A sweet-natured look at young adults in search of both a good time and a higher purpose, Colombian director Oscar Ruiz Navia's follow-up to his winsome feature debut, the 2009 Festival selection Crab Trap, has a big heart and a punk rock spirit.
Driven by a charming, infectious curiosity about its characters and their world, Los Hongos follows Ras and Calvin through conversations, art classes, parties, fumbling attempts at sex, inspired graffiti sessions, and family visits. Some of the loveliest sequences detail the boys' charming, complex interactions with their kin: Ras quietly enduring his mother's well-intentioned attempts to set him on the right path, or Calvin having a laugh with his father, an attorney more interested in bellowing boleros with his buddies than practising law.
Bursting with colour and music, Los Hongos is also a love letter to Ruiz Navia's hometown of Cali, a multi-faceted location under-represented in contemporary cinema. As Ras and Calvin explore Cali's streets and leave their mark on its underpasses and alleyways, Ruiz Navia's film bears witness to a new generation gradually finding its place in a rapidly changing world.
2014 Screening Schedule