Prepare for Latin overload

Those with a craving for all things Latin are in for a good month as two similarly-themed film festivals are to hit London in the space of a month.

Nov 12 2004

The Latin American Film Festival hits town today, with features, shorts and documentaries from South and Central America playing for seven days at the Curzon Soho Cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue. 

In addition to the programme of films, the festival will also feature Latin-flavoured music, poetry, dance, photography and a variety of different events in different mediums.

Now in its 14th year, the festival had humble beginnings way back in 1990, but thanks to the tireless efforts of organiser and self-styled 'Cuban Queen of Culture' Eva Tarr Kirkhope, it has now become a staple of the London festival programme.

And this year the line-up is stronger than ever, with screenings set to include Brazilian cult horror 'Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind', political thriller 'Francisca… Which Side Are You On?' and an Altman-esque journey through Mexico City called 'Dark Cities'.

In addition there will be a special preview of 'Only Human', the new Argentinian black comedy from the award-winning duo of Teresa de Pelegri and Dominic Harari.

On the documentary front, 'Inventions: Cuban Hip-Hop' will be mixing brilliant beats with powerful political and social content, while 'The Last Zapatistas, Forgotten Heroes' provides astonishing interviews with surviving soldiers who fought beside General Emiliano Zapata in the 1910 Mexican Revolution.

The festival runs until Thursday November 18, and further details can be found at: www.latinamericanfilm-festival.com

And if that's not enough to satisfy those Latin passions, the Discovering Latin America Third Film Festival kicks off just a week later.

Running from November 25 to December 5, Discovering Latin America will screen a selection of internationally acclaimed features and documentaries, including 'The First Night', '25 Watts', 'Bus 174', and the critically acclaimed Columbian drama 'Maria Full Of Grace'. The programme will also be complemented by a variety of retrospectives, mater classes and Q&As.

For more details visit: www.discovering-latinamerica.org.uk