Latinos en Nueva York: 9th The Americas Film Festival New York

The 9th The Americas Film Festival New York opens Friday, June 17 with the NY premiere of The King of All the World by legendary director Carlos Saura at the Instituto Cervantes NY

New York, May 30, 2022.– The 9th edition of The Americas Film Festival New York presents seven feature films and more than 30 shorts, celebrating the rich diversity of the stories, languages and cultures of the Americas. TAFFNY events are free and open to the public, and all foreign language films are subtitled in English.

The Festival opens on Friday, June 17, 6:30pm at the Instituto Cervantes New York (211 E 49th Street, NYC) with the New York premiere of The King of All The World (El rey de todo el mundo), the latest film by two legendary giants of cinema, director Carlos Saura and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. Producer Alexandra Fierro, will be present for a Q&A after the screening.

The King of All The World was filmed in Mexico and tells the story of Manuel (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who, after taking a break from the stage, returns with a musical about making a musical. To help direct his theatrical comeback, he reaches out to renowned choreographer Sara (Ana de la Reguera), who also happens to be his ex-wife. During casting, young Ines stands out as a rising star while dealing with her father (Damian Alcazar) and a local mob. At rehearsal, both passion and tension grow among the dancers. Powerful Mexican music sets the tone, and as in many of his films, Saura will create different universes in which tragedy, fiction and reality intertwine.

TAFFNY closes Friday, June 24 at 6pm with its awards ceremony for short films in competition at the National Museum of the American Indian (1 Bowling Green, NYC), followed by the special presentation of Bootlegger by Anishinaabe-French filmmaker, Caroline Monnet. The film tells the story of Mani, a master’s student who returns to the reserve in Northern Quebec where she grew up. Resolved to reintegrate into the community, she gets involved in the debate around a referendum on allowing the free sale of alcohol on the reserve. Laura, a bootlegger, pockets the profits she makes there under the protection of the band council and her partner Raymond. Opposing forces quickly divide the community into two sides facing each other to determine the best path to independence.

Dr. Juan Carlos Mercado, Dean of the City College Downtown, Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at CWE (CCNY-CUNY) and TAFFNY’s co-founder says of this year’s festival: “In addition to highlighting the importance of presenting films from established filmmakers, we promote new talents with The Americas Award for short films in competition. We would also like to honor the students and professors of City College’s MFA Program in Film, one of the oldest film schools in the U.S. and the only public institution in New York City to offer a BFA in film.”

The Americas Short Film Competition is dedicated to the promotion and exhibition of short audiovisual works by emerging filmmakers that portray the contemporary concerns of filmmakers living in the region. This year, TAFFNY shows 28 short films competing for the Americas Award in the categories of Animation, Documentary, Experimental and Fiction. The jurors of the Documentary and Animation categories consist of director Catalina Santamaria, producer Wilson Reyes and film professor Alvaro Baquero-Pecino. In the categories of Fiction and Experimental the jury consists of actress Jely Reategui, artist Alexis Mendoza and professor James Lowry.

Over the course of 8 days, 17 countries will show part of their identity, culture and diversity through the seventh art. The Americas Panorama is a dynamic program that brings the richness of the cultures of the Americas through seven award-winning fiction and documentary feature films. "The films, mostly directed by female directors, explore the complexities of their societies, review their past and question social and personal positions on pressing issues such as reproductive rights, sustainability, motherhood and the legacy of ancestral laws," says Diana Vargas, TAFFNY’s Artistic Director.

TAFFNY is an initiative of the City College Downtown, Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at CWE (CCNY-CUNY) and the collaboration of prestigious institutions such as the National Museum of the American Indian, the Instituto Cervantes, NY, the General Consulate of Argentina in New York, the General Consulate of Colombia in NY, the CCNY Division of Humanities and the Arts, the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership and CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, with the purpose of creating a cinematographic appreciation space focused on multiculturalism, diversity and new societies around Las Américas, as well as encouraging the work of new film directors. Telemundo 47 is the media sponsor of TAFFNY 2022. Additional support from Ron Barceló.

TAFFNY PROGRAM 2022

FRIDAY JUNE 17 | VIERNES JUNIO 17

INSTITUTO CERVANTES NEW YORK

*By Invitation Only

Masks are strongly recommended

6:30 PM: Opening Night Film | Noche de Apertura

In partnership with Instituto Cervantes

THE KING OF ALL THE WORLD / EL REY DE TODO EL MUNDO - NY Premiere

Carlos Saura | Mexico, Spain | Fiction | 2021 | 95 min

Starring Ana de la Reguera (Narcos, Backyard), Manuel García Rulfo (Perfect Strangers), Enrique Arce (Knightfall, Money Heist), Damián Alcázar (Narcos)

Trailer

Amazing images, incredible dancing and magnificent music by top Latin artist are the background of this collaboration between Saura & Storaro: Manuel is preparing his next show, a musical about making a musical show. He seeks the help of Sara his ex-wife and renowned choreographer to direct. In the casting, the young Ines will appear as a rising star while dealing with her father and local mob. During the rehearsals, the passion and tension will grow among the dancers. Powerful Mexican music sets the tone and a play will emerge in which tragedy, fiction and reality intertwine.

