upcoming: Carmela x pos: fundraiser for Venezuela & Mexico

upcoming april 4th, our friends from carmela will be hosting a special event. a fundraiser to give visibility to the Mexican & Venezuelan communities. they are offering a rich program, dj sets alongside a film screening, a photography exhibition, and a delicious food & cocktails program.

ahead of this event, we spoke with Juliana Erazo, Colombian filmmaker and visual artist, who curated 'Hints of Hogar', the film programme at Carmela this Saturday. the programme was created through an open call and a collaboration with distribution and production company Latin Quarter. in this interview, we talked with Juliana about her curatorial vision and what we can expect during Carmela's event this Saturday, 4 April at pos.

the visual imagery of this programme carries ghosts from a distant territory that was once called home. mothers, daughters, coca leafs, mountains, sounds of a different breeze or of Quechua language and even actual corpses. however gruesome that can sound, all of these are hints of what some of us call Hogar.

this programme collects works of migrant Latin American makers who articulate through cinematic language how territory can be physical, emotional and familiar. works between live action, experiments and animation bring questions of migration, belonging, inheritance and family bonds, not as resolved narratives but as ongoing conversations.

in this way, these films offer varied explorations of how Latin American identities are sustained and reimagined across the new chosen geographies of these flat lands.

can you tell us a bit about yourself and your curatorial vision: Hints of Hogar? where did the idea come from?

i am a filmmaker originally from Colombia. i moved to the Netherlands six years ago to study a master's in animation.

my curatorial mission for Hints of Hogar is mostly to connect and map out the work that other filmmakers with similar backgrounds to mine are doing across genres and techniques. not only animation, but also live action. i am more interested in seeing what are the points of contact and the bridges that different migrants are building with their work between the Netherlands and their native countries in the Global South.

the idea comes from this longing of connection with a community of Latin American migrants. it is the first program in what i hope will be many other programs, curations, and collaborations with filmmakers and cultural makers.

can you tell us more about Latin Quarter and the collaboration? how does it relate to the topic?

Latin Quarter is a film distribution and production company founded by Peruvian-born Juan G. Castro, who has spent many years working on media and creative projects across Europe, and recently settled in the Netherlands after a long period in the UK. his vision is to connect Latin American arthouse cinema with European audiences, bringing films to festivals, streaming platforms, and wider audiences across the continent.

he has participated in panels and festivals worldwide and has built a wide and rich network that connects the Global South with the European filmmaking scene. through Latin Quarter, he also provides mentoring and guidance to emerging Latin American filmmakers, helping them navigate international opportunities and bring their work to global audiences.

for me, it was really interesting to team up with him to explore which films from his curation and catalogue could be brought to the screening. he approaches this collaboratively, aiming to contribute so that the Latin creative community in the Netherlands can grow and flourish.

he also aims to establish Latin Quarter as a leading distribution company in the Netherlands and as a figure of authority for migrant and Latin American films. in that sense, it aligns a lot with my curatorial idea and with my personal desire to network within the industry in the Netherlands. so it completely relates.

what can the audience expect during the event?

besides the party, we want to bring the possibility of immersing audiences in different perspectives.

i tried to build a curatorial program that is not only about migration, but also about the everyday life of people from our regions. this can touch on more mundane topics or even genre films. for example, how Latin American filmmakers approach horror.

i wanted to have a wide set of elements in the screening, including topics that help audiences understand the community aspects of our countries and the Indigenous aspects of our cultures. my idea is not to show only one range or emphasise one identity, but to show us in all our ranges.

the films will be screened three times, and since some of the filmmakers will be present, hopefully we can open conversations with audiences who want to engage.

can you talk about your view on the importance of showing this type of work within these spaces?

i think it is important to show more elements of Latin culture and also the ways Latin American people nourish and build culture, not only through music or one specific genre.

Latin American filmmakers often get placed into one box regarding the topics we are allowed to talk about and the perspectives we are expected to have. from the European perspective, Latin American cinema is often expected to focus on poverty or social struggle. topics that align more with how others see us rather than with our own agency as filmmakers to tell our stories from wider perspectives.

in music we are also put into a box. certain genres or certain energies expected from Latin culture and the same happens in film. we are expected to portray the stories that the European lens anticipates.

that is why events like this are important: they allow us to showcase range and open discussions about what Latin American identity can mean and how much a Latin American filmmaking perspective can vary.

i also find it really exciting to include screenings within club culture, parties, and social events, because celebrating our culture is not only about music but about all the artistic ways we express ourselves.

you can join Carmela x pos: Fundraiser Venezuela and Mexico, and watch the screenings throughout the evening. there will be a music programme, a spatial photographic installation, and a food and cocktails programme. all profits will be donated to the fundraiser. buy your ticket here.

Carmela Collective thanks Juan G. Castro and Latin Quarter for their sponsorship, and all the filmmakers who offer their work generously for this curatorial experiment and fundraiser.

Hanging’ There - Melissa Lettieri

Wayquis - Jorge Pablo Quiroz

Levantamuertos - Jose Eduardo Castilla Ponce

Unlearning Motherhood - Juliana Erazo