Latinx Heritage Month Film Recs 2024
From September 15 - October 15 Tulane Libraries is celebrating Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month with powerful films showcasing the vast diversity of Hispanic and Latinx communities throughout the United States and abroad in places such as Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. Inspired by historical events and the unique personal experiences of the filmmakers, these works exemplify the profound impact and enduring spirit of Latinx and Hispanic people in the American fabric and the world over.
Amores Perros (2000)
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s breakthrough film helped lead the “Nuevo Mexican Cinema” movement with its gripping look at human interconnections across all classes of Mexican society. Themes of love, betrayal, and loyalty are intricately examined across all classes of society in Mexico City through the multi-narrative lens of three unique characters joined together by a singular tragic event. Anyone who loves film should see this masterpiece.
View this captivating story here.
City of God (2002)
City of God is the story of a young man named Rocket, a hopeful photographer growing up in the slums of Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s to the 1970s during the rise and fall of the drug lords. In search of a better life, Rocket must endure the harsh realities of the favela while navigating complex childhood friendships.
Watch this modern classic of Brazilian filmmaking here.
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
This gothic horror by master film director Guillermo del Toro depicts a story of loss and greed during the Spanish Civil War. The protagonist, Carlos, a 10-year-old boy who lost his father in the war, is sent to live at a war orphanage where he encounters a spirit roaming the halls, the ‘One Who Sighs’. While trying to fit in with the other boys, Carlos becomes increasingly fascinated with the new mysterious presence. View this haunting tale based on del Toro's early childhood and personal account of family apparitions.
Watch this absorbing, ghostly, and visionary tale here.
Dolores (2017)
This documentary unearths the story of Dolores Huerta, a pioneering American labor activist who fought to improve the working conditions of migrant farmers beginning in the 1970s. It depicts her fight in a role normally reserved for men at the time and how important she was to the lives of all immigrant farmers. All at the cost of her personal life.
Watch this civil rights leader fight for worker's rights and racial justice here.
The Infiltrators (2019)
This thrilling documentary depicts the real-life struggles of non-documented Mexican Americans and their lives under the constant threat of deportation. When Claudio is forcibly taken from his lawn and sent to a deportation center, his family must deal with the consequences of the loss. In a desperate attempt to save his father, Claudio’s son reaches out to a group of activists led by Marco Saavedra known as the Dreamers. As they hatch a daring plan to infiltrate the deportation center, the fate of Claudio’s freedom remains in jeopardy. Marco and his fellow activist Viridiana Martinez purposefully get put into the deportation center to save Claudio and many other individuals from deportation.
Watch here.
Published 9/19/2024
