LatiFAM's Latinx Film Festival: Student Screenings
By Bridget Zhang
Over the first weekend of April, USC SCA’s Latinx Film and Media Association held their Second Annual Latinx Film Festival with an amazing lineup of events, screening both recent USC student projects and archived shorts from the 1970s, as well as featured work from the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. It was a delight to view the student projects screened on the second day. The program consisted of 18 short films with a wide range of storylines that included both cheesy romantic comedies and deep contemplations of life and reality. While poorly written dialogue and inconsistent color grading diminished the quality of a few of them, the high level of creativity and production value seen in the majority certainly elevated this viewing experience.
Personally, two unique dark comedies stood out from the selection. Acid Trip depicts the aftermath of a murder through a comedic lens, in which our main character’s post-homicide nonchalance switches immediately into panic at the arrival of her abuelita. Well composed shots and witty lines certainly made this a wonderful watch, with her frantic attempts to hide the evidence soon foiled by a knock on the door. Beneath its lighthearted mood, the film also touches on the theme of female solidarity against male domestic violence: my favorite shot is the one where all three women stand shoulder-to-shoulder, peering down at the vat of acid they will use to dispose of the corpse. The weight of the main character’s crime feels less heavy knowing that she did it to save her friend from further abuse. Continuing with the homicidal tendencies , Canniballis Fructus delves into the weirder territory of absurd horror as a fruit-obsessed kidnapper force feeds his hostage, fattening her for the kill. The film finds a balance between the artistic and the uncomfortable, contrasting imagery like an aesthetic bed of fruit with a strand of hair in one’s pie. Amidst the morbidity of it all, the kidnapper’s eccentric ways create unexpected moments of humor. While his victim stares helplessly, bound and gagged, he suddenly begins playing the piano and serenading her. This moderately bizarre act worked in favor of the film and the director later revealed that the scene was spontaneously incorporated when they saw a piano at the filming location. Perhaps the creativity seen in these two films was due to the fact that they both don’t take themselves too seriously, resulting in a very engaging watch.
Other memorable films looked at relationships between parents and children, with GOOD KID telling a touching story of how we reconcile our parents’ wishes with our own dreams. The film brings us into Adrian’s world of reggaeton through appealing visual design that employs the use of flowers and pink tones, before she is abruptly interrupted by her disapproving mother. At the same time, we are also given a quiet glimpse into her mother’s perspective, showing how the sacrifices of immigrant parents feed into expectations for their children. This theme of parental sacrifice is also evident in Don’t Look Back, where father and son go on the run in a zombie-infested apocalyptic world. With death rapidly approaching, the film creates a tense, heartrending atmosphere via beautiful cinematography that complements the impassioned final words of the father. Differing slightly from the previous two, Impulso does not focus on parental relations but weaves them into its story. A well-executed thriller, the film’s highlight is the heavily emotive performance delivered by the actor who played Amaris, a character who is driven to her breaking point after her manipulative boyfriend comes home with blood on his hands and she is forced to leave everything behind. We never see Amaris’ mother in the film but hear her voice over phone calls that punctuate an increasingly dark night. This leaves us with one lingering question: after the events of the night, what will Amaris tell her worried mother?
Lastly, The Death of Socrates left a lasting impression, due to both its high production value and its unique subject matter. This is a deeply reflective metaphysical piece exploring the grief felt by Crito of Alopece after the death of his mentor, Socrates. The film presents a conversation held in a dark liminal space between life and death, where light from a single window illuminates the interlocutors and the draped table that separates them. The set is simple but artistic, reminiscent of scenes depicted in classical paintings, and includes a familiar red-blue color dichotomy used to create striking visual contrast. While I was unsure of what to expect due to lack of knowledge about ancient Greek philosophy, this film is one that leaves you with food for thought regardless.
At the end of the screening, there was a short panel with some of the filmmakers, who spoke about the inspiration for their films and their advice for fellow filmmakers. The originality of their work certainly embodies a wonderful feature of filmmaking, which is that stories told can be drawn from anything – a deeply personal experience, a fascination with a certain subject, something fun or strange, just for the sake of it. The conversation also highlighted the importance of balance – careful planning is necessary for realizing specific creative visions, but working spontaneously with unexpected circumstances can often produce brilliant results too. Film festivals like this are indeed great opportunities to enjoy the many stories told, whether fictional, documentorial, or those revealed in Q&As that highlight the filmmaking experience. As I walked out of the screening room, I overheard two of the directors exchanging their contact information and it is at such a moment that you realize something lovely: the return of in-person festivals also marks the restoration of a precious, much-missed space for connecting with others who are equally passionate about film.
Image courtesy of Jonathan Solis Jovel.