IFFK 2025: A tale of sisterhood in the rap world

Talk about a provocative tale of women hyping women to kick off this year’s International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). Spanish-Mexican film Ruido (meaning noise) — in the World Cinema category — initially conjures up the small world around its affable protagonist, which later matures into a canvas probing cultural and social subtleties.

Lati, played by Latifa Drame, an African teen in Barcelona, wishes to rise above a sombre phase followed by the death of her doting father. She wants to freestyle her way into rap. The rookie has only her hype girl (her friend in school) to back her up when she ends up being booed to a corner in a rap battle.

Small world makes way for big dreams as she ends up in Judy’s lair. An outcast rapper, Judy (Judith Alvarez) becomes Lati’s window to the city’s freestyle scene. First comes the rhyme, then the beats and the bars, the cyphers and even the rapper’s favourite – a rap journal.

At every cypher, Lati is hurled with figurative scum disguised as verses – rappers being casually sexist or overtly racist, sometimes even gay-bashing her. This crass ecosystem that targets her eventually lets her break every rapper she’s pitted against.

From the outset, Ruido, directed by Ingride Santos, introduces a righteous young woman with dreams, who’s prodded at every turn by her sisters from other mothers. A tale of women aiding women.

On a high note

Garnished with fleeting yet euphoric cinematic-musical moments, the 90-minute movie ends in a high note as Lati herself reaches a point of creative self-discovery. One is left wanting more. Camerawoman Beatriz Sastre’s camera follows Lati and Judy — and all the women who she pivots on — and composes them in such breezy frames. Adding to the euphoric interludes of the movie is a fervent slice of Hispanophone hip-hop, featuring legendary tracks like El Barrio from Hurricane G’s album All Woman.

Rappers on the up and up, and creatives likewise will have a bunch of cues to take away from this film.

The World Cinema category at IFFK once again curates stories centred on women. Egyptian/Sudanese film Aisha Can’t Fly Away, directed by Morad Mostafa; Chilean film Bitter Gold, by Juan Francisco Olea; Czech film Broken Voices, by Ondřej Provazník ;Moroccan film Calle Malaga, by Maryam Touzani; French film Alpha, by Julia Ducournau; and Duse, by Pietro Marcello.