Cine Latinoamericano at Cannes

Xan Brooks from the Guardian reports from Cannes on the some of the contradictions in the worldwide success of Latin American films in recent years. In spite of this success, director Pablo Larrain (screening Tony Manero) expresses concern about “an identity imported wholesale from the US” and the omnipresence of its icons in his native Chile. Still, Brooks asks:

Are things really as bad as that? Latin America is supposed to be the success story at this year’s Cannes. The subcontinent holds pole position in the race for the Palme d’Or, with two Brazilian films (Fernando Meirelles‘ Blindness; Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas’s Linha de Passe) and two Argentinean films (Pablo Trapero’s Lion’s Den; Lucrecia Martel’s The Headless Woman) in competition for the prize. The Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón is sitting on the jury, and business is reportedly booming at the sales stalls of the Marché, where “Cinema Mexico” sits cheek-by-jowl with “Latinofusion”.

Read more for Meirelles and Salles’ thoughts on their success in face of globalisation.