The 24th London Latin American Film Festival 14 -23 November

The 24th London Latin American Film Festival 14 -23 November 2014

The 24th London Latin American Film Festival runs from 14th to 23rd November offering, as always, a unique and eclectic mélange of feature films, documentaries and shorts, in the sumptuous comfort of the Bolivar Hall; and the University College London/Institute of the Americas.

13 The Gallery, Islington is the venue for the sizzling Launch Night Party and Exhibition, for art, drinks and, of course, the most fascinating conversation London has to offer. See you there on November the 13th.

To start the Festival off with a real bang, we present ‘The Heart of Caracas’ a stunning feature documentary from Simon Toro, which charts the birth and development of this tumultuous city and offers a vision of its future as a beacon to all Latin America.

The London Latin American Film Festival always moves with the times and, as the World’s most fashionable themes right now are violence, pestilence and eco-disaster, we thought we would follow suit with our Features Programme. Dark thrillers abound, with stories of madness, alienation and supernatural forces. Do not miss ‘Extirpador de Idolatrías’ in which a twisted avenger terrorises indigenous Andean communities, or ‘The Cure’, about a worker poisoned by agro-chemicals and descending into a dimension of hellish delusion amidst the wilds of Patagonia. Perfect for a gloomy November evening. Go on, scare yourself! Of course, you can also enjoy the wonderful Carlos Acosta in the laugh-a-minute rom-com ‘Days of the Flowers’ from BAFTA award-winning director, John Roberts.

There is plenty to tickle the funny bone, too, in the Shorts Programme, such as the engaging ‘Pinches Mayas’; (a boy has to confront the end of the world, still a virgin!) There is also visual poetry in experimental pieces like ‘Perfect Storm’ as well as award-winning dramas ‘Drops of Smoke’ and ‘El Tiple’.

Another strong element in the Festival this year is the theme of cultural heritage saved or redeemed, especially in the Documentary Programme. There is extraordinarily committed and moving filmmaking on offer in such films as ‘Amazon Souls’’, profiling the noble Huaorani people of the Ecuadorian rainforest, and ‘They are We’, in which the inhabitants of a remote Sierra Leonean village discover, with delight, that their culture has been preserved in Afro-Cuban traditions on the other side of the ocean.

There is room here only to scratch the surface of what is a particularly strong and varied Festival Programme, this year. We look forward to greeting you and sharing these delights, amongst many others, at the 24th. London Latin American Film Festival.