“Reel” Latin America(n)

A Wolf Among Swans follows the extraordinary journey of Thiago Soares, a young man from the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro who leaves hip hop behind to pursue classical ballet. Under the demanding guidance of Cuban mentor Dino Carrera, Thiago overcomes social, economic, and personal obstacles on his path to becoming a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Based on a true story, the film explores resilience, artistic discipline, mentorship, and the transformative power of the arts.

Artificial Justice is a Spanish political thriller set in a near future in which artificial intelligence could replace judges in the name of efficiency and neutrality. Judge Carmen Costa (Verónica Echegui) is asked to evaluate the new system; when one of its software developers turns up dead, she realizes her own life is in danger and that she must confront powerful interests at the highest levels of the state. Blending noir, political conspiracy and cyber-thriller, the film exposes the lobbying of multinational technology companies behind public decisions.

ASCO: Without Permission is a genre-defying documentary about the groundbreaking Chicano art collective ASCO, whose members transformed the cultural landscape of Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Blending activism, performance, photography, film, and visual art, ASCO challenged exclusion within museums, Hollywood, and mainstream media. Through an innovative mix of documentary and fiction, the film reexamines the group’s enduring influence on contemporary art and culture.

Pérez Rodríguez is a Dominican dark comedy about three siblings, Carlos, Cristina and Carmen, from a middle-class family thrown off balance by their father's death. Across three family gatherings (a birth, a funeral and a birthday), a half-brother their father had outside the marriage reappears; he controls the will and the inheritance, and his return brings buried secrets, resentments and conflicts to the surface. With dark humor, the film satirizes family life and the aspirations of the Dominican middle class.

Zafari unfolds around a small, nearly empty city zoo. When Zafari, a hippopotamus, arrives, neighbors of every social class gather to watch him with the same fascination. From the windows of their once-luxurious, now decaying high-rise, Ana, Edgar and their son Bruno grow increasingly isolated as food, water and electricity run out, and the family must choose between scavenging to survive and abandoning their home. Ana's nighttime searches through abandoned apartments turn the building into a space of fear and moral uncertainty, while the well-fed hippo becomes an allegory of inequality, hunger and displacement.