SPAN 497 Contemporary Latin American Cinema: Politics, Memory, and the Everyday

This course examines the dynamic landscape of contemporary Latin American cinema from the 1990s to the present. Through films from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and beyond, students will explore how filmmakers engage with questions of memory, violence, migration, and urban life. We will analyze how cinematic form becomes a space for reimagining history and for giving visibility to marginalized voices. Directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Lucrecia Martel, Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Pablo Larraín will guide our discussions about how Latin American cinema continues to challenge dominant narratives of power, identity, and belonging in a globalized world.