Latin-American Studies

On May 5th, 1991, people took to the streets of Washington D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood to protest the police shooting of Daniel Gomez, a young man from El Salvador. Through testimony, song, poetry, and street theatre, La Manplesa weaves together the collective memory of one of D.C.’s first barrios and dives into the roots of the ‘91 rebellion.

Filmed in Cuba over the course of ten years, Los Últimos Frikis tells the story of iconic Cuban heavy metal band Zeus and their three-decade fight to be heard. As Cuba’s political and social climate once again shifts the band embarks on a national tour across the island to defend their cultural impact and livelihood.

What started as a 7-week nutrition program for women seeking healthier diets, has become a Latina-led movement to enact change in their own communities. Known as Kitchenistas, these women are showing how healthy food traditions can lead to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing as well as big change in the home, at schools, within city hall, and in the healthcare system.

An oneiric journey through Alex's life as a former guerrilla leads to a reckoning with the devil inside of him. His only cure is ayahuasca,  sacred plant used by the indigenous community where he comes from. As both a perpetrator and victim, Alex exemplifies the complexity of the Colombian conflict and the difficulties of simply moving on.  

This collection of eight early films by Brazilian artist and filmmaker Ana Vaz proposes a critical reflection on the relationship between colonialism, modernity and the impending ecological disaster. At the core of the collection is a cycle of works that explore the colonial and post-colonial exchange between Europe and the Americas.

When Ocho (Juan Barberini), a 30-something Argentine poet on vacation in Barcelona, spots Javi (Ramón Pujol), a Spaniard from Berlin, from the balcony of his Airbnb, the attraction is subtle but persistent. After a missed connection on the beach, a third chance encounter escalates to a seemingly random hookup. But are these two merely beautiful strangers in a foreign city or are they part of each other’s histories—and maybe even their destinies?

HÍBRIDOS, THE SPIRITS OF BRAZIL is an ethnomusicological journey into the sacred culture of Brazil, from Roman Catholic to Ubanda and candomblé--mixures of African traditions with Catholicism.

A genre-bending portrait of globalization, we follow a Mexican Zoque shaman and his encounters with outside forces—from capitalism, to the culture of cinema, and the directors themselves.

El Mar La Mar is a lyrical and highly topical cinematographic exploration of the Sonoran Desert, and the harrowing stories of the undocumented immigrants that risk crossing it to make it to America.

In Bolivia, the glaciers are melting. Samuel, a ski lift operator at the world’s highest elevation ski resort is seeing firsthand the effects of climate change. Generations of his family have lived and worked in the snowy mountains, but now due to unprecedented environmental changes, the snow is gone. With scientists looking for answers, Samuel turns to ancient rituals to soothe the mountain’s spirit in hopes of bringing back the snow and his way of life.

An immersive, visually stunning portrait of a childhood on the margins of society by Emmy-nominated director Aaron Schock, La Laguna documents the remarkable journey undertaken by a Mayan adolescent as he tries to navigates the changing world around him in the endangered rainforests of southern Mexico.

A rare and thorough look at the earth’s largest salt flat, Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, Salero is a poetic journey through the eyes of one of the last remaining salt gatherers. This secluded region is thrust into the future when Bolivia embarks on a plan to extract a precious mineral from the Salar and to build an infrastructure that will connect it to the modern world.

The Abortion Hotline allows viewers inside the lives and tireless grassroots efforts of a group of young lesbian and feminist activists who put their lives at risk to run an underground abortion hotline in Chile, one of six countries in the world where abortion is prohibited under any circumstance, even in cases of rape or risk to the life of the mother.

After decades of sold out shows and international recognition, musician Gilberto Gil embarks on a new kind of world tour. Traveling from Brazil to Australia and Africa, where he meets with local indigenous communities, Gil continues the work he began as Brazil's first black Minister of Culture - promoting the power of cultural diversity in a globalized world and sharing his vision for the future: a diverse, interconnected planet filled with hope, exchange… and of course music!

A profoundly moving and compelling portrait of one of the world's most remarkable hospitals, located in the bustling heart of Mexico City, which provides affordable, life-saving and life-transforming facial reconstructive surgery for local children. A truly remarkable documentary from the producer of Two Spirits .

An engrossing ethnographic work, Canícula is a study of the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico, who have resided in this region for thousands of years. Beautifully photographed, this documentary features rare footage of the Totonac's "voladores" ritual ("the flying dance"), named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

In 2002, the mining company Meridian Gold arrived in Esquel, a small town in Argentina suffering from 40% unemployment. Meridian's operation would inject $120M into the local economy, but their methods raised serious environmental and health concerns. This film documents a local conflict with global consequences.