Brixton Reel Film Premiere: Virginia Casta

A premiere of the Colombian romantic comedy film, followed by Cuban and Salsa music.

Director: Claudio Cataño (Colombia) | Spanish with English subtitles.

Based on a best selling Colombian novel Virginia Casta stars acclaimed actress Cristina Umaña who gives a darkly comic performance as a love damaged heroine. Devastated by her recent break up, Virginia Casta attempts to jump from a balcony, but far from ending her life, she becomes an infamous social media personality. Between rock music, tears and frenzy with a scruffy musician, two dysfunctional friends and a pothead grandmother, Virginia discovers the meaning of friendship and a way out from this mess. Until her ex shows up again!

In association with the Institute of Modern Languages Research (University of London) and the AHRC Open World Research Initiative project: Cross-Language Dynamics: Reshaping Community.

Please book in advance at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brixton-reel-virginia-casta-tickets-51547042592 

About Brixton Reel Film Festival

Brixton Reel is a pioneering mental wellbeing film festival set up to engage with hard to reach, socially excluded and often lower income BAME communities.

The festival is run by film and diversity company ImagineAsia Ltd and led by the Brixton Reel Steering Group, which is made up of a range of mental health service providers including Certitude, Mosaic Clubhouse, Teléfono de la Esperanza (TEUK) and Dragon Café, among others. It includes mental health service users and people of diverse backgrounds.

Teléfono de la Esperanza is a Migrant Health charity that offers a free comprehensive mental health service for the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking communities in London.

Since 2015 Brixton Reel Film Festival has been working with TEUK-Voades and Southwark Council in the delivery of its health and wellbeing outreach events. Brixton Reel has developed a long-term relationship with TEUK which provides strong links with the Spanish-speaking Latin American communities in Southwark and Lambeth.

This year’s festival edition focuses on the seldom heard stories of mental wellbeing by BAME communities in London. Black Asian and Minority ethnic people’s stories are rarely told. This year Brixton Reel Film Festival is asking members from Black Asian and Minority ethnic communities (including the Latin American community) and LGBTQ+ people to tell their own stories on mental wellbeing.

OWRI in partnership with TEUK-Voades will organise a workshop with young Latin Americans living in London to learn more about their views on mental health. The workshop aims to explore how cultural and linguistic differences (re)shape the way we speak about mental health. Their recorded testimonials will offer insight into the way culture and language shape our understanding of mental health.

The festival takes place on two dates this year with an early event on World Mental Health Day 10th October and the main festival taking place from 8th to 15th November. The festival will take place in Lambeth, Southwark and Hackney.