El Abrazo Partido (Lost Embrace) 15

Dir: Daniel Burman | Argentina | 2004 | 100 mins | 35mm

A quirky, comedic portrait of multi-culti Buenos Aires. The Once district is a melting pot of cultures, with immigrants from every corner of the globe striving to succeed. And this brew is most concentrated in a grandly named ‘mall’ with shops run by Jews, Koreans, and Italians, amongst others. Ariel (Hendler) works in his mum’s lingerie shop and wonders about the absent father who left him years ago to fight in an Israeli war – and how he can emigrate to Europe, thanks to his gran’s Polish birth. Winner of the Silver Bear and Best Actor (Hendler) at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival.

UK Distributor: Axiom Films (EL ABRAZO PARTIDO will be released in the UK at the end of April)