*Q&A with producer Alexandra Fierro. Reception to follow sponsored by Ron Barceló

SATURDAY JUNE 18 | SÁBADO JUNIO 18

CWE – CITY COLLEGE DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

You must present an ID to enter the building

Masks are strongly recommended; RSVP required

3:00 PM SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION | CORTOMETRAJES EN COMPETENCIA / Program I

UNCLE / TÍO

Juan José Medina | Mexico | Animation | 2021 | 13 min

EVEN

Khalil Charif | Brazil | Experimental | 2022 | 2 min

THE ART & THE WAY

Tatiany Furuse | Brazil | Documentary | 2021 | 15 min

TRANSFORM YOU / TRANSFORMARTE

Jimmy Valdivieso | Peru | Experimental | 2021 | 9 min

THE ARITHMETIC OF SURVIVAL

Joseph Nybyk | USA | Fiction | 2021 | 10 min

PAPER CARPENTER / CARPINTEIRO DE PAPEL

Renata Bueno, Daniel Medina | Portugal-Brazil | Animation | 2021 | 13 min

THE POLACKS / LAS POLACAS

Carlos Barba | Cuba-USA | Fiction | 2021 | 24 min

4:30 PM SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION | CORTOMETRAJES EN COMPETENCIA / Program II

RETROSPECTIVE / RETROSPECTIVA

Jorge Varela | Mexico | Experimental | 2021 | 18 min

VOLCANISTA: EL DESPERTAR DE UN CIUDADANO

Juan José Muralles | Guatemala | Documentary | 2021 | 14 min

SEAL / SELO

Alessandro Corrêa | Brazil | Experimental | 2021 | 5 min

WHEN THE WALLS SPEAK / QUANDO AS PAREDES FALAM

Edson Ferreira | Brazil | Documentary | 2022 | 10 min

OBSCVR

Marcelo Sanhueza | Chile | Animation | 2021 | 5 min

ALLIANCE FOR ELDORADO / ALIANÇA POR ELDORADO

Marco Escrivão, Priscila Schmidt | Brazil “ Experimental | 2022 | 12 min

HELEN AT DUSK / HÉLÈNE AU CRÉPUSCULE

Marco Joubert | Canada | Fiction | 2021 | 16 min

MONDAY, JUNE 20 / LUNES, JUNIO 20

INSTITUTO CERVANTES NY

Masks are strongly recommended.

5:45 PM FLY SO FAR / NUESTRA LIBERTAD – NY Premiere

Celina Escher | Sweden-El Salvador | Documentary | 90 min | 2021

Trailer

Teodora Vásquez was in the ninth month of her pregnancy in 2007 when she fainted and had a stillbirth while working. When she woke up at the hospital, she was accused of aggravated murder and sentenced to 30 years of prison. Teodora became the spokesperson of the women facing the same charges as her.

7:15 PM EXILES / EXILIOS - NY Premiere

Carmen Vidal | US- Mexico-Spain | Documentary | 52 min | 2021

After the beginning of the civil war, between 20 and 30 thousand people arrived in Mexico; the government gave passports and nationality to all those who requested it, and it was the only country that never recognized the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Exiles tells the story of three artists who lived and died in Mexico: Julia Giménez-Cacho, mother of six children and housewife who, at the age of 50, decided to reinvent herself and became an artist. Emilio García Riera, historian and film critic. With a childhood deeply marked by the war, he became a key figure in Mexican cinema. Elvira Gascón, artist and political activist. In Mexico, she became one of the leading women muralists, which at the time was only a male thing.

*Q&A with the director. Reception to follow.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 / MARTES, JUNIO 21

INSTITUTO CERVANTES NY

Masks are strongly recommended.

5:45 PM – TAFFNY HONORS CITY COLLEGE MFA ON MEDIA AND FILM

The Wealthiest Man in the World: Josiah Johnson | US | Fiction | 2021 | 15:00 min

Breathe: Malobe Sampson | US |Documentary | 2021 | 10:33 min

Right to Exit: Auralynn Rosario | US | Fiction | 2021 | 14:49 min

To Drown: Justin Filpes | US | Fiction | 2021 | 14:18 min

*Q&A with directors

7:00 PM – THE LAND OF AZABA – NY Premiere

Gretta Schiller | US-Spain | Documentary | 82 min | 2020

Trailer

A closely observed film exploring the theme of ecological restoration, a worldwide movement to turn back the tide of mass extinction and restore planet earth to ecological balance. Filmed in Western Spain on Europe's largest ecological restoration project, The Land of Azaba is an immersion into a magical world where humans and wildlife work together to restore a vast Mediterranean landscape.

