Film Festival Coverage Hub - Reviews & Recaps

Piedra Sola – AFI Fest 2020

Piedra Sola, like Notturno (one of the other films at this year’s AFI Fest), is beautifully shot. Set in the hamlet of Condor in the northern highlands of Argentina, it contains a lot of otherworldly landscapes and local ceremonies that look unusual to foreign eyes.

However, the exceptional images hint at a higher meaning that isn’t really decipherable in the film. For example, there’s the opening shot of a horse with its two front legs tied, hopping over a rocky hill at dawn. It’s a striking image, and beautifully captured in low light conditions, but it’s not clear how it fits into the narrative of Piedra Sola. The horse never reappears and doesn’t have too much of an impact on how we perceive the film, except to create intrigue. That’s not to say the film needs to have a narrative – it doesn’t – however, the scenes don’t feel like they all come together to unlock the mystery that they each contain. It feels more like a collection of sublime images than something complete.

This also comes across in the focus of the film, the lama herder. We see him go travel to a nearby town to sell his wares and get involved in the local festival, but beyond that we don’t have much of an understanding of him. It’s made vaguely aware that his livestock is being attacked by a puma, but it’s never clear if this is imagined, real, or an allegory for something else. His silence and emotionless face don’t give away any of his feelings either way. He is as mysterious as the collection of images that make up Piedra Sola.

His lack of agency also comes across as a bit problematic. Combined with his silence and lack of emotion, it presents another image of the passive Latin American indigenous person. Like Cleo in Roma and Justino in The Fever (two more films directed by non-indigenous directors), things happen to the lama herder that he quietly reacts to. Instead of initiating things himself, he only responds to things around him, which makes him seem a bit characterless.

There’s also the exoticization of the isolated Andean community. The director, Alejandro Telemaco Tarraf beautifully captures the ceremonies and the hamlet, but he also others it. The unique culture is viewed with a gaze that highlights the differences between the highland culture of Argentina from the city culture of Buenos Aires. It makes their culture seem a bit rustic and old fashioned, situating the community as if it exists in another world and time.

If you’re looking for a beautifully shot, esoteric movie set in the remote highlands of Argentina, you’ll love Piedra Sola. However, the mystery in the images and narrative make it hard to access, whilst the exoticization and passivization of the portrayals of the remote community make it hard to love.

Head to our AFI Fest Hub for more reviews and short films from AFI Fest 2020.

Rival (Rivale) – AFI Fest 2020

Rival starts with death. There’s the first opening flash forward featuring a shot of Roma, a approximately 9 year old boy, grabbing a gun in answer to someone knocking at the door. Then there’s the second opening with Roman burying a dead bird before attending an older relative’s funeral. It’s an ominous sign of things to come. It’s clear Rival is not going to be an upbeat family drama.

Before there’s time to grieve, Roman is bundled into the back of a van and taken to Germany to live with his mother. She’s been in Germany taking care of an elderly woman (who has recently passed away) as an undocumented worker. Problem for Roman is that the older woman’s widow is survived by her partner Gert, an old German man that has fallen in love with his mum. Roman has to compete with Gert for his mother’s love.

The relationships between Roman and his Mum, and Roman and Gert are pretty all of nothing. They’re either hyper energetically playful: chasing each other around the house laughing and pulling faces, or they’re shouting and roaring at each other. It reminded me a bit of the similarly high energy relationship between the mother and son in Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. It just feels like something is going to go badly wrong, like when Roman tries to poison Gert by spiking his afternoon tea.

Their uneasy relationships are complemented by the elements of the horror genre that are intertwined into the images. There’s Gert’s sinister eyebrows (that are a bit like Nosferatu’s Dracula) and the shots of him being injected with insulin. Then there’s the moving door handle at night when Roman is sleeping with his mum (a door which is later locked to subdue Roman). The eerie music, which features plenty of high piano notes, underscores the influence of horror on Rival, positioning Gert as the pretty unpredictable and untrustworthy villain.

If you’re looking for a bleak family drama which promises many things that go horribly wrong, check out Rival. You’re guaranteed to find something depressingly shocking.

