Latinx Talent Shines Bright at 2024 Tribeca Festival
"In the Summers" and "Don't You Let Me Go" are among the Latina-directed titles at Tribeca this year
Photo: Instagram/@celina_murga/@cinematropical, Bocacha Films/@inthesummersfilm
Latinx talent in film continues to make waves this year with the upcoming 2024 Tribeca Festival, which hosts around 600 screenings every spring in New York City. At last year’s Tribeca, the docu-series De La Calle had its world premiere—produced and hosted by Argentinian-American journalist Nick Barili, the series is an exploration of the journey of Latin diaspora and evolution of Urbano music. Latinx talent was further showcased by the program “Shorts: Life Isn’t Normal” which featured screening of seven fiction shorts from Latin America tied by themes pushing against normalcy. Tribeca has shown us an influx of incredible films starring and even made by Latinxs throughout the years like the horror film Huesera (2022), the sports documentary Chávez (2007), and La Llorona (2019). This year’s lineup is no different with talent behind and in front of the camera in fiction shorts, documentary shorts, and feature films—many with female directors. From Colombian-American director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s In the Summers to The Freshly Cut Grass by Celina Murga, these are this year’s showings of Latinx talent on screen and the female-driven films to see this year.
“The Latin American / Latine feature films in our slate explore timely social issues and circumstances impacting Latin America at large, as well as foreground intimate character-driven narratives that are fueled by emotional resonance and depth,” Jose Rodriguez, the lead programmer of Latinx content for Tribeca, tells HipLatina. “The shorts from Latin America and the Caribbean in our slate propulsively explore the follies of youth, the struggles of self-actualization and the absurdities of our lived experiences, as well as navigate re-explorations of memories and friendships.”
Latinx creatives are set to shine with stories exploring topics from dealing with nuanced family dynamics to tackling the severity of navigating the risks of being a journalist. This year’s slate of Latin American and Latinx programming features three female-directed features: In the Summers by queer Colombian-American director Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio, Don’t You Let Me Go by Uruguayan directing-duo Ana Guevara, Leticia Jorge, and The Freshly Cut Grass by Argentinian filmmaker Celina Murga.
“I like it when films make us question ourselves instead of giving us simple answers. The Freshly Cut Grass seeks to reflect about the complex nature of love ties in long term relationships and what a family is today from each gender’s point of view. But it also wants to shine a light into how each gender´s actions are somehow conditioned by social mandates,” Murga told Variety.
In the Summers—which recently took home the Grand Jury prize at the 40th Sundance Film Festival—centers a complicated relationship between two sisters and their father throughout the summers of their childhood. This film is a standout with a cast featuring Puerto Rican rapper René Pérez Joglar, known as Residente from the iconic Calle 13, Dominican-American singer and actress Leslie Grace, and actress Sasha Calle (The Flash) of Colombian descent.
Don’t You Let Me Go explores the nuances of female friendship and The Freshly Cut Grass, also executive produced by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, explores the stories of two married professors stepping out on their spouses with younger students. Another film set to make waves is State of Silence directed by Santiago Maza and executive produced by Mexican actors, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal takes a look at the risks journalists in Mexico face when reporting on corruption and “narco politics” lead to consequences. More features include Pirópolis (Chile), La Cocina (Mexico, United States), and The Dog Thief (Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, France, Italy).
When it comes to short films, Latinx stories center Latinx youth throughout Latin America with most directed by women. The female-directed titles include I Want To Violently Crash Into the Windshield of Love (Mexico) by Fernanda Tovar, Punta Salinas (Puerto Rico) by Maria del Mar Rosario, Passarinho (Mexico) by Natalia Garcia Agraz, Five Ways to Get Rid of a Hickey (Chile) by Colectivo Niñita Perversa, and ¡salsa! (Colombia) by Antonina Kerguelen Roman. The slate’s only LATAM documentary short—Pastrana— is also co-directed by Brazilian filmmaker Melissa Brogni. Other LATAM short films to screen include ¡Beso de lengua! (Mexico) and NEA (Colombia).
