U.S.A.’s The Journey of Monalisa and Mexico’s La Mami are among the winners of this year’s Cinema Tropical Awards, handed out recently by the leading presenter of Latin American films in the United States.

The Journey of Monalisa, a documentary about a former sex worker in New York striving to become a transgender performer, won the award for best Latinx film. It is directed by Nicole Costa, a Chilean filmmaker based in the Big Apple. The American doc was co-produced with Chile.

U.S.’S BEST
Costa’s film topped Cinema Tropical’s List of Best Latinx Films of 2020, a roster of six American entries announced late last year. All selections competed for the award of the best Latinx film. The other features were: Born to Be by Tânia Cypriano, De lo Mío by Diana Peralta, The Garden Left Behind by Flavio Alves, La Leyenda Negra by Patricia Vidal Delgado, and Mucho, Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado by Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch.

Check out the trailer of The Journey of Monalisa:

The winning film was selected by a jury that included Kiko Martinez, film editor at the website Remezcla, filmmaker Michèle Stephenson, and Barbara Vásconez, program manager at New York Women in Film & Television and co-director of the Ecuadorian Film Festival New York.

LATIN AMERICA’S BEST
Among a roster of films which included selections from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, the Mexican documentary La Mami won the Cinema Tropical Best Film Award in a field of 25 full features that had already earned the distinction of being on Cinema Tropical’s List of Best Latin American Films of 2020.

La Mami follows a tough but motherly woman who looks after young female dancers at a Mexico City nightclub. It is directed by Laura Herrero Garvín, a Spanish filmmaker who lives in Mexico City. “This is huge!,” announced the film’s Facebook page. “We are so happy that La Mami won Best Movie at Cinema Tropical Awards!” La Mami is a co-production of Mexico and Spain.

ADDITIONAL HONORS
The 25 Latin American full features also vied for two other prizes. Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz received the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Director for Invisible Life (A Vida Invisível) while the Chilean documentary film Night Shot (Visión Nocturna) by filmmaker Carolina Moscoso won the award for best first film. 

Created in 2010, the Cinema Tropical Awards honor excellence in Latin American filmmaking, according to organizers. This was the awards’ 11th annual edition, which took place online due to the pandemic.

The other Latin American contenders were:
–Bacurau by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles, Brazil/France
–The Cordillera of Dreams (La Cordillera de Los Sueños) by Patricio Guzmán, Chile/France
-Corporate Accountability (Responsabilidad Empresarial) by Jonathan Perel, Argentina
–The Dove and the Wolf (La Paloma y el Lobo) by Carlos Lenin, Mexico
–Ema by Pablo Larraín, Chile
–The Fever (A Fevre) by Maya Da-Rin, Brazil/France
–I Never Climbed the Provincia (Nunca Subí el Provincia) by Ignacio Agüero, Chile
–Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares) by Fernanda Valadez, Mexico/Spain
–No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí) by Fernando Frías, Mexico/USA
–Isabella by Matías Piñeiro, Argentina/France
–La Fortaleza by Jorge Thielen Armand, Venezuela/France/Netherlands/Colombia
–La Llorona by Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France
–La Vida en Común by Ezequiel Yanco, Argentina
–Los Conductos by Camilo Restrepo, Colombia/France/Brazil
–The Mole Agent (El Agente Topo) by Maite Alberdi, Chile
–Night Shot (Vision Nocturna) by Carolina Moscoso, Chile
–Once Upon A Time in Venezuela (Érase Una Vez en Venezuela) by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos, Venezuela/United Kingdom/Brazil/Austria
–One in a Thousand (Las Mil y Una) by Clarisa Navas, Argentina/Germany
–Panquiaco by Ana Tejera, Panama
–Song Without A Name (Canción Sin Nombre) by Melina León, Peru/Spain/USA
–The Tango of the Widower and Its Distorting Mirror (El Tango Del Viudo y Su EspejoDeformante) by Raúl Ruiz and Valeria Sarmiento, Chile
–Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine (Chico Ventana También Quisiera Tener Un Submarino) by Alex Piperno, Uruguay/Argentina/Brazil/Netherlands/Philippines
–Workforce (Mano de Obra) by David Zonana, Mexico

Cinema Tropical is a non-profit media arts organization that presents Latin American cinema in the United States. The awards are presented in partnership with The Latino Network, an employee resource group at The New York Times.

Check out the trailer of La Mami:

—Cesar Arredondo

Top Featured Photo: Award winner The Journey of Monalisa (Photo: Cinema Tropical)

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