Head to our AFI Fest Hub for more reviews and short films from AFI Fest 2020.

She Paradise – AFI Fest 2020

Right from the beginning, you can tell that 17 year old Sparkle is lonely. Much like Amy, the lead in Maimouna Doucore’s Cuties, she’s stuck doing house chores for her grandparents. It doesn’t look like she has any friends at school or at work, and she doesn’t talk much. So when she meets a group of older girls dancing in the street, she finds the confidence and expressiveness in them that she wants to have. So she works her way into their clique and transforms from the children’s clothes wearing, shy 17 year old kid from the introduction into a vividly dressed, confident dancer.

Her gateway is Trini culture. In particular Soca music: a mix of calypso, reggae, dancehall unique to Trinidad which permeates She Paradise. Soca is present in the dancing and style, which combines with the music to give Sparkle a brand new modern key to her independence. Embracing the contemporary Trini culture through Soca opens up a new world that is totally unique to her world at home with her grandfather. It’s modern and fresh, instead of from the past. It allows her to forget about her childhood and home poverty, and have an opportunity to become a free independent woman.

She Paradise is a feature length version of the brilliant short film that debuted last year at a few festivals that we reviewed here. Like the short, the feature version has many of the same scenes, which are mostly included in the first part of the film. The feature also contains a few hints at Sparkle’s background, but it’s still not clear what she does before she meets the Soca crew. However, unlike the short, this feature film adds in a few male characters which take the focus away from the female friendship of the short. Instead, the focus switches more to Sparkle and how she navigates a world of patriarchy – represented by her father and Skinny, the male Soca artist. It’s a shame as the friendship between Sparkle and Mica was the highlight of the short.

Head to our AFI Fest Hub for more reviews and short films from AFI Fest 2020.

New Order (Nuevo Orden) – AFI Fest 2020

New Order starts with a chaotic montage of images. There’s a modern art painting, a naked lady covered in green paint, and plenty of lifeless bodies. Each image flashes up on screen for half a second as bold orchestral music plays in the background. It’s a disorientating and sensationalist start which gives us a sign of the chaos to come.

The film relaxes for 15 minutes after the opening as we enter the safety bubble of an upper class wedding in Mexico City. There’s a lot of mingling and small talk. It’s a world which feels a lot like the exclusive Mexico City world shown in The Good Girls. Everyone is focused on their business and completely oblivious to the lives of the public outside of their social sphere.

However, some ominous signs start to appear that connect to the chaotic opening montage which the film uses to build unease. The tap water starts running green; the judge for the wedding is late; and one guest appears with a green splodge on her shirt. Meanwhile the bride disappears to help out one of their former maids. The outside world is getting closer to their upper class bubble.

It’s not long before the bubble bursts and some outsiders splattered in green climb over the walls surrounding their property, symbolic of the wealth divide. At this point everything suddenly goes mad as the security guards turn on the wealthy family and start raiding the house for valuables alongside the home invaders. It’s not particularly clear who the invaders are, but from who they’re targeting it seems like it’s an anti-rich uprising. From this point on the film descends into nihilistic chaos that reminded me of Todd Phillips Joker. It’s not really clear what the nihilism is supposed to represent besides a vague: rich are bad, and the poor victimized and it’s never really clear why everything is happening. As a result, the second half comes across as a bit sensationalist and provocative and without too much depth to back up the action.

If you’d like to see some Mexican political movies with a bit more depth check out the satirical critique of Mexican politics in Luis Estrada’s The Perfect Dictatorship, and the horrifyingly real nihilism in Amat Escalante’s Heli. There’s also Children of Men and Sons of Denmark if you want to watch some more chaotic near future dystopian movies.

Head to our AFI Fest Hub for more reviews and short films from AFI Fest 2020.

LALIFF 2026 – A Community Celebration of Latinos in Film

Los Angeles is spoiled for film festivals. You can find film festivals representing communities from almost every part of the globe, from the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival to Outfest. LALIFF is one of the most popular film festivals in the city, and for good reason: it’s both the longest running and biggest Latino film festival in the country. If you missed it this year, make sure you grab a ticket this time next year!

