Discovering Latin American Cinema at the LFF

On a wet Thursday night in October I found myself in the wrong Odeon trying to discover Latin American cinema. Instead, I’m being pressed on all sides by frantic press and celeb shoulder-rubbers, all trying to secure their passes for the impending W. screening as part of the LFF. Not checking my e-mail scrupulously enough, I am meant to be at the Covent Garden Odeon and not the premiere hotspot of the world I’m currently trapped in. I gladly hot-foot it away from the bulb-flashing and name shouting.

The Discover Latin America Film Festival (DLAFF) begins at the end of November, and as a precursor they have arranged a couple of warm-ups to the main event, with the Progressio charity at the heart. Tonight’s film is The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (pictured), directed by Cao Hamburger, and if it’s often said that simple is best, this film is a case in point.

The year is 1970; the backdrop is a dictatorship and the victorious Brazilian World Cup football team, which immediately throws up many viewpoints. The chosen slice of life is a 10-year-old boy, Mauro, who is abandoned with his grandfather in Sao Paolo by his left-wing parents as they flee underground. His despondency is clearly and simply shot, and the death of his grandfather as soon as he arrives paints a surreal picture, as if time has been suspended. His new acquaintances try their utmost to make him feel at home, but only the passage of time enables him to slowly find comfort without close relatives at hand.

Football is his saving grace, but even the summit of Brazil’s cup conquest is not enough to mask the void left by Mauro’s parents and society’s troubles. The story is framed by Mauro arriving and leaving Sao Paolo, and the Jewish community he shares his experiences with is just one of the layers that makes this film so funny, resonant and endearing. This is a part of that year’s history I knew nothing about, and the image of Pele jumping into the arms of his teammate will now register a broader recollection.

The DLAFF runs from November 27 to December 7 at a number of venues in London. You’ll be able to check the website nearer the time for more details.

Discovering Latin American Cinema at the LFF (text) by Steph Pomphrey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.