Presented by The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies with UWM Union Student Involvement and Union Cinema
UWM’s Latin American Film Series (LAFS) returns this April for its 46th year, showcasing recent feature-length films from across Latin America and the Caribbean. This year’s lineup includes a variety of dramatic, comedic, and documentary titles, with stories set in urban capitals (Lima, La Paz), rural communities (Mexico’s Michoacán, Colombia’s Caribbean coast), and places in between. Join us to explore society, history, and the human experience.
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Thursday, April 3 – Thursday, April 10, 2025
UWM Union Cinema Free admission to all |
All films will be shown in their original language with English subtitles. Films are not rated; may include mature content.
For more information, contact Monica VanBladel at vanblade@uwm.edu.
2025 LAFS Staff
Program: Julio Garcia and Monica VanBladel
Design: Juliette Acosta
Additional support: Elizabeth Enoch and Aimee Orndorf
2025 LAFS Showings
- Sujo - Thursday, April 3 at 7:00 pm
When a cartel gunman is killed, he leaves behind his beloved four-year-old son, Sujo.
Watch the trailer.
- The Dog Thief (El ladrón de perros) - Friday April 4 at 7:00 pm
Martín is a 13-year-old orphan who works as a shoeshine boy on the cold streets of La Paz.
Watch the trailer.
- La Suprema - Saturday April 5 at 4:00pm
In a Caribbean town erased from the maps, where there is not even electricity, teenage Laureana dreams of being a boxer. Join at 3:15pm for a free group boxing demo with FitWell!
Trailer and details.
- Queens (Reinas) - Saturday April 5 at 6:00pm
Surrounded by social and political chaos in Lima during the summer of 1992, Lucía, Aurora, and their mother Elena plan to leave and seek opportunities in the United States.
Watch the trailer.
- Yūrei (Ghosts / Fantasmas) - Sunday April 6 at 4:00pm
A lyrical documentary that explores the veiled story of Mexico’s Japanese diaspora and the enduring impact of history’s silences.
Watch the trailer.
- The Day I Met You (O Dia Que Te Conheci) - Monday April 7 at 7:00pm
In Belo Horizonte, Zeca tries to get up early to catch the bus for his school librarian job an hour and a half away.
Watch the trailer.
- Toll (Pedágio) - Tuesday April 8 at 7:00pm
Suellen, a toll booth attendant and single mother, falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. Her cause? Sending her teenage son Antônio to an expensive gay conversion workshop.
Watch the trailer.
- The Two Mariettes (Las dos Mariette) - Wednesday April 9 at 7:00pm
How long can a person keep a secret? Mariette did so for 70 years, hiding the Jewish origins of her family from her well-heeled peers in post-WWII Buenos Aires. Talkback afterward with the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies.
Trailer and details.
- Ramona - Thursday April 10 at 7:00pm
Camila, an actor preparing for a role as a pregnant teenager, connects with real pregnant young girls from Santo Domingo for inspiration.
Watch the trailer.
This series is financially co-sponsored by:
- • Center for 21st Century Studies
- • Center for International Education
- • Cultures and Communities
- • Department of Art History
- • Department of English
- • Department of Film Studies
- • Department of Geography
- • Department of Spanish & Portuguese
- • Department of Translation & Interpreting Studies
- • FitWell
- • LGBTQ+ Resource Center
- • Roberto Hernández Center
- • Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies
- • Women’s Resource Center
Promotional co-sponsors:
In collaboration with the Chicago Latino Film Festival
- • Center for Student Experience and Talent
- • Department of Linguistics
- • Department of Sociology
- • English Language Academy
- • Festival of Films in French
- • Honors College
- • Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latinx Studies
- • Latinx Student Union
- • Latinx Studies
- • Master of Arts in Language, Literature, and Translation
- • Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding
- • UWM Libraries
- • Colectivo Coffee