The Portland Latin American Film Festival announces its XVII Season at the Hollywood Theatre from September 27 to November 30 with a mix of seven feature films and documentaries from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Panama, USA, and co-produced with Norway, Peru, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark.

One of our highlights is The Settlers (Los Colonos,) the first Chilean production honored with the Caméra d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Chilean production to win that award.

The festival kicks off on Wednesday, September 27 at 7:30 PM with the USA release of the Mexican film Over There, Love is a Destiny (Allá, Cartas al Corazón.) 

Director Montserrat Larqué will be in attendance to introduce the film and participate in a Q&A session after the screening followed by a Party at Hey Love (920 SE Burnside St. Portland), located in the lobby of Jupiter NEXT Hotel. Music by local DJ Papi Fiambres.

On November 15 we will premiere the Mexican documentary Song that Burns (Canción que Quema). Pascual Reyes a film score composer, and frontman of the 23-year-old Mexican Rock band “San Pascualito Rey” will also be in attendance to introduce the film and participate in a Q&A session after the documentary.

Tickets can be purchased at the Hollywood Theatre Box Office (4122 NE Sandy Blvd.) or ONLINE HERE.

Tickets are $14.00 for opening film, $12.00 for other screenings, and $9.00 for Sunday’s matinee. All films screened with English subtitles. For more information call 503-737-8605.

Check out our lineup!

Over There, Love is a Destiny / Allá, Cartas al Corazón



Wednesday, September 27, 7:30 PM

MÉXICO 2022

Director: Montserrat Larqué

Drama / Spanish with English subtitles / 101 minutes USA PREMIERE

Director Montserrat Larqué will be in attendance to introduce the film and participate in a Q&A session after the screening. After the Q&A join us at a party at Hey Love located in the lobby of the JUPITER NEXT Hotel (920 SE Burnside St, Portland). Music by DJ Papi Fiambres.

Synopsis: Oscar returns to his hometown, a remote place with no telephone or internet, where only a few women full of longing remain living there.

Director’s Bio: A Screenwriter and Director, Larqué has made fiction and documentary short films that have been selected for national and international festivals. Her work has been recognized with funding and awards in Mexico and other countries. Currently, in addition to developing and writing two feature films, she is working on her first narrative series, winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Fund of the Los Cabos Film Festival.

Over there, Love is a Destiny  trailer

Sister & Sister/ Las Hijas

Monday, October 2, 7:30 PM

PANAMÁ - CHILE 2023

Director: Kattia G. Zuñiga

Drama / Spanish with English subtitles / 80 minutes

Awards: 2023 Winner Golden Biznaga, Best Iberoamerican Film (Mejor Película Iberoamericana)

Synopsis: Summer vacation. Two sisters, Marina (17) and Luna (14), travel from Costa Rica to Panama to look for their absent father. While dealing with frictions that arise between them, they find space to explore their desires, new friendships, lovers, and skateboarding, on a journey toward emancipation where they discover the joy of simply hanging out. An intimate and tender tale of sisterhood in the urban tropics, with a deep and colorful portrayal of teenage life.

Sister & Sister/ Las Hijas trailer

Vicenta B

Wednesday, October 18, 7:30 PM

CUBA-FRANCE-USA-COLOMBIA-NORWAY 2022

Director: Carlos Lechuga

Drama / Spanish with English subtitles / 77 minutes

Awards & Festivals: Egeda Platino Industry Award, WIP LATAM, San Sebastian Film Festival 2021. World Premiere, Contemporary World Cinema Toronto Film Festival 2022. European Premier, Horizontes Latinos, San Sebastian Film Festival 2022. Official Selection, Biarritz Film Festival 2022. Official Selection, Chicago International Film Festival. Winner, Best Director, Cine Ceará Film Festival, Brazil 2022. Winner, Best Actress, Cine Ceará Film Festival, Brazil 2022. Asian Premiere, India International Film Festival, Goa, India, 2022. Official Selection, Festival Filma en America Latina, Switzerland, 2022.



Synopsis: Vicenta, a Cuban woman with the ability to see into the future, lives harmoniously with her only son until he decides to leave the country. Immersed in a profound crisis, Vicenta departs on a voyage to the heartland of a place where everyone seems to have lost their faith. 

Vicenta B trailer

Spanish Dracula / Dracula en Español

Sunday, October 29, 3:00 PM

UNITED STATES 1931

Director: George Melford

Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Spanish with English subtitles / 104 minutes

Synopsis: In 1931, Universal Studios shot its classic horror film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi as the bloodsucking Count from Transylvania. But after production wrapped for the day, an entirely new cast and crew arrived at night to redo all the scenes in Spanish. This version of Dracula en Español starred Carlos Villarías as the caped vampire out for blood. Carlos had been a stage actor in Spain and his resemblance to Bela Lugosi was uncanny, said the late actress Lupita Tovar, who played the lovely Eva. In 2015, Dracula was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Spanish Dracula trailer

The Bone Woman / La Huesera

Wednesday, November 1, 7:30 PM

MÉXICO - PERÚ 2022

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera

Drama - Horror / Spanish with English subtitles / 97 minutes

Awards & Festivals: 7 wins & 27 nominations. 2023 Winner Citta di Faenza Award, Best Film at NOAM Faenza Film Festival. 2022 Winner Nora Ephron Prize and Best New Narrative Director at Tribeca Film Festival. 2022 Winner Feature Film Competition Audience Award and Best Feature Film at Morelia International Film Festival.

