Documania Film Showcase San Diego Latino Film Festival 2015

Documania Film Showcase 2015 The documentary tradition is alive and well in this collection of feature length films that expose the realities of the world in exuberant cinematic fashion. In our pursuit of truth, documentary film stands alone as the medium through which we become engaged in experiences far removed from our own. This is your opportunity to stand with Claudia Paz y Paz, the first female Attorney General of Guatemala, as she fights corruption in her department; to listen to Café Tacvba’s new album as it’s being recorded; and last but certainly not least, to become engaged with the struggle of indigent youth living in derelict neighborhoods in Mexico. Join us and be transported. Individual Tickets on Sale March 7th. For now, reserve a seat and support Cine Latino, by buying a FILM or FESTIVAL PASS: http://sdlatinofilm.com/passes2015/ Burden of Peace Dir. Joey Boink (Guatemala / Spain / Netherlands; 77 min., 2014, Spanish w/ English subtitles) SUN 3/22 / 8:15 / S15 As the newly appointed Attorney General of Guatemala, Claudia Paz y Paz knows what she has to do. To prove that corruption will no longer be tolerated on her watch, she rounds up a large criminal organization that her own officers appear to have been a part of. Her determination encounters strong resistance from powerful elites, who believed they were above the law before her arrival. Their opposition threatens to thwart Claudia’s plans to create revolutionary changes in Guatemala, as evidenced by this gripping and unforgettable documentary. El Hogar Al Revés Dir. Itzel Martínez (Mexico, 80 min., 2014, Spanish w/ English subtitles) FRI 3/13 / 8:45 / DGC SUN 3/15 / 1:30 / S12 SAT 3/21 / 12:30 / S13 In an unfair country, women work day and night far from home, while their children learn to survive between loneliness and emptiness. They grow to become teenagers, socially quarantined in one of the many low income neighborhoods of identical small houses, characterized by overcrowding and scarcity. Their mothers, mostly workers in transnational factories, go in and out on buses, which take them two hours away from home for twelve hour shifts. Meanwhile, their children muddle through their day in tiny houses of 40 square meters. In spite of everything, they look for a way to move ahead and pursue their dreams. Hotel Nueva Isla Dir. Irene Gutierrez, Javier Labrador (Spain/Cuba, 70 min., 2014, Spanish w/ English subtitles) SAT 3/14 / 2:00 / S2 MON 3/16 / 4:00 / S15 FRI 3/20 / 5:00 / DGC The formerly luxurious Hotel Nueva Isla of Old Havana is now in ruins; but it is home for people living on the fringes of society: Jorge, a retired public servant and two neighbors, Waldo and La Flaca. With almost no contact with the outside world, Jorge resembles a Don Quixote gone astray, forgotten by the world he once dearly loved. Day by day his health and body weaken like the walls of Hotel Nueva Isla. His only motivation to keep living is his certainty that in some place of the ruinous hotel, the former owners hid valuable objects before fleeing during the Cuban Revolution. This is remarkable filmmaking that captures the parallel between the decay of the human body and the stone, steel, and corporeal places in which they live. Ilúsion Nacional Dir. Olallo Rubio (Mexico, 106 min., 2014, Spanish w/ English subtitles) FRI 3/13 / 5:15 / S15 SAT 3/14 / 2:00 / S1 Every four years when the World Cup comes along, every nation and its citizens dream of glory. This rousing documentary highlights Mexico’s anticipation of this event and also distinctly captures why the sport has managed to infiltrate every aspect of Mexico’s society throughout the decades. Lejanía Dir. Pablo Tamez Sierra (Mexico, 69 min., 2013, Spanish w/ English subtitles) SAT 3/14 / 7:00 / DGC THU 3/19 / 4:10 / S12 A crime of passion haunts a family across several generations. This documentary examines how the persistence of memory affects our ability to move beyond hardships; and what occurs when forced to reconnect with an individual who’s been the source of long-gestated internal turmoil. El Objeto Antes Llamada Disco Dir. Gregory Allen (Mexico, 80 min., 2014, Spanish w/ English subtitles) SUN 3/15 / 1:00 / S2 THU 3/19 / 9:45 / S15 SAT 3/21 / 6:00 / S15 This concert documentary follows superstar rock group Café Tacvba as they record their most recent album. The film merges live concert footage with the band’s philosophical musings on the methods they’re utilizing to record their album. What results is pure visual lyricism as the music comes to life, and the audience is engaged with the intimate creative process of Café Tacvba. Playing Lecuona Dir. Pavel Giroud, Juan Manuel Villar Betancort (Spain, 105 min., 2015, Spanish w/ English subtitles) TUE 3/17 / 8:30 / S12 SUN 3/22 / 12:45 / S1 A journey through the work and living spaces of pianist and composer Ernesto Lecuona, considered the most universally beloved of Latin America’s pianists. Three outstanding Latin Jazz piano players will guide us in this odyssey: Chucho Valdés, in Lecuona’s native Havana, who fuses jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms; Michel Camilo in New York, who creates elegant soundscapes; and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who fuses Latin Jazz with Flamenco. Individual Tickets on Sale March 7th. For now, reserve a seat and support Cine Latino, by buying a FILM or FESTIVAL PASS: http://sdlatinofilm.com/passes2015/ at AMC Fashion Valley 18 INFO: 619-230-1938, info@mediaartscenter.org