From first-time options by rising U.S.-based expertise to a star-studded manufacturing to a brand new have a look at one of the beloved Mexican American music artists ever, the Latino movies premiering on the 2025 Sundance Movie Competition (which kicks off Thursday) supply a glance into the way forward for tales about distinct Latino teams on this nation, whereas additionally displaying us a glimpse at new voices from Latin America. Beneath, you’ll discover a checklist of seven movies to maintain an eye fixed out for.
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’
A musical reimagining of Manuel Puig’s novel, this high-profile title options Mexican star Diego Luna as Valentin, a political prisoner throughout Argentina’s Soiled Struggle who develops an intimate reference to a fellow incarcerated man named Molina (newcomer Tonatiuh). Jennifer Lopez performs the titular spider lady. The supply materials had beforehand been tailored for the display screen within the 1985 film by late Brazilian director Héctor Babenco (which acquired 4 Oscar nominations), set throughout Brazil’s navy dictatorship. “Dreamgirls” director Invoice Condon spearheads this new take.
‘Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)’
Dominican American filmmaker Joel Alfonso Vargas’ debut characteristic follows Rico (Juan Collado), a Bronx teenager who makes a dwelling promoting do-it-yourself alcoholic cocktails on the seaside. However that hustle gained’t be sufficient now that his girlfriend Future (Future Checo) is transferring in with him and his household. Working with a solid of contemporary faces, Vargas, a Bronx native, mixes scripted scenes and moments of improvisation within the pursuit of authenticity. Vargas, it appears, goals to depict this particular Latino group not as an outsider however as somebody with sturdy ties to the locations and other people he’s placing on display screen.
‘Magic Farm’
“El Planeta,” a Spain-set, black-and-white portrait of a mom and daughter’s warped relationship, introduce the irreverent and piercing humor of Argentine-born artist Amalia Ulman. Her sophomore effort takes her to South America through a culture-clash narrative following an American crew touring to profile an Argentine musician. Their ineptitude complicates the journey, elucidating misconnections and cross-cultural exchanges. Ulman labored with a solid of American and Argentine actors, together with Chloë Sevigny and Valeria Lois, in what guarantees to be a deeper dive into her singular worldview.
‘Rains Over Babel’
Described as “psychedelic” and a “steampunk fever-dream” by competition programmers, this Colombian debut from writer-director Gala del Sol unfolds inside a one-of-a-kind bar known as Babel the place an ensemble of audaciously memorable queer characters, every confronting their very own private baggage, have encounters with Demise incarnate: an entity referred to as La Flaca. This boundary-pushing imaginative and prescient, impressed by Dante’s “Inferno,” seems vibrant and colourful in additional methods than one. So far as Latin American queer tales go, Del Sol’s entry might show to be actually not like anything we’ve seen on display screen earlier than.
‘Selena y Los Dinos’
What else might be stated about an icon whose life, profession and picture have already been so intensely mined? Filmmaker Isabel Castro (“Mija”) dares to supply a brand new have a look at the rise and short-lived glory of the now legendary Tejano artist Selena Quintanilla, in addition to her siblings and oldsters, who made music their household enterprise. The documentary options beforehand unseen footage, however what’s most intriguing is whether or not Castro, a nonfiction storyteller centered on Mexican American narratives, will be capable of do one thing distinct with the fabric contemplating the protecting Quintanilla clan served as govt producers.
‘Serious People’
Again in 2023, the Mexican American filmmaking duo Cliqua — comprised of Pasqual Gutiérrez and Raúl Sanchez — debuted the brief movie “Shut Up & Fish,” which revolved across the “Edgar” haircut in style amongst younger Latino males. Now the 2 star collectively in a quasi-autobiographical fiction about Pascual, a music director on the rise who’s about to grow to be a father. Because the calls for of those two sides of his life grow to be overwhelming, he decides to rent a doppelgänger to take over his skilled commitments. However the outcomes are lower than ultimate. Gutiérrez co-directs this characteristic debut with Ben Mullinkosson.
‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’
Marking the primary time the terrifying brief story by acclaimed Argentine writer Mariana Enríquez has been tailored for the display screen, this coming-of-age narrative is ready towards the seismic financial disaster that troubled Argentina within the early 2000s and tracks a troubling romantic entanglement between a gaggle of youngsters. Amongst them, Natalia (Dolores Oliverio), the adolescent protagonist insecure about an older lady getting the eye of the boy she likes, begins to discover her rising carnal needs whereas tapping into the otherworldly. The premise factors to what might be an intriguing tackle acquainted tropes.
