Latin Genre Build, Rafael Cobos

Offering prizes to Almodóvar lead and rapidly-risen star Milena Smit (“Parallel Mothers”) and evergreen Spanish comedy icon Fernando Tejero (“Aquí no hay quien viva”), notable as the ethically spineless priest in Alejandro Amenábar’s “The Captive,” the resilient Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival bows on Nov. 14 with an powerfully enticing line-up of Latin American titles in main competition, a reminder of Spanish cinema’s current power in section Acento and five doc-features in Talento Andaluz. 

10 takes on why Huelva, a festival in an Andalusian seaport, remains an essential part of the international film circuit:

Huelva’s Vital Role 

Huelva’s 51st edition has one innovation: Latidos (see below). Apart from that, it will continue to do what it does best: Throwing further light on titles – Latin American or Spanish and sometimes Andalusian – which have bowed to critical acclaim, but merit far more international attention. That now is a pressing need. In 2003, Latin America and the Caribbean produced 179 features, according to Omdia. That figure shot up to 761 by 2023. Unless it wins big time at a big festival, such as Cannes Un Certain Regard Award laureate “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” at Huelva this year, a Latin America movie need further promotion platforms. Huelva is one of the most prominent. 

Genre Build

Some of Huelva’s largest pleasures this year are afforded by genre, understood in a broader sense. Of Competition movies, “The Reborn” is an Argentine classic hard-boiled actioner,“A Bright Future,” from Uruguay’s Lucía Garibaldi, a touching sci-fi retro futuristic allegory, Colombian Tomas Corredor’s “Noviembre” a gripping siege thriller, Chile’s “Isla Negra” a hard-hitting home invasion suspense drama. That said, all four films retain the hallmark ADN of Latin American cinema: its social point. “A Bright Future” questions capitalism;, in…