Music fans and cinephiles are invited to step behind the Music fans and cinephiles are invited to step behind the silver screen this May as celebrated composer and multi-instrumentalist Dick Lee launches a new six-week series of illustrated talks, Music in Film. Over six weeks, Lee—whose career spans five decades in jazz, folk, and classical music—will dissect how composers use sound to manipulate our emotions, from the chilling strings of Hitchcock’s Psycho to the epic western soundscapes of Ennio Morricone. The series is designed for everyone from casual moviegoers to dedicated musicians. Attendees will explore the evolution of the craft, including the transition from silent film accompaniment to the lush orchestral scores of the Golden Age and the experimental textures of modern cinema, with the help of plenty of video and audio examples on the Laser Display Screen and some played live by Dick on clarinet/sax/recorder. Each session is £20, or £96 for all 6. About Dick Lee: Dick is a prominent figure in the Scottish music scene, known for his work with Dick Lee's Chamber Jazz and Dr. Lee's Prescription, among many others, and his extensive contributions to musical lecturing (U3A, Edinburgh University etc.). There are plenty of examples of Dick's music from the last 5 decades on the YouTube channel Dick Lee's Sonic Meltdown.

We’re thrilled to announce that Dios es mujer (God is a Woman) will have its Scottish premiere on 5 June. Directed by Andrés Peyrot and produced by Duiren Wagua, the film will screen in Scotland for the first time as part of Latin Connections. This event will also take place in Durham. We will be joined by filmmakers Cebaldo de León and Olowaili Green from the Gunadule Territory. This screening will also feature two short films by Olowaili Green Santacruz: Mugan boe (The Cry of the Grandmothers) and the music video Canción sin miedo (Fearless Song). The event is presented in collaboration with SIGICS (University of Durham) and anthropologist Paolo Fortis, with additional support from the Flourish Fund (Durham). Olowaili Green is visiting Scotland as a co-researcher of the RSE-funded project Disputed Histories and Heritages, led by Charlotte Gleghorn at the University of Edinburgh, while researching her new film Suggunya. The film tells the history of the Darién Scheme through the perspective of the Guna Dule people, narrated as an audiovisual mola.

Azucena, a woman in her thirties, approaches Julio, a teenage boy living in a group home, for reasons he doesn’t understand. As they spend time together, an uneasy closeness grows, forming a bond that neither expected to find Hiedra is the third feature film by Ecuadorian director Ana Cristina Barragán, following Alba (2016), and La piel pulpo (Octopus Skin, 2022). It comes to Latin Connections Film Festival following a premiere in the Venice Film Festival, where it won the award for best screenplay in the Orizzonti section.

Azucena, a woman in her thirties, approaches Julio, a teenage boy living in a group home, for reasons he doesn’t understand. As they spend time together, an uneasy closeness grows, forming a bond that neither expected to find Hiedra is the third feature film by Ecuadorian director Ana Cristina Barragán, following Alba (2016), and La piel pulpo (Octopus Skin, 2022). It comes to Latin Connections Film Festival following a premiere in the Venice Film Festival, where it won the award for best screenplay in the Orizzonti section.

Clara is a teenager growing up in a small indigenous community high in the Andes. Her adoptive mother, a midwife who took her in as a baby, has taught her the ancient songs used to guide women through childbirth, melodies passed down for generations, believed to bring new life safely into the world. But while her voice carries on this tradition, her dreams lie elsewhere: she longs to leave the mountains behind and become a folk music star in the big city. This screening will have English descriptive subtitles, transcribing both dialogue and key audio information from the film

Ana is going through a strange moment. In addition to going through the family conflicts and identity issues typical of her age, she experiences something new. While forming a close bond with her new friend Corrales, the word suicide somehow enters into their lives, at first only as a distant and transgressive idea, fuelled by their interactions online. However, little by little, what at first seemed to be a game on social media, starts to filter into reality.

Clara is a teenager growing up in a small indigenous community high in the Andes. Her adoptive mother, a midwife who took her in as a baby, has taught her the ancient songs used to guide women through childbirth, melodies passed down for generations, believed to bring new life safely into the world. But while her voice carries on this tradition, her dreams lie elsewhere: she longs to leave the mountains behind and become a folk music star in the big city. This screening will have English descriptive subtitles, transcribing both dialogue and key audio information from the film

Willy and Jojo, lifelong friends, spend time at La Pampa motocross track to combat boredom. One evening, Willy unexpectedly uncovers a secret that Jojo has been keeping.

Martín is an orphan who works as a shoeshine boy on the streets of La Paz, Bolivia. One day, he decides to steal the dog of his best client, a lonely tailor he has begun to imagine is his father. He hopes that in helping the man to search for the dog, the two of them will become closer as they spend time together. The Dog Thief is the debut feature film from Chilean director Vinko Tomičić Salinas. It was developed at the Cannes Cinefondation Residency and the Venice Biennale College Cinema programme and had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.

One late summer, Clémence tells her ex-husband that she’s having romantic relationships with women. Her life is turned upside down when he takes custody of her son. Clémence must fight to remain a mother and a free woman.