by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The Miami Film Festival, which was held March 5-14, always provides a terrific showcase for new Latin American cinema. This year’s program, a mix of online and in person events, included a trio of notable debuts and premieres about characters looking to improve their lives.

One of the highlights of the fest was 1991, the sophomore effort by Guatemalan filmmaker, Sergio Ramírez. This outstanding drama, which had its World Premiere at the fest, is based on a very real and disturbing situation in which upper-class teens used to bash poor, Indigenous teens for fun. Daniel (Eduardo Cabrera) is an Indigenous youth who works with best friend Martín (Gregorio Orellana) cleaning for the wealthy. Both teens are frustrated by their lack of opportunity. Things change for Daniel, however, when Tony (Juan José Muralles), an upper-class kid, enters his school. Tony asks Daniel, who is a good soccer goalie, to play on his team. Tony also asks Daniel to help him on an exam, inviting him to a house party as a reward. As Daniel slowly integrates into the upper-class world, he starts to pull away from Martín in the process.

1991, which is directed with both assurance and economy by Ramírez, uses the backdrop of the Guatemalan Civil War to extend the metaphor of race- and class-based killing. This coming-of-age drama becomes quietly insidious as Tony reveals his true nature, and Daniel is blinded by his aspirations. Cabrera delivers a remarkable performance that captures both the humanity and the despair Daniel experiences as he longs for a better life that is just out of reach.

The Festival hosted the World Premiere of Pigeon Drop, the feature debut by Argentine writer/director Ignacio Guggiari.

This comic caper film has the financially struggling Mario (Luis Ziembrowski) hoping that his brother, Rodolfo (Jorge D’Elía)—whom he has not seen in years—will give him some money at the family’s Christmas dinner. While Mario tries to get into Rodolfo’s good graces, his disabled adult son, Rafa (Jonatan Nugnes), causes an accident that kills Rodolfo. And it is right at this critical moment that Rodolfo’s new wife, Gachi (Silia Pérez) surprises everyone—not just by her arrival, but by her existence.

Can Mario and his extended family hide the body and keep Gachi from making an unwanted discovery? Will Gachi buy the kidnapping scenario Mario concocts and hand over Rodolfo’s $1.5 million? And what is everyone going to do when two policemen arrive in response to a complaint about noise? (The kidnappers specified no cops).

Pigeon Drop generates comic tension and suspense as various situations arise that test the characters and their allegiances. But one extended sequence involving a cop, a bathroom, and moving Rodolfo’s dead body, does get a bit strained. Moreover, the family members are often quite shrill, as they yell and scheme as things go sideways. As the cops grow more suspicious, and guns are drawn, the already shaky plan may completely unravel. Even if the characters are unlikeable, the ensemble cast all perform well, and viewers will certainly be invested to see how things turn out.

And with all the clever reversals of fortune, Guggiari does provide a satisfying ending. This slight (73 minute) film goes down smoothly.

Bridges is the ambitious, heartfelt feature directorial debut by Maria Corina Ramirez, who also wrote and stars. María Cecilia “Ceci” (Ramirez) is a high school valedictorian who wants desperately to go to an Ivy League school and become an engineer. However, she encounters roadblocks even trying to attend her local community college. Her divorced mother, Violeta (Marialejandra Martin) is also frustrated with bureaucracy as she repeatedly attempts to resolve an ongoing situation. Only the family’s young daughter, Gaby (Nathalia Lares), seems optimistic, but she harbors fantasies of winning the lottery.

Bridges shows how these Venezuelan immigrants grapple with life in Miami where they each experience a sense of loss or longing. Ceci and Gaby have poignant phone calls with their father, who is struggling back in their homeland. As Ceci works on her graduation speech, she processes her thoughts and feelings which are compounded by her classmates getting into college and moving forward in their lives.

Alas, even though Ramirez makes viewers care about these characters—and it is painful to watch Violeta reconnect with her ex—her low-key, low-budget film is a bit underdeveloped. The point of the story, hinted at throughout, but revealed explicitly in the end, does not generate the dramatic power Ramirez intends. Instead, viewers hope the characters get the miracles they are pursuing. Still, the images of these lives and their environments are well realized even if the actresses playing teens look too old for their roles.