Editor’s note: Joe Mattos quote translated from Portuguese.
Cine Latino is an annual festival celebrating Latino filmmaking hosted by the Minneapolis-St. Louis Art Museum. Paul Film Society opens Wednesday night at the Main Cinema.
Until Sunday, the festival will screen a variety of films, short films and documentaries from Spain and all over Latin America. The opening night celebration, held Wednesday next to Pracuña’s theater, featured live music by local group Bossa Soul and delicious Brazilian dishes such as fried dumplings with shredded chicken, coxinhas, manioc croquettes and mini tapioca. A number of finger foods were presented. It is filled with guava jam called goiavada.
Conversation in Spanish and Portuguese echoed throughout the hall as guests excitedly waited for the evening’s feature film screening.
For the first time in its 12-year history, Cine Latino opened with the Brazilian film “Ainda Estou Aqui,” the U.S. debut of director Walter Salles. The film is an adaptation of Marcelo Paiva’s 2015 novel of the same name.
Ainda Estou Aqui is a true story about how Paiva’s mother and father were persecuted by the Brazilian government for treason. Capturing the essence of life in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, this visually stunning film beautifully tells the story of a family’s perseverance during one of the darkest periods in Brazil’s history.
For those who don’t know, in 1964 a U.S.-backed coup overthrew Brazil’s democratic government and replaced it with a ruthless, repressive conservative dictatorship. The military regime ruled with an iron fist, censoring the media, expelling intellectuals, and killing dissidents.
The story of ‘Ainda Estou Aqui’ revolves around Paiva’s mother Eunice and her struggle to care for her five children after her husband Rubens is kidnapped and murdered by the Brazilian government. Eunice completed her law degree at the age of 48 and spent the rest of her life fighting for social justice and human rights at the national and international level.
Fernanda Torres, the daughter of Brazil’s leading actress Fernanda Montenegro, gives a wonderful performance as Eunice Paiva. Her performance in every scene is incredibly emotional and deeply moving, bringing the film’s story to life.
Joe Mattos, a member of the Brazil-Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said bringing these stories to Cine Latino is a great way for others to see the experiences of Latinos and the stories of Latinos themselves. He said that it is important because it can be done. The Chamber of Commerce is one of Cine Latino’s many sponsors.
“It’s important to share our culture with Americans,” Matos said.
While some films depict dire conditions in Latin American countries, artistic director Hebe Tabaknik said Cine Latino is more like a party. She said festival events will feature music, dancing and good times.
Tabaknik said festivals like Cine Latino are important because they often show films that haven’t been widely released in the U.S., and that festivals have the ability to truly embrace the language of film, regardless of language barriers. He said it would attract an interested audience.
“It’s an opportunity for movie lovers to come together and spend some time together,” Tabaknik said.
Cine Latino features underrated classics like Brazil Central and new releases from underrated cultures like Ozogoche, a documentary about the Kichwa community in the Ecuadorian Andes. We plan to show both.
If the only Latin movies you know are “Rio” and “Coco,” you should be familiar with the classics of Latin American cinema. Whether you watch “Y Tu Mamá También” or “Tropa de Elite,” you won’t be disappointed.
