October 18, 2026 at Light Industry, co-presented with Archipelago Books

An evening dedicated to Luis Alberto Alvarez (1945 - 1996), the late Claretian priest and film critic from the city of Medellín in Antioquia, Colombia. In the 70s and 90s, Alvarez was a crucial force in Colombian cinema. Through his prolific writing in El Colombiano and Kinetoscopio, the journal he co-founded, Alvarez shaped the ethics and aesthetics of a devoted circle of followers in Medellín, a city far from the already-marginal national film industry in Bogotá. Guided by a Catholic fascination with being and with reality, and a belief that “where sin abounds, love abounds much more,” Alvarez advocated for an authentic Colombian cinema grounded in the place, people, and tongue of the country, namely the poor of the Antioquia region and the street youth of his home city. To honor Alvarez’s work, we present films by his friend and cherished student, poet and filmmaker Víctor Gaviria. The program is organized for the release of Aside From My Heart, All is Well, a novel based on the life and times of Alvarez, written by Héctor Abad. Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean. Published by Archipelago Books.

“Colombian cinema forgets that the basic cinematic choice must stem from an attraction (or a hatred) for things left to their own devices. The method we use is to imagine a story first and then, as if it were something that could be constructed like a studio set, imagine the place where that story will take place. We believe, however, that the procedure should be the reverse: a river, a dusty road, a house, the sky itself, should be self-sufficient. Only in this way can the director's gaze pass over living things, things that sparkle, that possess intention.”

- Luis Alberto Alvarez & Víctor Gaviria, 1982