Nuestro Cine: “Zona Sur”

Are Latin American films finally gaining the mainstream appeal they deserve? The nomination last week of Argentina’s “El Secreto de Sus Ojos " and Peru’s “La Teta Asustada” to the Foreign Oscar may be a step in that direction. Surely a victory by one of those films would help shine a light on regional filmmakers. The recognition of several Latin American movies at last month’s Sundance Film Festival may also help garner increased attention:

‘Undertow,' a Peruvian ghost story written and directed by Javier Fuentes-León, won the World Cinema Audience Award for a drama. ‘Southern District,' a drama about social classes in Bolivia written and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia, won the World Cinema Screenwriting Award and a new award this year, the Best of Next honors in the World Cinema Directing category.

The festival's World Cinema Cinematography Award for a drama went to ‘The Man Next Door,' by Argentine cinematographers and directors Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. Spanish filmmaker Álex Montoya's ‘How I Met Your Father' won an honorable mention award in the short film category.

The following is the English-language trailer to “Southern District” (“Zona Sur” in Spanish); a film that may help usher in a golden era of Latin American movies for a larger audience:

Online Sources- YouTube, mysanantonio.com, The Latin Americanist