Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

LALIFF 2021 Review – 2021 Los Angeles International Film Festival

Angeleno’s are spoiled for film festivals. That’s despite the discontinuation of the LA Film Festival in 2018. Instead of being dominated by one single film festival like TIFF, Berlinale, or the London Film Festival, Los Angeles has a diverse range of brilliant film festivals that each cover different perspectives. PAFF is your go to for Pan African film, Outfest celebrates LGBTQ+ films, Shorts Fest covers many of the latest shorts, whilst AFI Docs screens the best recent documentaries. Similarly, LALIFF, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival showcases the global Latino experience on film. In a city dominated by Latinos, LALIFF is the premiere Latino film festival in the city, and likely the country. With plenty of premieres, round table discussions, and workshops, make sure you add it to your film calendar for next year. Read on for our full LALIFF 2021 review.

The Experience

With COVID-19 cases declining in California and Los Angeles, LALIFF 2021 was one of the first film festivals since the start of the pandemic that hosted in-person events in Los Angeles. All of the films had screening times at Hollywood cinemas for anyone to attend. However, as the festival coincided with the birth of my first baby, I was only able to make the most of the virtual portion of the festival, so our LALIFF 2021 review misses the in person events. Luckily for me, almost all of the films still had virtual screenings (other than the big premieres like In The Heights), so I was able to catch a lot of the festival, especially the international films that usually find it harder to fill theaters than the domestic premieres.

For this 20th edition of the festival, all of the round table discussions and industry workshops were hosted virtually, allowing anyone without time to attend or COVID-19 concerns to access some brilliant industry insider knowledge on offer. LALIFF 2021 is the first film festival that we’ve seen in Los Angeles that hosts industry events. It was also the first we’ve seen that screened films from local student filmmakers, which were boosted from placements ahead of some of the most anticipated international movies on the schedule, such as Executive Order. The combination of industry talks and student film screenings demonstrates LALIFF is committed to boosting the Latino film community by sharing knowledge from role models within the industry and giving screen space to help young filmmakers get seen. It was great to see the community connection – something that all film festivals should aspire to create.

A next step could be hosting some of the festival’s events within the Los Angeles’ Latino community as well as Hollywood. Whilst Hollywood might give the festival more visibility in the industry, screenings in community centers might boost the visibility of the festival amongst Latinos as well as the Latino community to the film industry. PAFF is one great example of this, moving from it’s humble start at the former Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in the center of Los Angeles’ African American community. The move has allowed the festival to expand into a multi-dimensional event with films at the theater and arts and crafts in the mall to celebrate Pan African culture and the African American community. Another example is the younger Central American International Film Festival held in the Plaza de la Raza cultural center, showcasing Latino films in one of the artistic hearts of Los Angeles’ Latino community. Showcasing some of it’s star films in the Latino community in Los Angeles could boost the community’s visibility to the film industry.

Wherever in Los Angeles LALIFF 2022 takes place, make sure you make the effort to attend.

The Films

As expected, there was a good representation of Latin American films screening at LALIFF 2021. Whilst the selection wasn’t as large as other film festivals, it’s 18 feature films represented a decent selection of countries with 9 countries represented at this year’s edition. LALIFF 2021 also did an OK job of representing directors from different background. 10 of the 18 feature films were directed by women which was great to see, and the festival also screened 2 films by Afro-Latin directors and 1 by an indigenous woman which was better than nothing. Other films also touched on the Afro-Latin and Indigenous experience, however it would be awesome to see further visibility for Afro-Latin and Indigenous directors and producers in future.

LALIFF 2021 also had a nice mix of genres to watch. There were the classic artistic festival films such as Nudo Mixteco and La Botera, protest films such as Landfall, dreamy coming of age journeys such as Papi, and pop films such as comedy satire The Best Families, and rom-com Something Blue. It even covered the big premiere of one of the year’s most hyped films in musical, In the Heights. There was something for every type of film fan.

The quality of the films was good too. All of the 9 feature films I saw are worth your time with no duds in the mix. Here’s how they stacked up.

Landfall
Executive Order
Fruits of Labor
The Best Families
Papi
Nudo Mixteco
Something Blue
La Botera
Between Fire and Water

LALIFF 2021’s Best: 1

Landfall is one of the best critiques of disaster capitalism and imperialism there is. It’s perfectly ordered observational scenes from around the island craft a country at crisis point. It’s an urgent warning to the precarious situation on the island following the devastation of Hurricane Maria.

The Runner Up: 2

A lightly comedic dystopian film, Executive Order fits perfectly within the highly divided Brazilian society. It’s great to see a movie in which reparations is the main focus and, like Bacurau, brings humor to a fiery contemporary context.