The Experience

This year was the first time I’ve covered LALIFF in person, and wow, it was buzzing. Whilst you could see the excellent film programming in the virtual versions of the festival during the pandemic, the heart of the festival beats for building community in-person. I usually dread the long bus journey to the tourist-trap of Hollywood, but the LALIFF bar takeover, life-filled cinema lobby, and the screenings made everything feel more welcoming.

LALIFF stood out from other festivals I’ve covered because of this atmosphere. It was the first festival I’ve been to where the screenings received screams, whoops of excitement, and big prolonged applauding, making it feel like a true celebration of film. The atmosphere was created by the presence of the talent, and their passionate entourages of family and friends. It felt like LALIFF is a place where you could bring along anyone, no matter their age or how loud they are, making it feel like a valuable third space for the Los Angelino community.

The Films

As with previous editions, the feature-film programming was impressive. With only 17 feature films screening across the 4 days of the festival, the programmers focus on quality rather than quantity. However, despite the low number of films, the festival represented a wide range of countries, from the less-established film industries of Bolivia and Honduras to the ever present on the festival circuit film producing nations of Argentina and Mexico.

LALIFF 2026 also balanced genres well through their programming. Even in the 6 feature films we watched, there was a wide range of genres. Here’s how the feature films we saw stacked up:

The Condor Daughter (Bolivia)

The Condor Daughter is a beautifully shot tale of tradition standing against the threat of expanding globalization. You’ll be transported to the awesomely scenic mountains of the Bolivian Andes and thrown into the Quecha culture of the Totorani community. You’ll follow Clara, a young woman working with her adopted mother as a midwife, as she battles the allure of modernity and fame. Read the full review here.

Eva (Honduras)

An immensely warm-hearted film which breaks traditional gender roles by casting Endry Cardeño, a trans-woman, as Eva, a grandma, forced to take care of her granddaughter. As per the idiom; “it takes a village to raise a child,” we find a small tight-knit community in Tegucigalpa, the largest city in Central America, instead of one of the murder capitals of the world. Read the full review here.

The Red Hangar (Chile)

The Red Hangar is a dark, gripping thriller that depicts the Chilean coup of 1973 in real-time through the eyes of a patriotic air force captain. It’s based on a true story and brings you right into the fascistic chaos with hand-held cameras following the captain as he questions his integrity. This one is for fans of political thrillers and those seeking films which represent Chile’s fall into fascism in the 1970s.

A Place of Absence & How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps

A Place of Absence and How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps are two personal projects that explore the immigrant experience and grief through the eyes of daughters and their mothers. Both films bring color to lives that have been hidden and invite the audience to join the filmmakers on their journey to process the trauma and experiences that have shaped their families and lives.

Fifteen (Mexico)

For something completely different to the above look out for this high-school lesbian body-horror comedy. Fifteen seamlessly merges a wide range of genres to make something that unbelievably works. It’s fun, funny, and a refreshing change to everything mentioned above. It reminded me a lot of Good Manners and Medusa – two wildly inventive genre-bending Brazilian films.

The Shorts at LALIFF 2026

We also caught a shorts segment, which was the highlight of the festival. The theater was packed with talent and some huge entourages of friends and family, which made the viewing a real atmospheric treat. The films below were all refreshing and unique and well worth seeking out.

#Blessed: this comedy short about Juanita looking for the love of her life is filled with plenty of tongue-in-cheek silliness, vivid colors, and pop editing to make it a very fun watch.
Loco: a man in his late 20s/early 30s hilariously tries to navigate an existential crisis without his parents knowing; “you don’t need therapy, you only need Jesus”.
Marga en el DF: captures the difficulty of relationships and the warm vibes of Mexico City accompanied by Selena through the experiences of a pregnant lady.

LALIFF 2026 Footnote

LALIFF 2026 was one of the most lively film festivals I’ve experienced in Los Angeles owing to the amazing job it did of welcoming talent and building community. It also had a diverse range of high-quality film-programming and events too. So if you’re in Los Angeles, brave the trip to the TCL Chinese theater complex in Hollywood next year to celebrate Latino film.