Goodbye 2022!: These Are The 10 Latin American Films Of The Year

2022 was a great year for the region's cinema, here we present the 10 Latin American films of the year that have been most successful and that still have the opportunity to take home more awards with the festivals that are scheduled at the beginning of next year.

"1976" By Manuela Martelli, Chile.

“1976” won the award for best Chilean feature film at the 29th edition of FICValdivia, in addition to being nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the 2023 Goya Awards.

The story follows Carmen, who is 1976, the year is known as the most terrifying of the Pinochet dictatorship, who is going to supervise the remodeling of her beach house, when her family's trusted priest asks her to take care of a young man. secretly that he is a political target. From that moment on, Carmen, driven by adrenaline and who has always enjoyed a very comfortable lifestyle, sees how everything around her changes radically.

“Argentina, 1985”, By Santiago Mitre, Argentina

This film, also nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya 2023, was awarded at its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI award from international critics for best film and also won the audience award at the Festival. San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film was already shortlisted to represent Argentina in the next edition of the Oscars.

"Argentina, 1985" narrates the context of what could be the most important trial in the South American country, the Trial of the Military Juntas, responsible for the era of State terrorism by the dictatorship of the National Reorganization Process. The acclaimed Ricardo Darín was in charge of interpreting the prosecutor in charge of the trial, Julio César Strassera, while Peter Lanzani played Luis Moreno Ocampo.

The film is available on Amazon Prime.

“The Pack”, Andrés Ramírez Pulido, Colombia

The film produced between Colombia and France won the Critics' Week Award at the Cannes International Film Festival and is now competing to win the Best Ibero-American Film Award at the Goya 2023.

Here we follow the story of Eliú, a young farmer who is serving a sentence in an experimental center for minors deep in the jungle, where he has a strict regimen of work and therapy. Sometime later, the arrival of the friend with whom he committed the crime that led him to that place puts Eliú at a crossroads between his desires for rehabilitation and his past.

“Utama” By Alejandro Loayza Grisi, Bolivia

This co-production between Bolivia, France, and Uruguay won the Jury Award in the international section of the Sundance Festival and was chosen to represent Bolivia in the next edition of the Oscars.

"Utama," tells us the story of Virginio and Sisia, an elderly Quechua-speaking couple who live in the Andean Altiplano and struggle to survive in the midst of the drought caused by climate change. Virginio, who knows he is close to death, tries not to let his wife find out and finds himself at a crossroads between staying on his land or migrating to an urban center.

“Provisional Measure” By Lazaro Ramos, Brazil

The Brazilian film won the Best Screenplay award at the Indie Memphis Film Festival. This film takes an x-ray of racism and xenophobia by exploring a dystopia in Rio de Janeiro where Afro-descendant inhabitants must flee from the authorities after the government has decreed a measure to reverse slavery in the colonies and wants to force them to emigrate to Africa.

Read also: "The kings of the world": On growing in friendship

“Camila Will Go Out Tonight” By Inés María Barrionuevo, Argentina

This dramatic film won the Jury's Maguey Award at the Guadalajara Film Festival. The film tells the story of Camila, who recently arrived in Buenos Aires, and has to live with a group of teenagers from a traditional private school, where she puts her activism to the test. Topics such as feminism, abortion, sexual identity, and expression are discussed, and how these interact in adolescence.

“Two Seasons” By Juan Pablo González, Mexico

The Mexican film won the award for best script at Outfest, aimed at LGBTIQ+-themed films. "Dos Estaciones" follows the story of María García, a 50-year-old woman who runs the tequila factory that she inherited from her father and has to deal with a plague, a drought, and foreign factories that little by little lead her company to have to close, all this while gradually discovering his sexual orientation.

"The Kings Of The World" By Laura Mora, Colombia

Mora's fourth film was the winner of the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival and will represent Colombia at the 2023 Oscars. “Los Reyes del Mundo” is a road movie that follows the journey of 5 teenagers from the streets of Medellín who decide to enter the jungle looking for the house that was inherited by the eldest of them after land restitution by the government.

“Hail” By Marcos Carnevale, Argentina

This Argentinian comedy starring beloved actor Guillermo Francella follows the story of Miguel Flores, a meteorologist who becomes a public enemy overnight for failing to forecast a hail storm. Flores must flee his city to his daughter's house, where he is reunited with his past and embarks on a journey to discover himself.

“Hail” is available on Netflix.

"That's Why I Come To The River" by Fernando Blanco, Dominican Republic

This documentary takes us into the life of Sintia, a Dominican woman who is 1982 decided to migrate to the Middle East in search of new opportunities. There she met Bashir, whom she married and had a son named Ghassan, from whom she had to separate due to the war in Syria, which they managed to survive. Thirty-three years later, Sintia returns to the Dominican Republic with one goal, to bring her family to the place from which she once fled.