The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center has been recognized for its a number of annual movie festivals.
So what was the precise purpose behind the Latin American Film Festival?
“Diaz des Luz,” translated to “Days of Light” will shut the AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival on Oct. 2. It may also host a Q&A with co-director and screenwriter Mauro Borges. (Courtesy Photo)
The pageant started in 1990, when AFI operated a theater on the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., lengthy earlier than its transfer to Silver Spring, mentioned Todd Hitchcock, director of programming.
“The festival was produced in partnership with the embassies of the Latin American countries, who wanted to celebrate the riches of their national cinemas and share them with viewers in this region,” he mentioned.
Not a passing phenomenon, the Latin American Film Festival is celebrating its 30th yr.
It moved together with AFI from Washington, D.C. to Silver Spring in 2003, and into the newly renovated AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.
“It is here in Montgomery County that the festival really took off,” mentioned Hitchcock. “It has grown steadily in size and stature over these past 15 years or so to the 50+ film selections from 20+ countries it is today. The festival includes many U.S. premieres and filmmaker guests and is now one of the largest film festivals of its kind.”
With the inclusion of movies from Spain and Portugal, the pageant now honors Ibero-American cultural connections throughout what’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, he added.
“One of the great things about this festival is how diverse and wide-ranging the lineup is,” mentioned Abbie Algar, AFI Silver’s affiliate movie programmer and public relations supervisor. “Because this year’s slate of films is our biggest yet, we’re covering more ground than ever before– with everything from crowd-pleasing romantic comedies, to highly specific political and societal commentaries, to historical biopics and midnight movies.”
That mentioned, Algar continued, “it is true we see many politically engaged work in this year’s festival, and we typically expect to see a good number of films addressing the current socio-political climate across Latin America. We also see a number that looks back at the region’s complex history, often combining the political with the deeply personal.”
This yr’s lineup is especially sturdy on documentaries and girls administrators, who characterize 40 % of the whole movies being proven.
“El Amor Menos Pensado,” translated to “An Unexpected Love,” starring Argentine actors Mercedes Morán and Ricardo Darín opened this yr’s AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival. (Courtesy Photo)
While AFI has no set standards, it is a curated pageant. The theater works all year long to search out the strongest doable movies for the lineup and guarantee illustration from throughout the area.
Recently, the programming workforce attended the Toronto International Film Festival, the place they noticed movies they hope to deliver to subsequent yr’s pageant. Meanwhile, there are many filmmaker visitors and Embassy-sponsored occasions as effectively this yr, Algar mentioned.
“But I’ll mention we’re very excited to be opening the festival with the U.S. premiere of ‘El Amor Menos Pensado,’ starring the incredible Argentine actor Ricardo Darín,” Algar mentioned. “Other highlights would be the U.S. premiere of Mexican actor Gael García Bernal’s sophomore feature (as a director) ‘Chicuarotes,’ and the North American Premiere of Melina León’s powerful drama ‘Song without a Name,’ the first film by a female director from Peru to screen at the Cannes Film Festival.”
Another can be the survivalist saga “Monos” from Colombian-Ecuadorian director Alejandro Landes, which gained the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award on the Sundance Film Festival.
Closing the pageant is a uncommon world premiere, “Diaz des Luz,” (translated to Days of Light) created in a collaborative effort made by filmmakers from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
“It’s an incredible achievement, and we can’t wait to see how the audience responds,” mentioned Algar.
The Latin American Film Festival runs Sept. 12-Oct 2 at AFI Silver and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road in downtown Silver Spring. www.afi.com/silver.
Post Views:
77