Two Personal Documentaries: 3 & 9

Fruits of Labor and Between Fire and Water are two brilliantly intimate documentaries which follow two teenagers trying to find their own identity. Fruits of Labor follows a student trying to support her family whilst studying for graduation in Central California, whilst Between Fire and Water follows a Black adoptee of an indigenous community trying to connect with his biological roots.

The Pop Hits: 4, 5, & 7

The Best Families, Papi, and Something Blue were three great movies to watch for the casual film viewer looking for some light entertainment. The Best Families features two dysfunctional families that lose it as a long held secret comes to light. Papi is a beautifully dreamy coming of age movie shot from the perspective of a kid missing her drug-dealing dad. Something Blue is the perfect film to watch if you’re looking for a cheesy romcom.

The Art House Festival Films: 6 & 8

Nudo Mixteco and La Botera are two art-house films which depict humble lives away from the bustle of the city. Nudo Mixteco features three storylines with indigenous women that piece together Amores Perros’ style in a remote Mexican town. La Botera follows a teenager growing up in a tough Buenos Aires neighborhood dreaming of being a boatwoman.

The Shorts

There was also a great selection of shorts which screened both in front of the biggest features of the festival as well as on their own in shorts only screenings. These included shorts from local student filmmakers as mentioned above, as well as shorts from up-and-coming filmmakers trying to break into the industry. Of the small selection we saw for our LALIFF 2021 review, we strongly recommend looking out for the following:

Nuevo Rico: a purple and pink neon infused animation that reminded me of the Akira look but with the bikes and sci-fi swapped out for reggaeton and the music industry.
The Libertarian: there should be more slave rebellion stories on film. The Libertarian uses a simple black and white animation to convey the terror of the slave ships and the bravery and power of the rebellion, connecting them to the African diaspora in the Americas.
Roach: if you ever wondered what Kafka’s Metamorphosis converted to animation might look like, check out Roach.

Overall LALIFF 2021 Review

Los Angeles has a lot of great film festivals and LALIFF is one of them. LALIFF 2021 was the most rounded film festival I’ve experienced in Los Angeles, featuring a diverse selection of international and domestic films from within the Latin American universe, as well as Q&A’s, round table discussions, and industry workshops that are usually only confined to the biggest international film festivals. It even has a nice portion of community outreach, screening a few shorts made by students at local school districts. Just as the Pan African Film Festival, hosted in Crenshaw, is the go to for Pan African film in Los Angeles, LALIFF is the go to festival for Latino film in the city. It’s celebration of Latin film should be a can’t miss event for any local film fan.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for individual reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF, giving more detail than the LALIFF 2021 review summaries.

La Botera – Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2021

Set within a neglected Buenos Aires neighborhood, La Botera follows Tati, a girl living alone with her father whilst navigating the challenges of adolescence.

Tati is already an independent woman. The opening scene shows her getting up, making breakfast, and getting ready for school on her own. We’d think she was living alone until the phone rings and Tati tries to wake up her previously unseen dad to answer it. She also sticks up for herself against the bullies at and outside of school in contrast to her childhood friend and confidently initiates conversation with people older than herself, such as a local boat rower she plays boyfriend and girlfriend with. However, she still retains the naivety of a young adult as shown in her awkwardly brash interactions with older kids and her friendship with another young neighborhood boy. The army games and relationship with the latter show she’s still connected to the young girl she’s slowly moving away from whilst the conversation with older kids represent the pull of her growing up.

Her coming of age feels a bit more hostile than others. It’s partly due to the bleak environment La Botera is set within – the constantly overcast skies and heavily clothed characters emphasize the cold unwelcoming environment. But the hostility is mostly due to the strained relationship she has with the dad she lives with alone. Unlike the gentler fathers in other father-daughter coming of age movies like Eighth Grade and Alba, Tati’s father offers little love and sympathy. He punishes and chastises her in almost every scene they share. Even when he has an opportunity to share a moment with her, such as when they’re watching football on TV, he gets annoyed as she apparently shouldn’t enjoy a ‘man’s game’. Maybe he’s been affected by the neighborhood they live in or his own experiences, or maybe his machismo just hides his fatherly insecurities. Either way, he contributes to the hostility of his daughter’s coming of age.

If you’re into coming of age stories set within a pretty bleak environment, La Botera is worth a watch. The close-up shots that follow Tati give it an edge that make it feel more real and personal than others.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for more reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF.

