San Sebastian Announces Lineup For "Horizontes Latinos" Sidebar

The 57th San Sebastian Film Festival (which runs from September 18-26, 2009) unveiled on Tuesday the selections for their Horizontes Latinos sidebar, a competitive showcase of Latin American films that have gained festival traction throughout the year. 13 films from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay - some of which are co-productions with Spain, Germany, France, Holland, Portugal, USA, and Canada - will compete for the main prize of 35,000 euros.

The opening slot was given to Cary Joji Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre" - in my opinion a hackneyed dual tale of a reluctant teenage gang member from Tapachula, Mexico whose girlfriend was killed by a rival gang member, and a Hondural girl embarking on a long and dangerous journey to the United States. A multiple award winner at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Other titles include: Adrian Biniez's "Gigante" ("Giant), which garnered three awards at Berlin this year, Ciro Guerra's "Los Viajes del Viento" ("The Wind Journeys"), and Alejandro Fernández Almendras' "Huacho." The last two were shown at Cannes' Directors Fortnight and Cannes' Critics Week respectively.

However, not all the film selected for Horizontes Latinos have had festival exposure. Several, like Cristián Jiménez's "Ilusiones ópticas" ("Optical Illusions"), came from the 2008 edition of the San Sebastian's Films in Progress lab.

Should you be planning a trip to Spain in September, here is a complete list of films, along with links to reviews (if available):

1. EL ARBOL (THE TREE) - Spain/Mexico - dir. Carlos Serrano Azcona
Reviews: Variety, The Rumpus
2. CONTRACORRIENTE (AGAINST THE TIDE) - Peru/Colombia/France/Germany - dir. Javier Fuentes-León
3. DANIEL Y ANA (DANIEL AND ANNA) - Mexico/Spain - dir. Michel Franco
Reviews: Nisimazine, Huffington Post
4. FRANCIA (FRANCE) - Argentina - dir. Israel Adrián Caetano
5. GIGANTE (GIANT) - Uruguay - dir. Adrián Biniez
Reviews: Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screendaily
6. HUACHO - Chile/France/Germany - dir. Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Reviews: Variety, Screendaily
7. ILUSIONES OPTICAS - Chile/Portugal/France - dir. Cristián Jiménez
8. LA INVENCION DE LA CARNE (THE INVENTION OF FLESH) - Argentina - dir. Santiago Loza
9. MAREA DE ARENA (SAND TIDE) - Mexico/Argentina - dir. Gustavo Montiel Pagés
10. PERPETUUM MOBILE - Mexico/Canada - dir. Nicolás Pereda
11. SIN NOMBRE (NAMELESS) - USA/Mexico - dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga
Reviews: NY Times, Variety, LA Times, Cinematical, The Guardian
12. EL ULTIMO VERANO DE LA BOYITA (BOYITA'S LAST SUMMER) - Argentina - dir. Julia Solomonoff
13. LOS VIAJES DEL VIENTO (THE WIND JOURNEYS) - Colombia/Argentina/Germany/Netherlands - dir. Ciro Guerra
Reviews: Variety, Screendaily