The Latinx Project at NYU and Cinema Tropical are partnering to present an exclusive one-day film series celebrating the work of US Latinx filmmakers. The Latinx Film Showcase will screen three recent films, all of which were nominated at the 14th edition of the Cinema Tropical Awards. The event will also include talkback sessions with some of the featured directors. The film selection includes You Were My First Boyfriend by acclaimed director Cecilia Aldarondo (Landfall); El Equipo, the latest documentary by two-time Emmy-nominated director Bernardo Ruiz; and Aristotle Torres’ powerful debut feature Story Ave, winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best US Latinx Film of the Year, starring the exceptional Puerto Rican actor Luis Guzmán.
Additional sponsorship for this event is provided by the Center for Research & Study at the Tisch School of the Arts.
Schedule & RSVP
Please RSVP for each film individually by clicking the links below. Seating is first-come, first-served.
12:00pm | Film: You Were My First Boyfriend
2:30pm | Film: El Equipo, followed by Q&A with director Bernardo Ruiz
4:30pm | Film: Story Ave, followed by Q&A with director Aristotle Torres
About the Films
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(Cecilia Aldarondo, USA, 2023, 97 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
What if you could rewrite your adolescence? In this high school reunion movie turned inside out, filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile her tortured teen years. She ‘goes back’ in more ways than one, tracking down old foes and friends while also reenacting visceral memories of youthful humiliation and desire. Oscillating between present and past, hallucination and reality, You Were My First Boyfriend is a hybrid documentary that explores the power of adolescent fantasy, the subtle violence of cultural assimilation, and the fun house mirror of time’s passage. Perhaps we will all learn something about growing older and making peace with what haunts us.
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(Bernardo Ruiz, USA, 2023, 80 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Working with a trove of archival materials spanning four decades and unfolding as part procedural, part true crime thriller, El Equipo chronicles the history-making collaboration between Dr. Clyde Snow, a legendary forensic scientist originally from Texas, and a group of Argentine university students, who were dubbed “unlikely forensic sleuths” by The New York Times. With an unprecedented access to the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and its archives, the fifth feature film by two-time Emmy nominated director Bernardo Ruiz offers a welcome twist to the traditional true crime film by focusing on systemic political and human rights abuses rather than on one-off tales of murder or lone serial killers, and deftly creates a direct link between state atrocities from the past and present.
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(Aristotle Torres, USA, 2023, 106 min. In English)
South Bronx teen Kadir is a gifted visual artist who loses his way following the death of his younger brother. Overcome with grief and struggling with the pressures of school and family, he escapes into the thrilling yet dangerous world of graffiti gangs, seeking an outlet for the creative force threatening to explode out of him. To prove himself and join his neighborhood’s ruling gang, Kadir tries to rob no-nonsense MTA conductor Luis on the Story Ave subway platform. He is caught off guard when Luis agrees to give Kadir the cash if he’ll sit down to a meal with him. Following their conversation and the delicate, transformative friendship that grows out of it, Kadir sees for the first time how his artistic talent could lead to a better life.
Winner of Cinema Tropical Award for Best US Latinx Film and the Best Cinematography prize at SXSW, this moving and authentic portrait of the South Bronx announces an exciting new cinematic voice in Aristotle Torres and offers a welcome showcase for beloved character actor Guzman and rising star Blackk, alongside a supporting cast of up-and-comers including Alex R. Hibbert, Cassandra Freeman, Coral Peña, and Melvin Gregg.