*Q&A with director

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 / MIÉRCOLES, JUNIO 22

GENERAL CONSULATE OF ARGENTINA IN NEW YORK

For tickets RSVP here

Masks are strongly recommended; RSVP required; Doors open at 5PM

5:30 PM SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION | CORTOMETRAJES EN COMPETENCIA – Program III

QUINO’S DREAM / EL SUEÑO DE QUINO

Santiago Erlich | Spain-Argentina | Animation | 2021 | 8 min

A MURAL FOR GOD / UN MURAL PARA D10S

Martin Alejandro Biaggini | Argentina | Documentary | 2022 | 7 min

SHERATON, THE TRACE OF MEMORY / SHERATON, LA HUELLA DE LA MEMORIA

Margarita Poseck Menz | Chile | Documentary | 2021 | 14 min

NICK

Cesar Turturro | Argentina | Fiction | 2021 | 6 min

RITA THE WILD ONE / RITA LA SALVAJE

Fer Casals, Valeria Massimino | Argentina | Documentary | 2021 | 13 min

THEO / TEO

Eduardo Bunster, Belen Abarza | Chile | Fiction | 2021 | 18 min

6:30 PM THE SIAMESE BOND / LAS SIAMESAS

Paula Hernandez | Argentina | Fiction | 2020 | 90 min

Trailer

Clota and Stella, mother and daughter, live by themselves in an old family house confined by an endogenous routine. One day, Stella got news that she has inherited two small apartments in a desolate seaside town. She decides to set out on a trip as the last possibility to finally become independent, but Clota perceives it as a surgical and terrifying separation.

*Reception to follow

THURSDAY, JUNE 23 / JUEVES, JUNIO 23

GENERAL CONSULATE OF COLOMBIA IN NEW YORK

5:30 PM SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION | CORTOMETRAJES EN COMPETENCIA – Program IV

REMEMBER? / ¿RECUERDAS?

David Moncada Varela | Colombia | Fiction | 2020 | 13 min

KARINA, A DREAM OF MILLIONS

Erika Gregorio | USA | Documentary | 2022 | 8 min

AT THE END OF THE STREET / AL FINAL DE LA CALLE

Victor Grullón | Dominican Republic | Fiction | 2021 | 16 min

THE TINIEST LIFE THAT BLOOMS BETWEEN FOUR WALLS / LA PEQUEÑA VIDA QUE EMERGE ENTRE CUATRO PAREDES

Mykaela Plotkin | Mexico-Argentina-Brazil | Experimental | 2021 | 2 min

DANTE

Cristian Peña | Colombia-USA | Experimental | 2021 | 9 min

THE FLOATING GROCERY BOAT / LA LANCHA ALMACÉN

Erika Grinberg | Argentina | Documentary | 2021 | 6 min

INHOSPITABLE / INHÓSPITO

Melissa Bolaños Carabalí | Colombia | Animation | 2021 | 7 min

HOME, SWEET HOME / HOGAR, DULCE HOGAR

Rodrigo Canet | Spain-Argentina | Animation | 2022 | 5 min

6:30 PM – IF GOD WERE WOMAN / SI DIOS FUERA MUJER

Angelica Cervera | Colombia | Documentary | 2021 | 70 min

Trailer

Laura lives with her parents in L’Alfàz del Pi, in Valencia. Three years ago, she started her transition. Laura now faces adolescence and with it, a series of changes that will mean a new chapter for her and her family. Each decision they make could be definitive.

*Reception to follow. Mask are strongly recommended

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 / VIERNES, JUNIO 24

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

CLOSING NIGHT AND THE AMERICAS AWARD CEREMONY / NOCHE DE CLAUSURA

*In partnership with the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

Requirements: Proof of vaccination. Doors open at 5:30pm. All visitors ages two and older are required to wear a mask during the screening

6:00 PM – The Americas Award Ceremony

6:30PM – Screening Presentation

BOOTLEGGER

Caroline Monnet | Canada | Fiction | 2021 | 81 min

Trailer

Mani, a master’s student, returns to the remote place in northern Quebec where she grew up. Her painful past resurfaces. Resolved to reintegrate into her former home, she gets involved in the debate around a referendum on allowing the free sale of alcohol. Laura, a bootlegger, pockets the profits she makes there under the protection of the band council and her partner Raymond. The latter is still angry with Mani, whom he holds responsible for the death of his daughter in a fire. Two radically opposed women divide the community into two sides who face each other to determine the best path to independence.

*Q&A with Dir. Caroline Monnet

*Reception to follow (Location TBA)

FESTIVAL VENUES