Ibero American Film Festival at Lafayette College
September 17-October 15, 2025
Every Wednesday at 6:30pm
Landis Cinema, William C. Buck Hall (Williams Arts Campus)
1) La cocina (2024) / Alonso Ruizpalacios / México, USA / 139 mins
Wednesday, September 17- 6:30 PM
Pre-screening snacks starting at 6:00 PM in Landis Cinema lobby
Spanish with English subtitles
With Raúl Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz, Motell Gyn Foster
Set in the chaotic kitchen of a bustling Times Square restaurant, La Cocina by Alonso Ruizpalacios is a gripping exploration of migration, power dynamics, and the pursuit of the American dream.
Pedro—one of Mexico’s most-coveted actors Raúl Briones,—is a fiery and charismatic undocumented Mexican cook who struggles to navigate the pressures of his precarious existence. Torn between his dreams of legal status and his volatile reality, Pedro faces mounting tensions when he becomes the prime suspect in a theft investigation. His relationship with Julia—played by Academy Award© nominee Rooney Mara—an American waitress grappling with her own personal conflicts, further complicates his journey as their lives collide in moments of passion, betrayal, and revelation.
Through a mix of dark humor and poignant drama, La Cocina delves into the invisible lives of immigrant workers who keep the city running while enduring systemic exploitation.
The film’s rich ensemble cast and surrealist touches transform the kitchen into a microcosm of societal divides, where every interaction reflects broader struggles of identity, class, and survival.
2) Chinas (2023) /Arantxa Echevarría/ Spain/ 119 mins
Wednesday, September 24 – 6:30 PM
Pre-screening snacks starting at 6:00 PM in Landis Cinema lobby
Spanish and Chinese with English subtitles
With Shiman Yang, Xinyi Ye, and Ella Qiu
Why will your students love Chinas? A major box office success in Spain, this insightful film explores the lives of Chinese communities in Spain, a topic rarely seen on screen. It will resonate deeply with students who share these experiences as well as any other experiences of assimilation. For others, it offers a compelling window into the challenges dual identity poses to the different generations living in these communities.
Chinas tells the story of Lucía, Xiang, and Claudia—three girls of Chinese origin living in Madrid, but with completely different realities. Lucía, the 9-year-old daughter of Chinese immigrants, dreams of celebrating her birthday at Burger King. However, her parents, who don’t speak Spanish and work over 14 hours a day in a bazaar to give their daughters a better future, believe that such things are only for Spaniards. Claudia, Lucía’s teenage sister, is beginning to experience firsthand the cultural differences and racism among adolescents. Xiang is a 9-year-old adopted girl who starts to question her biological family. The three stories intertwine and separate, but they all share a common goal: the search for their own identity.
Nominated for four Goya® Awards, this drama with comedic touches offers a nuanced exploration of the dual identity experienced by young Chinese communities in Spain. The film boldly challenges European paternalism and the racism faced by the Chinese community across various countries.
3) Natural Phenomena (2024) / Marcos Días Sosa/ Cuba / 80 mins
Wednesday, October 1- 6:30 PM
Pre-screening snacks starting at 6:00 PM in Landis Cinema lobby
Spanish with English subtitles
With Andrea Doimeadios, Reinier Díaz, Armando Miguel Gómez
Why will your students love Natural Phenomena? This wildly original tropical Cuban reinterpretation of Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz is nothing short of mind-blowing. While the iconic red shoes make an appearance, everything else is reimagined in unexpected and delightful ways.
In late-1980s Cuba, local nurse Vilma is a crack shot eager to enter the national skeet shooting competition. The prize money would help her fulfill her dream of a bigger, more comfortable home where she could care for her injured husband and raise their soon-to-arrive child. Unfortunately for her, pregnant women are barred from competing, dashing her hopes — until a freak tornado whisks her over the rainbow to Niña Bonita, the isle hosting the tournament. Donning a blue dress and red slippers, Vilma sets out to prove her mettle in a strange land.
Natural Phenomenon captivates with its depiction of a strong, determined woman facing personal and social challenges as she seeks emancipation in a limiting context. A darkly comedic portrait of Cuban society, the film is a flourishing take on social cinema, a striking and moving narrative that addresses themes of freedom.
Exploring the rarely discussed topic of the exile of entire populations due to land exploitation, the film intertwines the protagonist’s struggle with broader social transformations in Cuba.
4) Sun and Daughter (Cuidando Al Sol) (2022) / Catalina Razzini/ Bolivia, Spain, Germany / 84 mins
October 8- 6:30 PM
Pre-screening snacks starting at 6:00 PM in Landis Cinema lobby
Spanish, Aymara, with English subtitles
With María Belén Callisaya, Karina Paco, Luis Aduviri
Why you must-see this film. Because it is a feel-good debut film by Bolivian director Catalina Razzini, an incredible new talent to watch. It is a sensitive and beautifully crafted depiction in the purest John Ford style of the spectacular landscape of the Island of the Sun, captured through the lens of Spanish cinematographer Santiago Racaj ‘Summer 1993’. And because it has five stars on IMDb!
Ten-year-old Lucía’s family lives in the Island of the Sun (Isla del Sol) in the middle of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia; a place that’s as mystical as it is picturesque. When her father breaks from their routine one morning and leaves for the city to make money, Lucía finds it difficult to cope with his absence, building her daily life around the expectations of their reunion.
After school, Lucía and her younger sister Maribel weave Totora reeds into figurines that her mother sells to numerous tourists. But the rhythm of life on the island and the passage of time help her realize her father is no longer the person she longed to have back. She must find her own path. Lucía is thinking of going to the city herself, but she has no money. It’s time she took her destiny into her own hands.
With a subtle commentary on environmental tourism and the exploitation of “the other” that goes two-way, Catalina Razzini’s touching rural tale masterly captures the landscape of Isla del Sol.
5) Home Is Somewhere Else (2023) / Carlos Hagerman, Jorge Villalobos / México, USA / 87 mins
Wednesday, October 15 – 6:30 PM
Pre-screening snacks starting at 6:00 PM in Landis Cinema lobby
Spanish, English, with English subtitles
With José Eduardo Aguilar (narrator)
Why you must-see this film. Because it is the most authentic, multi-awarded animated feature documentary providing an unusual intimate window into the hearts and minds of immigrant Latin youth. Because Alejandro González Iñárritu loves it and says, ‘Draws, in a simple and beautiful way, the complex reality of millions of people.’
An estimated 11 million undocumented migrants are living in the United States under the constant threat of sudden deportation. What is it like to grow up in such a situation?
Home Is Somewhere Else shares the rich complexity of the emotional experiences of immigrant children and families to better understand and empathize with them. It invites discussion about the need for a new US migratory model based on respect for human rights for all.
In this documentary animation, three young immigrants tell their stories. Eleven-year-old Jasmine fears being separated from her undocumented parents and sets off to become an activist to protect families like her own. Sisters Evelyn and Elizabeth. Evelyn was born in the USA but has chosen to return to Mexico, while her sister Elizabeth, an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles, is struggling to realize her ambitions. Finally, Lalo shares the story of his childhood, deportation experience, finding a way back, and transforming his challenges through his work as an artist and activist.
Voiced by the actual children and their families, the stories are woven together by spoken word poet José Eduardo Aguilar, also known as Lalo “El Deportee,” the film’s host and MC whose vibrant “Spanglish” breaks codes, switches standards, and pushes the viewer to decipher his poems. Their painful experiences and vibrant hopes and dreams lend themselves well to animation. A powerful reminder of how the color of your passport determines your life.