THE LATIN American Embassies in Australia are once again presenting the 12th Latin American Film Festival at the NGA—and it’s FREE!

The festival will present a selection of 13 films from all over Latin America, including international award-winning pieces and featuring some of the most exciting and creative productions to reach the big screen in recent years.

The full list of films is below:

Friday 19 August 2.30pm, repeated 6.30pm MEXICO: Burros (Donkeys) Director: Odín Salazar 2011, 93 minutes  The story of Lautaro, a ten-year-old kid who lives in the so-called Tierra Caliente in south Mexico in the 1940s. When his father is murdered, he is sent to live with an aunt in a town far away.

Saturday 20 August 2.30pm, repeated 6.30pm PARAGUAY: Mangoré, Por amor al arte (Mangoré) Director: Luís R Vera 2015, 93 minutes  Inspired by the life of the influential Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer, Agustín Pío Barrios (1885-1944). The film creatively portrays 50 years of this important Guaraní artist, better known by his pseudonym Mangoré (the name of a Guaraní Indian chief of the sixteenth century), from the perspective of the Chilean scriptwriter and director, Luís R Vera.

Sunday 21 August 2.30pm, repeated 6.30pm PERU: Sigo Siendo (I am still) Director: Javier Corcuera  2012, 110 minutes  The cultural diversity of Peru is reflected in its great variety of musical genres like Huayno, Yaravi and Creole Waltz. This documentary by Javier Corcuera presents several Peruvian musicians, who tell their personal stories and their effort to keep alive their culture and native language through the traditional songs of their people.

Monday 22 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm URUGUAY: Tanta agua (So much water) Director: Leticia Jorge y Ana Guevara  2013, 102 minutes  14-year-old teenager Lucia and her brother live with their mother. Their father, Alberto, is a chiropractor and doesn’t see his children very often. He has rented a cabin at Arapey hot springs at Salto, Uruguay, for a short holiday. When they arrive to the hot springs, the cloudy skies menace with rain.

Tuesday 23 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm VENEZUELA: El Manzano Azul (The blue apple tree) Director: Olegario Barrera 2012, 92 minutes An 11-year-old boy named Diego is forced to spend a vacation in a small country house in the Venezuelan Andes with his grandfather, Francisco, who he hardly knows.

Wednesday 24 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm ARGENTINA: Dormir al Sol (Asleep in the sun) Director: Alejandro Chomski  2012, 84 minutes A man commits his troubled wife to a mental hospital but notices some bizarre changes in her behaviour after her release.

Thursday 25 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm BRASIL: Que Horas Ela Volta? (The second mother) Director: Anna Muylaert 2015, 112 minutes This fresh take on family relationships centres around Val (Brazilian star Regina Casé), a hardworking live-in housekeeper in modern day São Paulo. Val is perfectly content to take care of every one of her wealthy employer’s needs, from cooking and cleaning to taking care of their teenage son, who she has raised since he was a toddler. But when Val’s estranged daughter Jessica shows up, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown in disarray.

Friday 26 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm CHILE: Vacaciones en Familia (Family holidays) Director: Ricardo Carrasco 2015, 90 minutes  The Kellys are a family who like to show off and pretend to be wealthy. With no money for vacations, they tell their friends they are going on a family trip to Brazil, while in reality they hide in their house for a month.

Saturday 27 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm COLOMBIA: Del Amor y Otros Demonios (Of love and other demons) Director: Hilda Hidalgo (Costa Rica)  2010, 97 minutes  During a time of inquisition and slavery, Sierva María wants to know what kisses taste like. She is 13 years old, daughter of aristocrats but raised by their African slaves living in colonial Cartagena de Indias. When a rabid dog bites her, the bishop declares she is possessed and entrusts his pupil Cayetano with her exorcism.

Sunday 28 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm CUBA: La película de Ana (Ana) Director: Eduardo del Llano and Daniel Díaz Torres 2013, 157 minutes  A professional actress without much luck impersonates a prostitute in order to land a role in a documentary about prostitution in Cuba. Complications arise when she learns that the film will be shot from her point of view.

Monday 29 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm ECUADOR: Rabia (Rage) Director: Sebastián Cordero 2009, 89 minutes  Based on a novel by Sergio Bizzio, a suspenseful story of a pair of Latin American immigrants who fall in love. José María, a hot-headed builder, and Rosa, a housekeeper, embark on a passionate relationship.

Tuesday 30 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm EL SALVADOR: Malacrianza 2014, 70 minutes  Director: Arturo Menéndez  Malacrianza tells the story of a humble piñata salesman in the city of San Salvador, Don Cleo, who receives a blackmail note for $500 USD. Don Cleo has to get the money in less than 72 hours.

Wednesday 31 August 2.30pm, repeated at 6.30pm GUATEMALA: La Bodega Director: Ray Figueroa  2009, 75 Minutes  A young woman is brutally assaulted by gang members in the middle of Guatemala City. As usual, the authorities have no suspects or leads, leaving the girl to become one more victim in a society where thousands of women are assaulted every year. Jacobo, the victim’s brother, along with Antonio, his best friend, decide in their frustration to extract revenge.

12th Latin American Film Festival, James O Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia, Friday, August 19 to Wednesday, August 31, 2.30pm and repeated 6.30pm daily FREE but  bookings essential(click on session you want)  to http://nga.gov.au/laff/    All films are subtitled in English and unclassified. Entry is classed as Restricted (R18+) and therefore not suitable for under 18s.