About the program:  

       vicious(in)existence:

        New Queer Latino Cinema

        VICIOUS:

       1) having the nature or quality of vice or immorality

       2) defective, faulty; also: invalid

       3) impure, noxious

       4) dangerously aggressive, savage, marked by violence

       This program of short films showcases the work of emerging directors who,  while challenging the boundaries of genre and style, shed a light on the complex  intersection of “Queer/Latino”. Produced both locally and internationally, these works are a testament to the diversity of our politics, yet common themes emerge.  

       From avenging housewives to romance gone rogue, socio-cultural injustice to existential ruminations on identity or death, these films share the common  preoccupations of violence, revenge and a quest for redemption. In exploring the  deepest concerns from which we mine our inspiration, visions of dangerous   aggression emerge: “vicious” perhaps, but also determining our own salvation.  

       Questions of visibility and acceptance are at the heart of this redemptive undertaking. So what to make of queer Latino films that, on the surface, are neither queer nor Latino? Upon first inspection, a number of these works may seem reticent to speak of identity, resigned to a “love that dare not speak its name”, suggesting the injustice of having to sublimate our voices. Truly “defective”  or “faulty” is a society where our sexual and cultural identities are suppressed. In this way, vicious is our very in-existence. But perhaps this is why we make films in the first place. By harnessing the power of cinema, we cannot be rendered invisible. Beyond politics and narrative choices, this collection of short films demonstrates skill and aesthetic sensibilities that are a direct reflection of who we are as a unique community. At stake when considering new queer Latino cinema is not simply what stories we choose to tell, but how we approach storytelling to begin with-how our rich sexual and cultural complexity informs a creativity that, in turn, contributes to the magnificent history of cinema language and cinema activism. Gone are the days of propaganda. Whether through painful explorations of a vicious world or our own vicious, punk rock punch in your face, these films announce that we’ve arrived, not simply as an underrepresented minority group, but as cinema artists.       

       -Daniel Eduvijes Carrera

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