‘A slap in the face’ kicks off the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival kicks tonight!

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival kicks off tonight with I Promise You Anarchy (Te prometo anarquía), a film described by festival artistic director Christian Sida-Valenzuela as “a slap in the face.”

The film, which includes cast members scouted out via Facebook, screens at 7 p.m. tonight (Aug. 25) at SFU Woodward’s (149 W. Hastings St.), with an opening night party following at The Charles Bar (136 W. Cordova). (There’ll be another screening of I Promise You Anarchy Aug. 27 at Cinematheque). Director/writer Julio Hernández Cordón will be present at both.

All told, the festival will present more than 60 films, many highlighting the importance of cinema from Brazil, which is this year’s guest country of honour. The 2016 edition also features a new section called ¡Activismo!, which is made up of films that discuss political and social movements in Latin America.

Here are some other highlights of the festival.

Neon Bull – This is Brazilian writer-director Gabriel Mascaro’s second fiction feature but first rodeo. Neon Bull takes place in the world of the vaquejada, a traditional exhibition sport in which cowboys try to pull bulls to the ground by their tails. Protagonist Iremar (Juliano Cazarre) is a handsome, ornery and boastful cowboy who works the events but dreams of designing exotic outfits for dancers.

Don’t Call Me Son – A retrospective of Brazilian filmmaker Anna Muylaert is capped off with the North American premiere of her latest, Don’t Call Me Son. The jury-award winner at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival closes the festival Sept. 4 with a visit from Muylaert herself.

Embrace of the Serpent – If you missed it on the big screen the first time around, here’s a second chance to see Ciro Guerra’s international art-house smash, which brought Colombia its first-ever Oscar nomination in 2016.

Pepe Mujica: Lessons from the Flowerbed – A portrait of Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica, who has been celebrated for a modest lifestyle (living in a one-bedroom house, driving a 1987 Beetle, and giving away 90 percent of his income). Part of the ¡ACTIVISMO! series.

Black God, White Devil – The festival isn’t just about new films. This classic from Glauber Rocha, the grandaddy of Brazil’s Cinema Novo movement, was released in 1964. Rocha’s most acclaimed feature, it mixes folk mysticism with the era’s harsh political realities.

For ticket info and screening times visit vlaff.org.