PASSER
Latinx-Canadian Cinema
Discover the different phases of NFB films made in Latin America, or by Latin Americans, from the mid-1970s until today.
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My World, Your MelodyBianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes 2024 1 minA choir of tropical frogs performs infectious pop in delightfully unsettling animation from Costa Rican-Canadian artist Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes. Riffing on karaoke companion videos and the swipe-n-scroll conventions of handheld media, she infuses candy-coloured digital animation with the spectre of ecological collapse. -
Modern AlchemyBren López Zepeda 2022 2 minStrength. Challenges. Courage. Modern Alchemy depicts a quest for self-knowledge that revolves around resilience, reconstruction and rebirth. A succession of colours, each more vibrant than the last, in which one stops breathing for a moment to find a path toward inner peace. A film from the Alambic collection, a creative lab by the NFB’s French Program Animation Studio that’s designed for emerging filmmakers.
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Lo 100tokarla monterrosa 2022 1 minWhen Delia announces a breakup on group chat, she’s bombarded with inappropriate and comic remarks from her Salvadoran family.
Produced as part of the 13th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Solid GroundBeatriz Carvalho 2022 2 minSolid Ground is a poetic and sound-rich travelogue—a personal journal that reveals the thoughts of an expatriate returning to her native land. Employing the rarely used monotype animation technique, Solid Groundreflects the personal experience of discovering different lands and feeling as though one were simultaneously at home and elsewhere. A film from the Alambic collection, a creative lab by the NFB’s French Program Animation Studio that’s designed for emerging filmmakers.
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Saturday NightRosana Matecki 2021 15 minA short documentary essay on solitude, filmed in Spanish and narrated by filmmaker Rosana Matecki, Saturday Night offers a poetic and bittersweet snapshot of aging in an urban setting, viewed through the lens of dance. An immersive soundscape and a delicate tempo set the mood for this intimate exploration of resilience and nostalgia.
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As Night DescendsNadine Gomez 2020 10 minIn conversations with passionate sociologist and political thinker Jean Pichette, the filmmaker views the forced downtime stemming from the current crisis as an opportunity to rethink our modes of existence and our relationship to others, nature, science, the economy, art, politics—in short, everything that makes us human.
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Song for CubaTamara Segura 2014 7 minThis short experimental documentary about memory and music follows a young Cuban couple charting a new course for their lives on an island in the North Atlantic. The film features the original music of Patrick Boyle and the songs “Preferi Perderte” by Benny Moré and “Suavecito” by Ignacio Piñeiro.
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Sweet TalkEsteban Azuela 2014 1 minOil-covered fish meet skateboards and the War on Terror in this razor-sharp satire of media, government, and the tycoons who take advantage of the system.
Produced as part of the 10th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
End of MessageBenjamin Mugica 2014 1 minVoicemails get lost and found in space in this thoughtful commentary on the fractured act of communication and the spaces between people trying to express themselves.
Produced as part of the 10th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Taxi LibreKaveh Nabatian 2011 12 minIn this short fiction film, a Mexican university professor is stuck driving a taxi in Montreal. His tequila-swilling guardian angel doesn’t make life any easier.
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Jelena's SongPablo Alvarez-Mesa 2010 28 minIn this short lyrical film, haunting childhood memories, photographs and family stories form the heart of a woman’s search for transformation. A descent into the labyrinths of memory, the film documents Jelena’s recollections of her childhood in both Croatia and Canada, resulting in a fragmentary reconstruction of her past. With candour and sensitivity, Jelena reclaims her own identity, disarming us with her courage and will.
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SanctuaryJamie Escallon-Buraglia 2005 12 minA program for emerging filmmakers to make high impact, low budget docs. Sanctuary tells the story of Sergio Loreto, who has lived in Canada for 18 years, but is now seeking sanctuary in a Toronto church so not be deported to Guatemala.
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Open SecretsJosé Torrealba 2003 52 minThis provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.
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Societies Under the InfluenceGermán Gutiérrez 1998 52 minDespite the overflowing prisons and billions of dollars spent by governments, drug trafficking is a bigger problem than ever. In an unending spiral, increasingly effective repression only makes drugs scarcer, thus driving up the cost, which in turn increases criminality and makes life less safe for ordinary citizens. After so many years of this war on drugs, many observers are calling for a cease-fire in the hope that legalizing drugs might be the solution.
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Steel BluesJorge Fajardo 1976 34 minPablo, Chilean emigrant, ex-professor, seeks work in a Montréal steel mill. Cut off from family, country and profession, he is baffled by a language he doesn't speak and a job he doesn't know. The film reproduces with accuracy and sensitivity his efforts to adjust to a new and bewildering world.
