Blog posting written by Rodrigo Brandao, director of publicity for Kino Lorber Films

At the end of 2009, film blogger Mario Diaz, together with Cinema Tropical, put together a list of the Top Ten Latin American Films of the Decade (2000-2009) according to a select group of New York “film professionals” involved with the marketing and distribution of Latin American films in the US.  The idea was to ask select critics, scholars and film professionals to submit their own list of best Latin American films of the decade and simply tally up the results at the end.

In all, 124 films (representing 14 Latin American countries) were nominated for the distinction of being Best of the Decade, and the presence of three Lucrecia Martel films on the final list, as well as the notoriety of most of the films on the list, proved to be a bit controversial for many. On the podcast below, Carlos A. Gutiérrez (Cinema Tropical), Judy Mam, Soldanela Rivera, Rodrigo Brandão (BrazilNYC) and Jeronimo Rodriguez (NY1) discuss the results, while also raising many issues about the current status of film distribution in the United States.

Here is the conversation (also dubbed Tropicast) which took place on March 24, 2010.
http://brazilnyc.podbean.com/mf/web/ciprb9/DS400228.mp3

For more information on the Top 10 list, visit the Cinema tropical web site.

And here are the Top 10 Latin American Films of the last decade. What do you think?

1. La Ciénaga  (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2001)

2. Amores Perros  (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexico, 2000)

3. Luz Silenciosa  (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2007)

4. Cidade de Deus ( Fernando Meirelles,Brazil, 2002)

5. Ônibus 174  (José Padilha and Felipe Lacerda, Brazil, 2002)

6. Y tu mamá También  (Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico, 2001)

7. Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Uruguay, 2004)

8. La Mujer sin Cabeza (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2008)

9. La Niña Santa (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2004)

10. El Laberinto del Fauno  (Guillermo del Toro, Mexico/Spain, 2006)

Also, here’s a You Tube video of the discussion AFTER the podcast recording. The video was shot and edited on an Iphone. Both the podcast recording and the Iphone editing was done by Rodrigo Brandão

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbxKOQHZT30