As Latin American cinema continues staking out its territory on the global stage, more and more festivals from the region have begun to step out of the shadows and into the limelight. Among the more promising up-and-comers of the last few years is the Festival de Cine de Lima, which since its founding in 1997 has been providing an important outlet for the work of internationally-recognized Peruvian filmmakers such as Claudia Llosa and Josué Mendez as well as other filmmakers from throughout the region. Indeed, much like its peer festivals in Cartagena and Guadalajara, Lima focuses specifically on the work of Latin American filmmakers, who vie each year for the coveted Spondylus Award (WTF is a Spondylus?!?)
The 2014 edition kicked off this past Friday with a screening of La noche de enfrente directed by Chilean Raul Ruiz, and will continue through August 16. This year’s slogan, “Más allá de los clichés, hay buen cine latino,” is another gesture of regional empowerment in the vein of Guadalajara’s “Todas Las Pantallas Son Nuestras,” and underscores the political importance of this type of event.
Yet with the festival’s official publicity spot it appears the festival’s PR folks also wanted to show the lighter side of the festival. The 44 second clip features some Dadaist dialogue consisting of a nonsensical series of Latino stereotypes along with a Sábado Gigante–style lineup of sexy women. It may not be entirely clear what’s going on here, but don’t try to make sense of it — just appreciate what the folks at the fest are trying to say.
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