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| (left) actor Edward James Olmos at Premios Platino press-conference at Roosevelt Hotel in 2017 |
After 5 years absent of the festival, LALIFF’s new Director of Programming Diana Sanchez, and Senior Programmer Dilcia Barrera are introduced.
The Festival will showcase variety of international films by next generation Latino filmmakers including Alan Palomo and Guadalupe Rosales, and a 5-day music series and CultureStrike art installation to coincide with festival, along with first-ever student film festival (LALIFF Legacy)
The Latino festival returns with expanded programming, including both short and long form films created, directed, starring or produced by the next generation of Latino entertainers. filmmakers and cast to present their award-winning work from across the globe: Argentina, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Spain and North America.
“LALIFF has long been the most important Latino film festival in the U.S.but this time around, with the launch of LALIFF Art, LALIFF Music and LALIFF Legacy, we are making sure it becomes the Mecca of Latino content,” said Edward James Olmos, founder of LALIFF. “LALIFF is a celebration of having our voices heard beyond the film screen, and we felt it crucial to bring the festival back to the place where it started in Hollywood, CA.
LALIFF, aimed at showcasing Latino perspectives through art will kick-off opening night with the Los Angeles premier of “The Sentence,” winner of the “Audience Award – U.S. Documentary” at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Drawing from hundreds of hours of footage, filmmaker Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend—something known, in legal terms, as “the girlfriend problem.” Valdez’s method of coping with this tragedy is to film his sister’s family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones—moments Cindy herself can no longer share in. But in the midst of this nightmare, Valdez finds his voice as both a filmmaker and activist, and he and his family begin to fight for Cindy’s release during the last months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative. Whether their attempts will allow Cindy to break free of her draconian sentence becomes the aching question at the core of this deeply personal portrait of a family in crisis.
Many local and international guests will attend the festival, including iconic Spanish cult filmmaker, Alex de la Iglesia, whose latest comedy Perfect Strangers, is a hilarious commentary on how smartphones can be disastrous for relationships, Veneno, The First Fall, starring Manny Perez, details the life of Dominican wrestler Jack Veneno, who himself was inspired by the films of “El Santo.” Both Manny Perez and filmmaker Tabaré Blanchard will attend.
The festival will also feature 26 bold short films throughout, including the following:
Good Crazy, the Sundance premiered directorial debut of actress Rosa Salizar (James Cameron’s and director Robert Rodriguez’s forthcoming sci-fi action film Alita: Battle Angel, FX’s American Horror Story: Murder House, and the Maze Runner film series).
The Borscht Corp Collective, a series of short films including Chlorophyll from Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) in celebration of its 10-year anniversary.
LALIFF will offer two $5 special screenings that include the presentation of Santo Contra “Cererbro del Mal” (1961), a partnership with the Academy Film archive that marks the West Coast premiere of the restoration. To celebrate the World Cup, we are pleased to offer the Uruguayan film Home Team, a tale about a small town boy whose prodigious talent for soccer takes him to places he never dared to dream.
A special Latinx podcast event (“Live from LALIFF”) with Latinos Who Lunch and Locatora Radio will be free and open to the public, as they interview the creator, Tanya Saracho, and the stars of Starz’s new original hit show, VIDA.
The festival will also host the first-ever student film festival, LALIFF Legacy, powered by the year-round work in public schools of the Youth Cinema Project. This two-day student event is presented by CAA.
LALIFF, aimed at showcasing Latino perspectives through art will kick-off opening night Wednesday June 20 with the Los Angeles premiere of the “ The Sentence ,” winner of the “Audience Award – U.S. Documentary” at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Drawing from hundreds of hours of footage, filmmaker Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend—something known, in legal terms, as “the girlfriend problem.” The Mexican Standoff and Tropa Magica will perform after the screening sponsored by AltaMed.,
The list of feature film screenings :
The Sentence, dir. Rudy Valdez, USA (Opening film)
Bad Labor, dir. Chris Carmona, USA
Bad Lucky Goat, dir. Samir Oliveros, Colombia
Candelaria, dir. Jhonny Hendrix, Colombia/Cuba
Killing Jesus, dir. Laura Mora, USA
La Quinceañera, dir. Gigi Saul Guerrero, USA
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle, dir. Gustavo Salmerón, Spain
Loveling Gustavo Pizzi, Brazil
Home Team, dir. Carlos Morelli, Uruguay
Perfect Strangers, dir. Alex de la Iglesia, Spain
Santos Contra “Cerebro del Mal”, dir. Joselito Rodriguez, Mexico/Cuba
The Future Ahead, dir. Constanza Novick, Argentina
The Pushouts, dirs. Katie Galloway & Dawn Valdez, USA
Who are You? Ari Maniel Cruz, Puerto Rico
Veneno, The First Fall, dir. Tabaré Blanchard, Dominican Republic
Violeta at Last, dir Hilda Hidalgo, Costa Rica
The Gold Seekers, dir. Tana Schémbori & Juan Carlos Maneglia, Paraguay (Closing film)
“For too long we’ve been talking about issues of inequity and lack of diversity in our industry, and we are looking forward to being part of the solution.” — Edward James Olmos
For the full programming schedule, please visit: www.latinofilm.org
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