Honduras

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Eva (Honduras) – LALIFF 2026

Eva

Eva Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Whilst the drama of Eva is kicked off by tragedy, the film never feels tragic. This is 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.

From: Honduras, North America
Watch: IMDb
Next: The Awakening of the Ants, Amor y Frijoles, La Yuma

Eva Breakdown

In Eva, a trans-woman takes care of her granddaughter after the sudden death of her daughter-in-law. While processing grief, she tries to help her son connect emotionally to his daughter. Amid tensions, reproaches, and silence, Eva and her son embark on separate paths towards the reconstruction of their family bond and place within their community.

The combination of tragedy and tight-knit family and community make Eva a heart-warming addition to the Central American ‘hood film’ genre. Like the first ‘hood films’ from Los Angeles, such as Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society, and along the lines of Amor Y Frijoles and La Yuma, Eva centers on the experiences of characters growing up in under-served communities in urban environments. It shows that community bonds are the key to surviving through tragic realities of the city in the face of limited government support. For Eva, there’s no evidence of public support for her adoption of her daughter-in-law. Instead, she builds connections with her in-laws, family, lovers, and customers, to turn the overwhelming city into a warm, mellow community.

It’s also wonderful to see nontraditional gender roles integrated so naturally in Eva. By casting Endry Cardeño as a trans, single grandmother, director William Reyes, normalizes trans people on film, trans people in family roles, and trans people as grandparents (especially pertinent as the life expectancy of trans-women in Tegucigalpa is just 32 according to the director William Reyes).

Look out for Eva‘s release in the coming months to catch a tender, poignant film that centers on family and community navigating tragedy.

Head to our LALIFF 2026 festival Hub for more reviews from LALIFF 2026.

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Amor y Frijoles (Honduras) – Romantic Drama in Small Town Honduras

Amor y Frijoles Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you’re a fan of indie films or telenovelas, you’ll enjoy Amor y Frijoles. It’s got the feel of a heart-warming indie film, but the romantic drama of a Mexican telenovela.

Why Watch Amor y Frijoles?
  • Experience life in a typical town in Honduras
  • For telenovela level relationship drama
  • See typical Honduran food: Baleadas
  • Witness the effects of boredom on Ojojona’s inhabitants
The Breakdown

Amor y Frijoles starts with a load of establishing shots of the town of Ojojona as it wakes up in the morning. You’ll see shots of the churches, the streets, the butcher chopping meat, vendors preparing coffee, and the rural landscape which surrounds the town. It’s a typical Honduran town, and acts as a microcosm for the entire country.

This isn’t great news for Honduras. As whilst the town is portrayed well, the main characters are not. Firstly there’s Dionisio, Karen’s husband. He obviously doesn’t care for his wife as he comes home late every night and ignores her. Karen also suspects that he’s cheating, and he probably is, even if it’s never confirmed. Secondly there’s Ramiro, Karen’s best friends husband. At every opportunity he voyeuristically checks out Karen. There’s even one obvious shot of him gazing at her boobs.

Dionisio and Ramiro compose a pretty awful picture of Honduran men. But luckily(?) for them Karen stoops to their level and therefore half  vindicates their awful behavior by having a one-off affair with Ramiro, her best friend’s husband! The drama!

Why are their relationships so extra-marital?

There are so many extra-marital affairs because they are all bored. Karen cooks baleadas in the morning before she goes home and watches hours and hours of reality and religious TV. The directors show her following the same mundane routine everyday. It’s obvious she’s bored, but she’s too stuck by her routine to break from it. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when the TV breaks, she looks to other entertainment to fill the void.

This is also true for Ramiro, Karen’s best friends husband. He’s never shown doing anything other than driving around town aimlessly. It doesn’t look like he has a job or any hobbies to occupy his time. Therefore, without anything to do, he keeps trying to seduce Karen.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Amor y Frijoles is a well made, easy-to-watch Honduran film. It’s got the feel of a great indie film. However, the plot is anything but relaxing, it’s full of the relationship drama you expect to see in Latin American telenovelas.

For more controversial relationships in Central America, check out two films with Gabriel Garcia Bernal:

Or, if you’re after a more romantic love film, check out The Road Home by Zhang Yimou or Sepet, a teen love film set in Malaysia.