Synopsis: In this horror movie, Valeria (Natalia Solián) wants to be a mother. She shows her devotion to this idea by making a pilgrimage to a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe to pray that the Virgin Mary bless her womb. A craftswoman who makes furniture for a living, Valeria eagerly awaits a positive pregnancy test with her boyfriend, Raúl (Alfonso Dosal), while building a crib for their future baby. Then something begins haunting her, a figure that takes on unnatural shapes and makes her feel like her bones are breaking. Maybe because, in some way, they are.

The Bone Woman / La Huesera trailer

 SONG THAT BURNS / CANCIÓN QUE QUEMA

Wednesday, November 15, 7:30 PM

MÉXICO 2023

USA PREMIERE

Pascual Reyes, a TV and film score composer, and frontman of the 23-year-old Mexican Rock band “San Pascualito Rey" will be in attendance to introduce the film and participate in a Q & A session after the documentary.

Directors: Yulene Olaizola, Rubén Imaz and Luis Flores Rábago Documentary / Spanish with English subtitles/ 98 minutes

Synopsis: After several years, the cult Mexican rock band San Pascualito Rey returns to the studio to record its fourth album “Todo Nos Trajo Hasta Hoy.” It’s an ambitious gamble as the group is convinced that they are making the best album in its history. Song by song, the musicians expose their dreams and fears, falling into creative frictions and stretching their relationships to the limit. The San Pascualito Rey creators of the ¨dark Guapachoso¨ sound have literally left their skin on the asphalt, clinging to the hope of achieving something that seems impossible: to survive making their music.

What critics say: Throughout history, documentaries have recorded periods of activity of various Mexican rock bands; however, none has so starkly portrayed the difficulties faced by those who risk dedicating themselves to music as Canción que Quema does. It is a high-profile work that avoids narrative clichés and thoroughly explores the motives that keep a rock group standing, in this case San Pascualito Rey.

Director’s Bio: Pascual Reyes was born in Mexico City in 1976. As a TV and film score composer he has worked with directors and producers such as Jayro Bustamante (Golden Globe nominee), Carlos Bolado (Oscar Nominee), Ben Odell (EMMY nominee), Alvaro Curiel, Beto Gómez, Perla Martínez, Rubén Ímaz, Yulene Olaizola, and Mariano Carranco, composing scores for feature, documentary films and TV series. He was a nominee for best Original Music by Platino Awards in 2015 for "Ixcanul" and for "La Llorona" in 2021. He was also nominated for the 2011 and 2012 Latin Grammy Awards for his song "Salgamos de Aquí" and for his band album "Valiente".

 The Settlers / Los Colonos

Thursday, November 30, 7:30 PM

ARGENTINA - CHILE - UNITED KINGDOM -TAIWAN – GERMANY – SWEDEN- FRANCE - DENMARK 2023

Director: Felipe Gávez Haberle

Awards: World premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2023. Competed for Un Certain Regard and Caméra d'Or, and alongside those was honored with the FIPRESCI Prize, becoming the first Chilean production to win that award.

Synopsis: Chile, beginning of the 20th century. A wealthy landowner hires three horsemen to mark out the perimeter of his extensive property and open a route to the Atlantic Ocean across vast Patagonia. The expedition, composed of a young Chilean half-blood, an American mercenary and led by a reckless British lieutenant, soon turns into a “civilizing” raid.

The Settlers/ Los Colonos trailer

Tickets can be purchased at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd.) or online at www.hollywoodtheater.org. Tickets are $14.00 for opening film, $12.00 for other screenings, and $9.00 for Sunday’s matinee. For more information call 503-737-8605.

 Cassandro / FREE SCREENING

Friday, September 15, 7:30 PM

MEXICO, USA 2023

Director: Roger Ross Williams

The best and the WEIRDEST movie of Sundance 2023

Synopsis: Saúl Armendáriz (Gael Garcia Bernal), a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, rises to international stardom after he creates the character ‘Cassandro,’ the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life. Based on a true story. Directed by Academy Award® winner Roger Ross Williams.

CLAIM YOUR FREE TICKETS TO CASSANDRO

ONLY THIS SCREENING WILL BE HELD AT

Regal Lloyd Center Stadium 10.

The code to claim your passes is: cassport.



Cassandro trailer