Landfall – Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2021

Landfall is a political film imbued with anger at the current state of Puerto Rico. It captures life in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, choosing to depict the current post-Hurricane tragedies instead of the actual Hurricane, and setting them within the history of U.S. imperialism. In doing so, Landfall presents a critique of disaster capitalism (see Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine) and the U.S. stranglehold on Puerto Rico and it’s ineffectual politicians.

That being said, the actual footage isn’t inherently political. Each scene from each part of the island is shot observationally without any directorial input or opinion. For example, the profile on the wealthy real estate family by itself doesn’t include any tough questions for the family or a political lens. However, by moving between these profiles of wealthy families and crypto-billionaires and profiles of rural farmers struggling to make a living and activists protesting the governor, the film becomes political. It juxtaposes the increasingly wealthy with the increasingly poor to highlight the growing inequality on the island. And by jumping around the country to visit a range of communities, Aldarondo shows that this inequality is endemic to all parts of the country.

One of the most memorable snapshots captures the arrival of U.S. crypto billionaires. They’ve arrived on the island cloaked in good intentions with promises for employment and wealth via the blockchain. However, when confronted by locals on their similarities with the white American imperialists that preceded them their benevolent facade crumbles. One represents the danger of a white savior – talking down on the locals as if he’s the only one that can solve their issues – whilst another represents the cultural eradication of cultural appropriation in her dreaded hair. Cut with scenes documenting the history of U.S. imperialism and speakers pressing Puerto Rico to privatize the country to encourage foreign investment and the warning signs are clear. Puerto Rico is on the brink of being re-colonized by wealthy Americans looking for a clean tax-haven for their millions. Their arrival is a threat to indigenous Puerto Rican life.

Landfall is made as an urgent warning to the precarious situation on the island. Just like Zuckerberg’s land grabs in Hawaii, and the privatization of post-Katrina New Orleans, post-Maria Puerto Rico is arriving at its own tipping point. Fortunately there is some hope that indigenous way of life prevails, represented in the people protesting the Governor, the community schools, and the family standing up to real estate in Vieques. The fight for Puerto Rico isn’t quite over.

Head to our LALIFF 2021 Hub for more reviews from the 20th edition of LALIFF.

A Recap of the Long Distance Film Festival 2021 – Film Festival Guide

COVID-19 hasn’t been great for film festivals. It’s been a year and a half since the pandemic started and many film festivals are still screening films mostly virtually. Only a few are hosting a few in-person screenings here in the U.S. as cases start to decline.

Unlike most film festivals that were either cancelled, delayed, or hosted virtually last year for the first time, the Long Distance Film Festival started as a virtual festival to highlight indie short films affected by the lack of distribution or streaming options during the pandemic. This year, for it’s second edition, it continued to highlight a mix of low budget and experimental short films that might have otherwise struggled to find distribution. Read on to find out more about the format and the films.

The Experience

Like other virtual film festivals, the Long Distance Film Festival 2021 was pretty easy to watch. There were no hitches with streaming any of the films – the quality always looked good and there were no buffering issues. The only slight drawback was that you had to watch them through an internet browser on your computer or phone. Unlike other film festivals which screened films through apps that you could connect to your TV or Smart TV, you had to manually connect your computer to the TV if you wanted to have the ‘bigger’ screen experience.

It was also interesting to watch a virtual film festival that had a strict schedule like traditional in-person film festivals. Each short film segment streamed at 3 specific times during the day, so if you couldn’t make the times, you’d have to wait until the next segment or next year’s edition. The three different times helped a little bit, but as they were spaced out deliberately to help viewers in all different time zones, there might have just been one or two times that worked well for you. For those on the West Coast of the U.S. the viewing times were 1:00am, 9:00am, and 5:00pm, making the 5:00pm session the most ideal time slot for those wanting to sleep in on the weekend.

You also couldn’t pause the film like other virtual festivals have allowed. This meant you had to pay a bit more attention to the films as they all ran back to back and were all pretty short. Because a few of them aired without credits, if you tried to step away quickly, you risked missing a chunk of the end of one short and the start of the other.

It would have been nicer to have been able to watch the films on demand, however as these films were streaming for free, we can’t complain. Long Distance Film Festival keep doing your thing.

The Films

In 2021, the Long Distance Film Festival continued to support personal films made with smaller budgets and crews. This was definitely evident in the programming. It was nice to see a wide range of formats which included documentary, drama, diary, experimental, animated, and more. However, it would have been nice to see a bit more diversity in the filmmaker line up as the festival schedule, which emphasizes viewers being able to watch from wherever in the world they are, implies that the programming slate will be geographically diverse too. Just 6 of the 42 films came from outside the western world (2 from Latin America, 3 from the Middle East/North Africa, and 1 from East Asia). Unfortunately there was no representation from Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, South Asia, or most of Latin America. Obviously it’s hard to cover every region, but would be good to see a bit more diversity next year if possible.

