The 2004 Latin American Film Festival kicked off last night, finishing off Hispanic Heritage Month in style. Fifty new films from 15 participating countries will be presented at two different D.C.-area locations until Oct. 3. The American Film Institute in Silver Spring, Md., one of the organizing forces of the festival, will show the bulk of the films, while more well-known films will play at the Kennedy Center in D.C.
For the first time in the seven-year history of the festival, participants will also compete for awards for the best feature, best short, best director, best actor and best actress awards. The distribution of awards and the various planned appearances by cast and crew signify a growth in the artistic legitimacy of the festival, modeling itself off of art and film summits such as Sundance and Cannes.
Primarily organized to expose audiences to noteworthy work that would otherwise be hard to come by, the film festival also aims for political and social relevance. One of the main forces behind the festival is the Organization of American States, an inter-governmental organization designed to unite the American nations with similar cultural, social and international goals.
Carol Bidault, communications advisor for OAS, said that OAS is sponsoring the event because the Latin American film industry is experiencing a boom in both economic and critical success.
She explained that this success is, “Not only because of artistic merit and production value, but also because of the appeal to the Latin American population here.”
This film festival is, according to Bidault, “one of Washington’s most popular film events of the year” for a range of fans living in the area. Its popularity may be attributed to the films chosen to play during the two-week period. While mostly unknown in the States, many of these films have won international awards and have been box-office hits in their respective countries. Though none are “big” enough to feature Spanish-speaking stars, such as Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, many internationally-famous faces will fill the screens.
Perhaps the most anticipated entry in the festival is Chile’s all-time box office topper, Sex With Love (Sexo Con Amor), a story about sex problems and affairs. Award-winning films such as Argentina’s Strange (Extra?o), the tale of a drifting man’s midlife crisis, and Brazil’s Man of the Year (O Homen Do Ano), the funny twisting story about a hit man, will also attract audiences. There are 16 on-stage appearances scheduled, during which filmmakers and actors will present their works to the audience. Participants include Brazilian actor Joaquim de Almeida (A Samba for Sherlock, 24) and Chilean director Boris Quercia (Sex With Love).
The launch of this year’s festival coincides with celebrations of Latin American art and culture. Between April and July, the district celebrated Mexican culture with the festival Viva Mexico!, in which lectures, gallery talks, a public symposium, music events and screenings of many Mexican films showed new faces of Mexican culture to D.C.-area arts patrons. The National Gallery participated in the event with exhibitions of Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya and the Cubist Paintings of Diego through July.
The Latin American Film Festival unites multiple cultures with art. This festival will finish D.C.’s Latin summer by bringing a bit of a kick to the area film community.
