La Yuma
Latin American Cinema
•
1h 23m
Directed by Florence Jaugey • Drama • With Alma Blanco • 2011 • 91 minutes
Nicaragua’s first full-length feature in 20 years, La Yuma tells the story of a young woman who dreams of transcending her bleak life in the slums of Managua by becoming a boxer. Looking beyond the meager possibilities that seem available to her (and ignoring the advice of her gang-member friends), she finds solace and hope in her training and falls in love with a middle-class journalism student. With an extraordinary performance by Alma Blanco as Yuma, the strength, astuteness and determination of the main character reflect the feelings of a population that faces adversity and inequality. Jaugey’s film allows us the rare opportunity to get a glimpse of life in this Central American country where gender and class inequality are an everyday challenge.
Up Next in Latin American Cinema
-
Casa Grande
Directed by Fellipe Barbosa • Drama • With Marcello Novaes, Suzana Pires, Thales Cavalcanti • 2014 • 115 minutes
Jean Cavalcanti attends a well reguarded private boys' school. He lives a carefree life of moderate privilege in a gated, custom built house in an affluent neighborhood in suburban Ri...
-
Extra Terrestres
Directed by Carla Cavina • Drama • With Sunshine Logroño, Marisé Alvarez, Elba Escobar, Prakriti Maduro • 2017 • 110 minutes
Teresa is a vegetarian and a successful astrophysicist who lives with her girlfriend, Daniela, in the Canary Islands. After years of self-exile, Teresa returns to Puerto R...
-
Tony Manero
Directed by Pablo Larrain • Drama • With Alfredo Castro • 2008 • 98 minutes
Raul Peralta, a middle-aged criminal in 1970's Chile, is obsessed the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever. Every Saturday night, he unleashes his passion for the film's mu...
