RE Picks: Latino Films @ Tribeca Film Fest 2012

04.19.12 at 11:28

If you are like me (and every other Latino) you are sick of seeing movies where the people that look like us are only maids, janitors, undocumented immigrants or drug dealers. The Latino experience is so much more complex; it spans continents, languages, and cultures. This year’s Tribeca Film Festival is filled with films that offer diverse portraits of Latinos. There are stories about a Mexican-American folk singer from Detroit, a Latin Dance world champion who happens to be Ukrainian, an Argentinian professional poker player, a gringa who becomes an immigrant-smuggling coyote, Brazilian Xingu Indians and of course, the requisite Salma Hayek movie. Ticket prices aren’t cheap. (Do they have a minority scholarship?) So, here’s a list of the ones that look the most promising.

Searching for Sugar Man
Director: Malik Bendjelloul
2011 | 85 min | Feature Documentary | Country: Sweden, U.K.
New York Premiere

“Aspiring ’70s folk rock musician Rodriguez never made it big. Despite critical praise, his albums bombed in the U.S., and he faded promptly into obscurity, leaving behind only urban legends of a gruesome onstage suicide. But somehow a bootleg copy of his album made its way to apartheid South Africa, where his anti-establishment message and distinctive sound resonated with the youth protest movement there, making Rodriguez an instant superstar. Decades later, two intrepid fans decide to investigate whatever happened to the mysterious Mexican-American rocker.”

Una Noche
Director: Lucy Mulloy
2012 | 89 min | Feature Narrative | Country: Cuba, U.K., USA
North American Premiere

Ballroom Dancer
Director: Andreas Koefoed and Christian Bonke
2011 | 84 min | Feature Documentary | Country: Denmark
North American Premiere

“In 2000, Slavik Kryklyvyy became the World Latin Dance Champion with his partner and lover Joanna Leunis. Enduring success seemed assured, but instead Slavik’s career sputtered while Leunis went on to unrivaled glory with a replacement partner. A decade later Slavik has his sights set on a comeback. He has reteamed with a new partner—his girlfriend, amateur dance champion Anna Melnikova, and redemption seems within their grasp. But when it comes to making their relationship work both on and off the dance floor, will Slavik’s unwavering ambition prove to be his greatest asset, or his fatal flaw?”

If you have cash to burn check out even more Latino films at Tribeca.

As Luck Would Have It, a darkly comic satire about a family’s unconditional love, starring Salma Hayek

The Girl, about a gringa desperate for money who becomes a coyote—smuggling immigrants across the Texas border.

Unit 7, a Spanish crime thriller about a police unit on an extremely dangerous special mission.

Xingu, an inspiring story of human rights and environmental activism, inspired by true events in a village of Brazilian Xingu Indians

The 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival will take place in Lower Manhattan from April 18 – April 29, 2012. Ticket sales begin April 16 and can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea at 260 W. 23rd Street, and AMC Loews Village VII at 66 3rd Avenue.

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