The New York International Latino Film Festival Arrives
RAFAEL MERINO CORTÉS
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
alixto Chinchilla, founder and executive director of the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) has combed through hundreds of entries to ensure that big-budget, Hollywood-style films like “El Cantante,” which will close the festival on Sunday, July 29, do not overshadow the smaller (and medium-sized) gems submitted this year by aspiring and seasoned filmmakers alike.
"Launched in 1999, the New York International Latino Film Festival
(NYILFF) is now the premier Urban Latino film event in the country," according to the official website, www.nylatinofilm.com. "The
NYILFF's mission is to showcase the works of the hottest emerging
Latino filmmaking talent in the U.S. and Latin America, offer expansive
images of the Latino experience, and celebrate the diversity and spirit
of the Latino community. Programming includes the flagship film
festival in NYC, new music and art showcases, family and community
events, scholarships for aspiring filmmakers, and a nationally
recognized short film competition in partnership with HBO. The NYILFF
is the only film event to have had the endorsement of Mayor Michael
Bloomberg's NYC Latin Media and Entertainment Commission since its
formation in 2003."
I’ll be hanging out with some friends this week to check a few of those precious pieces of digital video, including:
BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
World Premiere, 20min
Director, Danny A. Gonzales
Join Danny and Angelo as they journey into self-discovery. Can two Puerto Rican homeboys hang with a blind Jewish Yenta? Can she have a good time with these two knuckleheads? Follow our two heroes as they realize the dark yet colorful world of Agnes, while they roam the streets of New York.
(This short is presented along with "Gordo," "Hardly Married," "Suavecito," and "The Gift." For more information on these shorts, go here.)
Thursday, July 26, 3:00PM
Director’s Guild Theater
110 West 57th Street
Friday, July 27, 4:15 PM
The Imaginasian Theater
239 East 59th Street
Bragging Rights
Documentary, 60min
Director, Sonia Gonzalez
To the uninitiated, stickball is merely inner city baseball, played with broomstick bats and manhole covers for bases. To its players and fans, however, stickball is so much more than that. A uniquely New York institution that has now spread to cities across America, stickball has been around for one hundred years and continues to bring together different communities, mend racial tensions and foster life-long friendships and neighborhood leadership. From its humble beginnings to this very day, stickball has been more than a game. It’s a way for new immigrants to become American.
Wednesday, July 25, 4:00 PM
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
Sunday, July 29, 1:00 PM
JCC in Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Ave @ 76th St
SHUT UP AND DO IT!
Feature, 83min
Directed by Bruno Irizarry and Veronica Caicedo
Michael is fed up with the portrayal of Latinos in film and TV. With his passion for acting and self-respect hanging in the balance, he decides to take destiny into his own hands by making a movie. Michael’s dream soon becomes a nightmare as he encounters the trials of independent filmmaking: dwindling budgets, actors' egos, and jealous boyfriends. Michael’s comic and emotional journey leads him to realize that there just might be more to his dreams than making a movie.
Thursday, July 26, 1:00 PM
Director’s Guild Theater
110 West 57th Street
Friday, July 27, 8:30 PM
The Imaginasian Theater
239 East 59th Street
For more information on the venues and other films, visit the festival's official site at www.nylatinofilm.com.
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alixto Chinchilla, founder and executive director of the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) has combed through hundreds of entries to ensure that big-budget, Hollywood-style films like “El Cantante,” which will close the festival on Sunday, July 29, do not overshadow the smaller (and medium-sized) gems submitted this year by aspiring and seasoned filmmakers alike. 
BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
Bragging Rights
SHUT UP AND DO IT!
