Latin feature films at Sundance 2017

Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay and Spain are represented among the 66 feature films competing at Sundance 2017. The Latin American entries stand out in a field of 12 that face off in the world cinema dramatic competition.

BORDER LOVE

The romantic drama “Não Devore Meu Coração” (Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!) is a film by Brazilian director Felipe Bragança, who slowly but surely has been entering international competitions and winning at festivals in Los Angeles and Greece. An international production involving Brazil, Netherlands, France and Paraguay, “Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!” is a coming-of-age love story between a Brazilian boy and a Paraguayan indigenous girl in the border region of two nations.

BEHIND BARS From the island of La Española comes another romantic drama, though this one takes places in a peculiar place: prison. In “Carpinteros” (Woodpeckers), by Dominican director José María Cabral, two fellow inmates strike a love connection via sign language, unbeknownst to the prison’s many guards. The romance takes place in the Najayo prison, an infamous place known for overcrowding and corruption that in recent years has reportedly been reformed and transformed into a positive example for other countries in Latin America and beyond.

ROMANTIC HUMOR

Yet another unique romance arrives from Chile, this one offering an answer to the question: What can a man do for comfort and love? In the humorous “Vida de Familia” (Family Life), a house-sitting man makes up a story about a vindictive wife to get the attention of a single mother he just met. Written by Alejandro Zambra, the film is directed by Alicia Scherson and Cristián Jiménez. “Family Life” marks Scherson’s return to Sundance. Her film “Il Futuro” competed in the festival in 2013.

OF SIBLINGS & LANGUAGE Mexico’s film is entitled “Sueño en otro idioma” (I Dream in Another Language), which back in 2011 won director Ernesto Contreras the Sundance Institute/Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award during the project’s development stages. Written by Carlos Contreras, the director’s brother, “I Dream in Another Language” tells the story of two brothers who are the last two speakers of an old language but who haven’t talk to each other in 50 years. When a young linguist tries to bring the siblings together, a secret that could determine the future of the Zikril language is revealed in the heart of the jungle. For its part, Spain is the only Latino nation competing in the world cinema documentary category.

ABOUT ACADEMICS & MUSIC

“In Loco Parentis,” a Spanish-Irish co-production, is about a couple ending a career of nearly 50 years teaching Latin, English and guitar at a boarding school under their mantra: "Reading! ’Rithmetic! Rock ’n’ roll!" The doc is in both English and Spanish. The film is directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane, both from Ireland. IN PARK CITY, UTAH For Sundance 2017, more than 100 feature-length films were chosen. They represent 32 countries and were selected from 4,068 entries. Of these, 2,005 were from the U.S. and 2,063 from abroad. The festival will take place Jan. 19 through 29 in venues in Park City as well as screenings in Salt Lake City and the Sundance Mountain Resort in Provo. –CESAR ARREDONDO