The low down on the Latin American films of Berlin Feminist Film Week 2019

The Berlin Feminist Film Week is starting this Thursday 7th of March with its Premier film The Miseducation of Cameron Post preceded by the German short film, Riot not diet by Julia Fuhrmann. These are not the Latin American films you are looking for, but knowledge never goes waste. You can read the entire list here. The Latin American and Hispanic films showcasing at this year’s Berlin Feminist Film Week come from three countries only: Mexico, Argentina, and Spain. One could ask if this has to do with what we could call a case of smoldering misogyny in the continent or if this is just a coincidence. A festival can only host so many pictures that it would be absurd to pretend to have all the countries and directors covered. For many, Berlin is the world’s haven for diversity and tolerance. What for many could be a cultural clash or a hard to swell situation, Berliners embrace it as a common thing. Is one of the key features that bring so many people to the German capital: to be all seen as humans and valued for what they are and do and not for their appearance. So, in the course of five days, the Berlin Feminist Film Week will not only host a wide range of films but also workshops such as Positioning of women*Filmmakers in Documentaries and Editing Gender. Last thing, a bit off topic, to those imagining this Feminist Film Week as crassly related to women, just check The Chemo Darkroom.

These are the Latin American films of Berlin Feminist Film Week 2019

Singled [Out] – Mexico among other countries

Any woman, especially in her 30s, will have to listen to invasive questions about the status of their love life. Although women do just fine without husbands and single households are on the rise in many parts of the world, being single as a woman over 30 still leads to disbelief, pity, stigma and questions that are none of people’s business. SINGLED [OUT] tells the story of five educated women in four corners of the world: Jules in Melbourne, Manu in Barcelona, Shu and Yang in Shanghai, and Melek in Istambul -they all travel solo in a world where pairing up is the norm. Together with the voices of some well-known experts in the areas of sociology, law, and demography, the film unveils modern love in the era of choice and is a journey to the heart of being a single woman today.

Single out - showcasing at the Berlin Feminist Film Week

Singled [Out] explores the cross-cultural stigma that exists while aiming to change the narrative about female singledom. By putting on screen these five stories, the film works to both unfold the anxieties women face because of singlism, while simultaneously aiming to highlight the myths that different cultures perpetuate to maintain coupling as the status quo. The film considers the role that media, culture, religion and social values play in how single women are treated, and the real effects that this has on how women value themselves, as well as exploring the place of love on this era, the era of modern love. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week.

San Miguel – Mexico

In order to heal her grieving mother, Ana, a devout 9-year-old girl, pushes her faith to its limit in hopes of divine intervention. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week. You can watch the trailer and start realizing the potential of this film, the director needs less than a minute and one shot to push the viewer out of their seat and into the story. https://player.vimeo.com/video/257079676

Rosario – Mexico

Rosario sees her days go by as caregiver for her ill husband. Silently, she bears the burden of a marriage that has dried up. No one in her family knows how she feels; everyone keeps up appearances. But a struggle has begun between her duty and her own desires. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week.

Living tongue – Argentina

A living tongue is a repertoire for expressions, constantly growing and changing. Tomoko is a retired Japanese woman in an exchange program in Argentina, with her living tongue she soaks up new words and gestures in a constant quest to communicate. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week.

DECONSTRUCTION: THE SUSY SHOCK CHRONICLES – Argentina

From the very heart of the Pachamama region to the center of the capital cities, Susy Shock creates her own path, and travels, as if she were a comet brightening up the instant, whichever instant she crosses our path. High heels and makeup, streets, poetry, friends, and companions; all contribute to her condition of reinventing herself: not a man, not a woman, not xxy nor h2o; but a monster of the abnormal, a butterfly who wants to play and enjoy. It is the dichotomy of the visible and invisible in the setting of a person, in the deconstruction of identity. And, above all, it is all about the struggle to be who you want to be. Who wants to be normal? … Let others be the norm. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week.

Carmen and Lola – Spain

The newest film by Spanish director Arantxa Echevarría, has been around since last year making a lot of noise in the Film world, especially at Cannes and the Goya awards in 2019, where she won the Goya Award for Best New Director. The film depicts a secluded society dominated by repression with arranged marriages. Carmen & Lola are part of it and when they meet, a passion to break chains arise in the form of love.

Eva sola – Germany

This may have been filmed in Germany but: Eva, one of the 500,000 young Spanish migrants away from Spain, spends her New Year’s Eve looking for the reasons why she is where she is. During the course of the night, Eva will confront herself with different situations and encounters that will show her the way to becoming the person that she wants to be. “Eva Sola”, a film by Lara Rodriguez Cruz, is a story about those who leave themselves behind, in order to look for what home means. -source: Berlin Feminist Film Week.