One area which some festivals have actively sought to change was the proportion of films directed by women at their festivals. AFI Fest 2020 did this well, with 53% of their films directed by women. The 2021 edition of the Long Distance Film Festival performed pretty well too. Whilst it wasn’t quite 50%, the festival did hit 45% for films directed by women.

Top 10 Shorts of the Long Distance Film Festival 2021

Bambirak (Germany) – a daughter helps her immigrant dad with his daily deliveries for a bit of bonding time. Through their journey, this drama highlights how white privilege and prejudice is maintained by the status quo.
Trammel (U.S.) – watch the camera shots as they get slowly closer and closer to Dale and the shop clerk he’s chatting too. It turns Dale’s one-way conversation from a luxury into something he needs for his mental health.
Intimate Views (U.S.) – this short hypnotizes you into a long weekend away at a secluded holiday home in the woods. It’s a setting which never feels far from a horror twist, especially with the AI and ASMR voiced narration which gives plenty of dystopian vibes.
Recreation (U.S.) – with the screen split into twelve showing different tourist shot footage of the same iconic American landscapes, Recreation transforms sacred natural sites into meaningless footage representative of American imperialism’s continued consumerization and eradication of indigenous culture.
Shadows in a Landscape (U.K.) – can’t beat a storytelling short that slowly builds with the help of music and ghostly black and white footage of misty hills. It’s hauntingly engrossing.
The Other (Iran) – the rural environment and sparse interiors of The Other make it stand out. They and the actors expressions speak the story in a film without dialogue.
To the Girls that Looks Like Me (U.S.) – using many extras and a poetic narrated voice-over, this short celebrates black women living in a society that appropriates rather than respects them.
Peeps (Australia) – as most filmmakers are adults, it’s rare to find films that accurately capture the awkwardness of life as an early teenager. Peeps, like Eighth Grade, is one of them.
Raspberry (U.S.) – who would have thought that you could make a slapstick comedy out of a family grieving over their dead dad’s body. Raspberry is evidence that it’s possible.
Forever (U.S.) – Whether this would be classified as an animation or a drama isn’t clear. However, what is clear, is that the experimental use of LiDAR imaging makes this film examining mortality memorably unique.

Honorable Mentions: Still Processing, Wooden Sword, You Don’t Have to Thank Me

Visit our Long Distance Film Festival 2021 page for our full coverage of the 2nd edition of the festival.

The New Girl (Argentina) – Cinélatino Film Festival 2021

Jimena lives day to day in Buenos Aires, scavenging whatever and sleeping wherever she can find. In search of a better life, she smuggles herself on a bus bound for Rio Grande, a small town on the island of Tierra del Fuego in southernmost Argentina. It’s an area known for its manufacturing jobs and it’s also where her estranged half brother, Mariano, lives.

Jimena gives off a quiet meekness. She doesn’t share much with her brother or the locals – least of all her life as a transient in the city. Despite this, she’s welcomed warmly by both her brother, who sets her up with a job at the manufacturing plant he works at, and by her new colleagues, that invite her to work socials. She’s given space to settle in and adapt to her new life.

As the movie flashes through brief moments in Jimena’s first few months in Rio Grande, it’s apparent she’s becoming part of her new community. She connects with her brother’s love interest, bonds with the workers at the union meetings, and starts to help her brother out too. However, her brother, guessing the nature of her previous life starts to implicate her in his own illicit trading business. He knows he holds some power over her whilst she’s living in his apartment and not quite settled in the region. He also knows she relies on him as her only relation. As the economic backdrop kicks in, Jimena has to choose between helping her brother or supporting the union strikes – family or the community.

The New Girl packs a lot into it’s relatively short run time. It quickly provides context for Jimena’s arrival in the remote South of Argentina and her growth and coming of age in Rio Grande, to set up the climax. It highlights the privilege of crime – contrasting her experience stealing out of need vs. her brother’s smuggling to get rich. This, plus the arrival of the union mark the anti-capitalist thread of the movie. The union symbolizes the community and its strength in organization, whereas Mariano’s one-man illegal business represents the flaws and selfishness of unrestricted capitalism.

The New Girl is an engaging coming of age story as well as a protest movie, along the lines of Made in Bangladesh and Salt of the Earth. Not bad for a 79 minute movie.