The 19th Chicago Latino Film Festival showcases more than 100 short and feature-length films and videos of all genres from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States.
The 19th Festival will pay homage to the late María Felix, the diva of Mexican actresses whose career spans four decades and was a legend for her work during Mexico's Golden Age of Cinema. Known for her roles in Doña Barbara, Río Escondido, French Cancan and Enamorada, she won four Ariel Awards (synonymous with the U.S. Academy Award) and was nominated for two. The Festival will also honor another great Mexican actress, Katy Jurado, who acted alongside famous stars such as John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley. Some of her most famous films include Luis Buñuel's El Bruto, Nosotros los Pobres, High Noon, for which she was received a Golden Globe and Broken Lance, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. She also received an Ariel Award.
Last year's Audience Choice winner, Doce Horas (Puerto Rico), will return and director Raúl Marchand Sánchez will attend the Festival's Closing Night to receive his award.
Also confirmed for screening is the Mexican film, El tigre de Santa Julia, an epic adventure about a Robin Hood-type figure with a band of women at his side seeking justice for society's down-trodden.
Another film is Aro Tolbukhin: In the Mind of a Killer (Spain/Mexico), a self-proclaimed false documentary about a real-life murderer who burned seven people alive in a hospital in Guatemala and confesses to killing several women.
The award-winning, Chilean animation, Ogú y Mampato en Rapanuí, was also selected for the Festival and was in consideration for an Oscar nomination. There are several other films participating in the Festival that were in consideration for Oscar nominations including Nada Mas (Cuba), Los lunes al sol (Spain), El último tren (Uruguay) and La pluma del arcangel (Venezuela).
Coming from Brazil, Cama de Gato, is a dark comedy confronting the absurd social dilemmas three rich, young men encounter living in an economically poor country.
Other films confirmed for the Festival are Miradas (Cuba); and Bolivar soy yo (Colombia), which won awards at the Toulouse (France) and Mar de Plata (Argentina) film festivals.
These are just a few of the many films that will be playing at this year's Festival. The official film schedule will be available on the ILCC Web site at www.latinoculturalcenter.org beginning Friday, March 21.
The Festival takes place April 4-16, 2003 at the Biograph Theater, 3 Penny Cinema and Facets Multimedia as well as universities and community centers throughout Chicago.
The Festival is presented by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago in cooperation with Columbia College Chicago.
www.latinoculturalcenter.org .
