HÀ NỘI — The fifth Latin American Film Festival will be held in Hà Nội this week, featuring 10 movies from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Peru, and Chile.

The October 9-14 event is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture’s Cinema Department, the International Co-operation Department and Latin American embassies in Việt Nam.

Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Rondon Uzcategui said the films would help Vietnamese audiences understand more about far away Latin American countries which are broufght closer through cultural exchanges and mutual understanding. “The films in different genres honour the talent and creativity of filmmakers in Latin American countries,” he said.

The film by Venezuelan director Luis Carlos Hueck, Papita, Mani, Toston, will open the festival. It has attracted nearly 2 million viewers at cinemas, setting a record in Venezuelan cinema history.

The film tells of a love affair between two fans of two rival baseball teams: Andres (Jean Pierre Agostini), who is a fan of Los Leones del Caracas, one of the country’s top clubs, and Julissa (Juliette Pardau), a fan of rivals Los Navegantes del Magallanes.

Haiti has sent to the festival a movie called The Good Life, a story about Haitian-American filmmaker Rachelle Salnave’s journey to discover her Haitain roots that examines the complexities of Haitian society and the troubled island’s political and economic dichotomy.

“Using her own personal family stories interconnected with capturing the voices of Haitians and experts, this film chronologically uncovers the rationale behind its social class system but also how it has affected the Haitian-American migration experience,” said Jovana Benoit, representing the Haitian Embassy to Việt Nam.

 “With the proliferation of political turmoil, poverty, and now an earthquake, The Good Life is a story of death and pain, division and prejudice, and rebuilding a new and stronger Haiti.”

“Like Việt Nam, a country with 54 nationalities, Haiti is a country of different communities,” she said. “We look different but in our minds we are Haitians and share a united culture.”

The Latin American films will be screened at the National Cinema Centre, 87 Láng Hạ Street, Hà Nội. Free tickets can be obtained at the gate or from the participating embassies. All movies include English, French and Vietnamese subtitles.

The first Latin American Film Festival was held in Hà Nội in 2013. — VNS