Memories of Underdevelopment

Cuba(es)

1896. Cuba is at a critical juncture. Following the death of Antonio Maceo, one of its independence leaders, the island is torn between two positions: continuing the fight for independence or annexation to the United States. Spain, through its energetic generals, seeks to maintain its hegemony on the island. A difficult period in which, however, strange love stories also occur.

Cuba(en)

A British mercenary arrives in pre-Revolution Cuba to help train the corrupt General Batista's army against Castro's guerrillas while he also romances a former lover now married to an unscrupulous plantation owner.

Bitter Sugar(es)

A patriot (René Lavan) with a rebellious brother falls in love with a dissident's daughter (Mayte Vilán) in Castro's Cuba.

Things I Left in Havana(es)

Three sisters leave Cuba in search of a better life in Madrid. While there, they encounter, among other things, other Cuban expatriates.

Vamos a la Playa(de)

When backpacker millennials Benjamin, Judith and Katharina travel to Cuba to find Katharina’s missing brother Wanja, they become more and more entrapped within a maze of delusions, sincere feelings and sexual desires: It begins as an exciting adventure and turns into a passionate love triangle.

Living Dangerously(es)

In 1950s Havana, a romance blooms between two young revolutionaries whose clandestine printing press publishes pamphlets meant to stir up rebellion against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. As their popularity grows, so, too, does their revolutionary zeal and their desire to mobilize other urban guerilla units.

Fidel(en)

Centered on the six years before the fall of Batista's dictatorship and the subsequent 40 years of the Cuban Revolution.

Jíbaro(es)

The first years of the Cuban Revolution characterized by social transformations and class struggles.

Too Afraid of Life or Splat(es)

A superstitious middle-aged woman falls in love with a taxi driver, while trying to learn the identity of the unseen person tossing eggs at her.

Querido Fidel(it)

Tundra(en)

Walfrido Larduet, a lonely electrical inspector, dreams of the Red Woman, whose image persists and becomes an obsession. Something tells him she is near. Over the course of a day, Walfrido will follow her trail as he travels through the suburbs of an infested city.

The Companion(es)

At the height of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, Cuban boxing champion Horacio's punishment for failing a drug test is to watch over the brash, combative Daniel, a patient in a sanatorium where HIV patients are compulsorily confined. The two collide as Daniel yearns for freedom while Horacio dreams of returning to the ring.

Sarumba(en)

Sailor meets singer in Cuba. He's due to ship out, but hits it off with her, so he sticks around. Trouble brewing on many fronts - singer's best friend doesn't like the sailor, and singer has another suitor anyway. Rich guy takes her to all the fancy Cuban sports events - jai-alai, horse racing. Much more glamorous than spending time with Sailor. Can he win her over before he gets in trouble for letting his ship sail without him?

Our Consul in Havana(pt)

The film is liberally inspired by the period when Eça de Queiroz was Portuguese Consul in Cuba, when still a Spanish colony. Eça de Queiroz struggles against local authorities in his defense of Chinese workers, brought to the sugar plantations by greedy middlemen and exploited as slaves. Two parallel stories unfold, that of a Chinese girl which Eça de Queiroz saves from the clutches of one of the island’s most powerful slave owners, and the other of a romance involving a young American woman on holidays in Havana.

Alice in Wondertown(es)

A biting satire about life in contemporary Cuba. Alicia, a young drama instructor, is sent to the small town of Maravillas de Noveras, which is itself an exaggerated, but very ingenious reflection of the real Cuba. Her adventures there are almost as surreal as the ones experienced by Lewis Carroll's character, reflecting patterns of indoctrination, coercion, absolutism, and many other everyday problems in Cuban society.

Tamango(fr)

A Dutch slave captain, on a voyage to Cuba, faces a revolt fomented by a newly captured African slave, Tamango. The slaves capture the captain's mistress, forcing a showdown.

The Godfather Part II(en)

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

The Road to Guantanamo(en)

Part drama, part documentary, The Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.

Fallen Gods(es)

In the manner of a well run Greek tragedy, leaving aside one of its components, dragging in its passing narrative certainty by the viewer that violent death is the hallmark of so much misfortune purifier, Los Dioses Rotos crowns the very successful arrival of Ernesto Daranas to the feature domains and with it, the team that accompanied him, including the actors.

Der Revolver des Corporals(de)

Film by Rolf Losansky.

Peppermint Frappé(es)

Julián, a middle-aged single doctor, is reunited with Pablo, a childhood friend who has just married Elena, a beautiful young woman.

Tigertail(en)

A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Holy Lands(en)

When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.

The Girl in the Book(en)

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

The Visit(en)

Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

My Neighbor Adolf(en)

South America, 1960. A lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbor is none other than Adolf Hitler. Not being taken seriously, he starts an independent investigation to prove his claim, but when the evidence still appears to be inconclusive, Polsky is forced to engage in a relationship with the enemy in order to obtain irrefutable proof.

The River(en)

Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

Adopt a Highway(en)

Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

Upon Entry(es)

Diego, a Venezuelan urbanist, and Elena, a contemporary dancer from Barcelona, move to the United States with their approved visas to start a new life. Their intention is to boost their professional careers and start a family in 'the land of opportunities'. But upon entering New York airport's immigration area, they are taken to the secondary inspection room, where border officers will subject them to an unpleasant inspection process and a psychologically grueling interrogation.

Sky(en)

A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius(en)

The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.

Call Me Crazy: A Five Film(en)

A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds(en)

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Paradise Hills(en)

A young woman is sent to Paradise Hills to be reformed, only to learn that the high-class facility's beautiful facade hides a sinister secret.

ma ma(es)

After finding a lump in one of her breasts, Magda goes to visit her doctor who gives her bad news: she needs a mastectomy, preceded by severe chemo treatments. While she ponders this ill fortune at a soccer game where her son Dani participates, she attracts the attention of talent scout Arturo, who is looking for talented young players to enroll them in the junior leagues.

Goal II: Living the Dream(en)

Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.

Gigi & Nate(en)

A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

The Good Girls(es)

Sofía, a well-to-do socialite and her husband must wrestle with the impact of Mexico's 1982 economic crisis.

The House on Carroll Street(en)

A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.

Third Star(en)

James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.