yolanda Gamble/Austin Film Society, Austin, TX, USA
Lilly Hits the Road, Dir. The Bum Family, Calgary, AB, Canada
Re-Painting the Mission, Dir. Akil Carillo/BAYCAT, San Francisco, CA, USA
The Rich Man, Dir. Say Sí Middle School Group Project, San Antonio,TX, USA
They Said, But., Dirs. Marie Lambiase, Rauliz Paez, Rebecca Unubun, Rebecca Vu, Sophia Quigley, Tiffany Cespedes & Yeison DeLeon/Real to Reel, Lynn, MA, USA
White NoiseWhite Noise, Dir. Say Sí Middle School Group Project, San Antonio,TX, USA
Emergencia, Competition Lineup (Recommended Audience: Ages 14+)
Alone, Dir. Sara Eustaquio, Valencia, CA, USA/Portugal
Calavera, Dir. Adele Rankin/Creative Action Youth Cinema Collective, Austin, TX, USA
Carhop, Dirs. Alexander Puga, Monica Matute, Gabriella Gonzalez & Jewel Berrios, Miami, FL, USA
Desconectada (Disconnected), Dir. Matheus Bosco, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Enjoy the Show, Dirs. Gabby Fiszman & Dina Katgara, Delray Beach, FL, USA
Memoria de los Revolucionarios (Memories of the Revolution), Dir. Miguel Salazar / Say Sí, San Antonio,TX, USA
Still Love, Dirs. Alexander Puga & Monica Matute, Miami, FL, USA
What Now?, Dirs. Gregory Aragon/Real to Reel, Lynn, MA, USA
LATINITAS SPECIAL VR DOCUMENTARY PRESENTATION
Latinx Culture in East Austin, Dir. VR Cine Chicas Cohort, Austin, TX, USA