As we head into the holiday season, our super indy film by Director Lilian Ivachow, Pablo and Virginia go to Luján (Pablo y Virginia van a Luján), continues to amaze with its seventh screening this year, this time with a fitting year end finale at the prestigious National Library (Left - Biblioteca Nacional.) in Buenos Aires on November 28th.

The film received an enthusiastic reception, followed by an extended Q&A with Director Ivachow from a packed audience of about 110 people. A British blogger named Sally who attended the National Library screening describes the scene that night in her blog, Sallycat's Adventures.

The audience included film critics and journalists and gives the film momentum going into 2010 after four festival showings in the last half of 2009. Lilian has screened the movie at multiple venues in Agentina, at the International Film Festival of Uruguay in Montevideo and the B2 Festival in Santiago, Chile, always to highly favorable responses.

A large part of the fascination with the film is doubtless linked to the history of Luján itself. About six million people visit Luján every year, and the Basilica there is an official National Historical monument with a storied past filled with attribution of miracles, a Papal coronation and a colorful story about the tiny Our Lady of Luján statuette enshrined in the basilica.

To begin to understand Argentine cinema, I recommend ten movies that span Argentine genres and historical periods. These films are introduced below.

1. Beyond Oblivion. (Más allá del Olivdo) 1955, 85 min.?
Directed by: Hugo del Carril. ?
Starring: Laura Hidalgo, Hugo del Carril, Eduardo Rudy, Gloria Ferrandiz.

Around the 1950’s, Hugo del Carril was already popular for his acting skills and his tango singing.  Perhaps nobody would have imagined that this handsome young man could in fact direct movies with both skill and mastery.  Genuine proof was Beyond Oblivion, a melodrama in which Fe rnando de Arellano (del Carril) tries to recreate a lost love through a series of randomly available women.  With a subtle and refined staging, the film is amazingly similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958).

There are new articles (below) from Alex and Ine of Rodando Cine and Ayelén in Salta, Argentina. We hope you enjoy the new vistas these articles open.

Alex and Ine are writing about the startling underside they encountered during a trip to beautiful Cartagena, Colombia last year when they did two projections in conjunction with Fundación Renacer (Renacer Foundation). Perhaps because scenic Cartagena is a UNESCO World Heritage site, we don't hear much about the darker side of the city and by extension the havoc left in the wake of international sex tourism.

This is the first in a series of articles over the coming weeks and months exploring various aspects of Alex and Ine's incredible 10 month journey from Argentina to Mexico last year showing movies in remote villages and pueblos.

Ayelén describes an annual ritual and celebration for pachamama (Mother Earth) that dates far back into American antiquity. This ritual reflects a radically different view from today of nature and our place within it. Ayelén also discusses the way that Catholic offerings to the Virgin are celebrated at the same time and in much the same way. Having grown up with parents who run a foundation studying the history and connections among ancient Andean societies, Ayelén brings a unique perspective to her description of these annual rites. Her name, by the way, means "abundance of joy in the home" in Mapuche!

Later this week, we will be publishing a wonderful and informative article by correspondent Lilian Ivachow in Buenos Aires discussing the top ten films one should know to understand Argentine cinema. Lilian is the Writer and Director of our indy film, Pablo and Virginia go to Luján (see Projects section) and is a critic for El Amante, Argentina's leading journal of cinema.

We hope you enjoy these unique articles. Please sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Twitter to be notified whenever we post new articles, news or photos.

Near the historic center of Cartagena, Colombia, or “the walled city” as it is also known, there is a neighborhood where backpackers usually stay. Cheap hotels, guesthouses and hostels offer accessible service to this segment of travelers with the advantage of being within walking distance of the splendor of colonial architecture, beaches and the offering of cuisine.

One can walk by day with relative calm without making a loud demonstration of one’s status as a tourist, or as it is said locally, "“no hay que dar papaya.”

But with the fall of the sun, a wide awake neighborhood is revealed that opens the doors of its many bars and brothels. Girls appear on the sidewalks and talk with pedestrians with typical Colombian warmth. They offer a good time, and all is presumed natural until one stops to think how young these girls are in their provocative dresses.