Sydney Latin American Film Festival

Fiesta

Next month Sydney will be treated to the colour and exuberance of its own Latin American Film Festival. Now in its eighth year, the Festival sees itself as having a responsibility to represent the diversity of stories, cultures and voices coming from the vast Latin American continent. They aim to achieve this by presenting a deeply considered selection of feature films, documentaries and shorts that further the understanding and appreciation of Latin America.

There will be the chance to see films from countries all over Central and South America, including Venezuela, Uruguay, Columbia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil, some of which have already received international attention, other which remain undiscovered gems. A whole host of exciting special events will surround the screenings, starting with an opening night fiesta, to be held at Ryan’s Paragon Hotel at Circular Quay, following the screening of the comedy-drama The Clown, a multi-award winner, and Brazil’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the 2013 Academy Awards.

The winner of the 2013 Oscar for best short-form documentary Inocente will be playing in a double bill with Street Years, a documentary which follows young people living on the street in Buenos Aires over an 11 year period. Children should come early to see the animation Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe, and “join in the adventure with surprise pirate games, treats and treasures!”

The Festival is a not-for-profit event, which raises funds for a different charity each year. The proceeds from this year’s festival will be going to Instituto Raoni, a Brazilian organisation located in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. It is the first time Brazil has received grant support from SLAFF. This project aims to share the knowledge of the Kayapó people’s traditional body painting and singing. These artforms are mainly practised by Kayapó women, however the participation of children will also be a focus of this project. Kayapó songs and body art will be documented and used to promote these amazing traditions, including being available as an educational tool for Kayapó schools.

The 8th Sydney Latin American Film Festival will be running from 4th to 11th September at the Dendy Opera Quays, and then at Bankstown Arts Centre from 13th to 15th September.

The Festival website has details of all the movies, and a whole slew of associated special events: https://www.sydneylatinofilmfestival.org/2013

Still from “The Clown”