What we’re about
Cinema Mentiré is a pop-up film club that brings a taste of Latin American cinema to London and UK audiences. It aims to provide a platform for under-represented voices and to challenge conventions associated with the region, by celebrating the work of classic and contemporary filmmakers and artists.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Echoes and Horizons: Contemporary Bolivian Cinema | PUERTO ESCONDIDOThe Garden Cinema, London
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: https://www.thegardencinema.co.uk/film/echoes-and-horizons-puerto-escondido/
On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Bolivia’s independence in 2025, join Cinema Mentiré and The Garden Cinema to explore a hand-picked selection of recent gems that testify to the prosperity of Bolivian cinema in the last decade!
Cinema Mentiré has brought together three very different feature-length films that offer a taste of the new, groundbreaking narratives exploring a changing nation that is also dealing with its enduring past traumas. The season also presents a fun-filled selection of animated short films by the collective BOMBA Animada.
The programme continues with the first-person documentary Puerto Escondido, a playful meditation on Bolivia’s relationship with a lost sea, including geopolitical conflicts and other sensitive hydropolitical issues.
PUERTO ESCONDIDO
Dir. Gabriela Paz Ybarnegaray, 2020, Bolivia/Chile, 76 min.
UK Premiere
TrailerAfter recently being released from prison, Humberto makes a modest living by singing at wakes. His greatest desire is to rebuild his relationship with his estranged daughter and provide her with a decent life, but the child’s grandparents – wealthy Evangelical pastors – are not willing to give up custody of their only granddaughter. Bullied into a corner financially and ideologically, Humberto is forced to face his own demons while simultaneously fighting a powerful ecclesiastical institution to which he once belonged.
Set in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba, The Visitor is a sombre meditation on class, family relationships, and the increasing power of Evangelism in Latin America, reflecting on the region’s persisting legacies of colonialism and the new forms of ideological dependence guiding Bolivian society.
Special film introduction by film researcher Laís Lorenço (University of Campinas - UNICAMP, Brazil & University College London - UCL, UK).
Take a look at the full programme HERE.
- Echoes and Horizons: Contemporary Bolivian Cinema | BOMBA Animated ShortsThe Garden Cinema, London
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: https://www.thegardencinema.co.uk/film/echoes-and-horizons-bomba-animated-shorts/
On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Bolivia’s independence in 2025, join Cinema Mentiré and The Garden Cinema to explore a hand-picked selection of recent gems that testify to the prosperity of Bolivian cinema in the last decade!
Cinema Mentiré has brought together three very different feature-length films that offer a taste of the new, groundbreaking narratives exploring a changing nation that is also dealing with its enduring past traumas. The season also presents a fun-filled selection of animated short films by the collective BOMBA Animada, displaying the rich cultural heritage and artistic expressions of Bolivian animation and storytelling, in an event designed for the whole family.
BOMBA ANIMATED SHORTS
Saturday, 8th February, 11am
Sunday, 9th February, 11amA collection of shorts by BOMBA Animada, a Bolivian animation studio showcasing female animators’ work. Created in 2023 to make their work visible, BOMBA seeks to develop alliances inside and outside Bolivia to strengthen the voices of both individuals and as part of a united group. Their diverse techniques range from stop motion and drawing to pixelling and digital animation. Their films often reflect their cultural identity, folk stories, and imaginative storytelling. Their members organise workshops, talks, and screenings, also offering fundraising guidance and financial support. They share their experience to inspire and demonstrate to Bolivian women that making a career in animation in the country is possible.
Films (total duration: 54min):
AJLLA UMILLA, dir. Alexandra Ramirez
DUBICEL, dir. Yashira Jordán
THE JIPIJAPA WEAVERS | LAS TEJEDORAS DE JIPIJAPA, dir. Clara Chacón
GRAVITY | GRAVEDAD, dir. Matisse Gonzalez
CHILLINA, dir. Andy Garnica
PASKAY, dir. Andrea Estéfany Caballero
THE TUNNEL AND THE COB | EL TÚNEL Y LA MAZORCA, dir. Alexandra Ramirez
WATERSHED TALES | CUENTOS DE LA CUENCA, dir. Andy GarnicaOpen to all ages, these will be relaxed screenings, meaning light and sound distractions are expected, and attendees are free to move around.
On Sunday, the film will be followed by a free fun and creative activity for children.
These events are Pay What You Can, which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford.
Take a look at the full programme HERE.
- Echoes and Horizons: Contemporary Bolivian Cinema | CHACOThe Garden Cinema, London
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: https://www.thegardencinema.co.uk/film/echoes-and-horizons-chaco/
On the occasion of the Bicentenary of Bolivia’s independence in 2025, join Cinema Mentiré and The Garden Cinema to explore a hand-picked selection of recent gems that testify to the prosperity of Bolivian cinema in the last decade!
Cinema Mentiré has brought together three very different feature-length films that offer a taste of the new, groundbreaking narratives exploring a changing nation that is also dealing with its enduring past traumas. The season also presents a fun-filled selection of animated short films by the collective BOMBA Animada.
The programme wraps with Chaco, premiered at Rotterdam and Bolivia’s official submission to the Academy Awards, transports us to wartime, through the experience of a platoon that wanders in the immensity of the landscape amidst the contradictions of any armed conflict, delving into the B side of an epic national narrative.
CHACO
Dir. Diego Mondaca, 2020, Bolivia/Argentina, 80min.
UK Premiere
TrailerSet in 1934, during the Chaco War fought between Bolivia and Paraguay, this spare historical drama follows a small regiment made up of Aymara and Quechua Indigenous soldiers commanded by a retired, gruff German officer fighting for the Bolivian Army. The troop is in a limbo, looking fruitlessly for the enemy, and wandering through the hostile, semi-arid lowlands in extreme weather. Isolation, despair and hunger grow with every day, every hellish march and hastily erected camp.
Pitched somewhere between the bone-dry absurdism of Lucrecia Martel’s Zama and the minimalist drone of Lisandro Alonso’s Los muertos, and inspired by the experiences of his grandfather, director Diego Mondaca’s debut feature is a powerful meditation on the futility and absurdity of war.
Take a look at the full programme HERE.
