Hailed by critics, Andrew Lang’s powerful and moving award-winning documentary Sons of Cuba is a stunning insight behind the scenes of Castro’s Cuba into the lives of a group of young boys; hand-picked amateur boxers training to become champions of their country.

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Despite being one of the most famous Brazilian art movements, no film has yet been made about Tropicalia. At least not until next year, when BossaNovaFilms (BR), associated with Revolution Films (UK) and Mojo Pictures (US), will release the first documentary revealing all facets of this late 1960’s bombastic movement.

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Instigated by Circuito Inffinito, who showcase yearly the best of the country’s diverse cinema scene in eight cities across the globe, the second London edition kicks off with a Gala screening at the BAFTA with the unmissable Lula, The Son of Brasil. Read the full story

The hit documentary about Rio’s baile funk scene finally gets it’s DVD release

Since it’s release in 2008, Favela on Blast has toured more than 45 film festivals in 21 countries around the world. Directed by Leandro HBL and Wesley Pentz (a.k.a DJ/producer Diplo), the film is a portrait of the funk carioca / baile funk subculture of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
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The trials and tribulations of Africa’s footballing youth, brought to the silver screen

Born in Ghana, Michael Essien is a star of the Premier League and an idol for kids like Francis Boadi, one of the subjects of Baff Akoto’s prize-winning documentary Football Fables, which hits the British screens this month. Born in London, Baff moved to his motherland, Ghana, as a teenager: it was there he caught the football fever. Read the full story

The prize-winner Brazilian filmmaker’s A Hungarian Passport (Um Passaporte Húngaro) and Mutum will be followed by a Q&A with Kogut examining her weaving of documentary and fiction. Read the full story

Amid this year’s programme there’s a David Byrne Night (April 26th, see below for more) celebrating his strong Brazilian connections, with films True Stories and ÎLé Al Yé and some live music too at Village Underground. Read the full story

The actor and journalist’s two-part documentary about the Amazon forest screens on Sky.

Best known for his part in the soap East Enders, Kemp claims he’s no environmentalist, but he sure could be a good one. The actor/journalist presents this Tuesday and Wednesday a documentary that explores the challenges of preserving the Amazon regions of Brazil and Ecuador. The shows look into the great devastation created by the global demand for energy, food and mineral resources. It also investigates how oil companies and other kinds of dealings such as soya plantations, gold mining and also cocaine production take their toll on the forest. Read the full story

Swedish documentary reveals the reality of the lives of Nicaraguan banana plantation workers

Juan José Domínguez was watching television when he saw a report on CNN about the workers of a banana plantation in Latin America trying to sue their employers, Dole Food Company. At the end of the 1970s they had been exposed to the pesticide DBCP after its being banned and even recalled by the produtcion company Dow Chemicals. The years passed and many of the workers were found to be sterile; cases of cancer were also reported. Read the full story