CINE 365
The International Latino Film Society's quality program of year round film screenings is expanding and has a new identity - CINE365! You don't have to wait for the International Latino Film Festival in November for great Latino films. CINE 365 presents curated programs and year round screenings all over the Bay Area.


.:: FEATURED EVENT ::.




The International Latino Film Society, The Ethnic Dance Festival, and Lucuma Films present:

SOY ANDINA/ I AM ANDEAN


Soy Andina Film ImageQ & A with Filmmaker & Live Dance Perfomance &
After party dinner-dancing event at Peña Pachamama

Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 7:30 PM
Brava Theatre - 2789 24 Street, San Francisco, CA
General admission $12 | students & seniors, disabled $10

Tickets can be reserved at the discounted price of $10 by email: rsvp@latinofilmfestival.org - Tickets also available at the Brava box office one hour before the show.

Soy Andina is a film about Cynthia Paniagua, a modern dancer raised in Queens, and Nelida Silva, a folkloric dancer from the Andes. Cynthia and Nelida both journey to Peru to reconnect with their roots and the world of folkloric dance. Cynthia Paniagua will perform a 10-minute dance solo after the screening and director Mitchell Teplitsky will be present for a Q&A session.

Soy Andina premiered at Lincoln Center in 2007, toured Peru on a U.S Embassy program, and is currently screening at festivals and cultural centers nationwide. Cyntia Paniagua is a dancer/ choreographer who won a Fulbright grant to study dance in Peru. For more information visit: www.soyandina.com &
www.latinofilmsociety.org



Dinner-Dancing Event @ Peña Pachamama:

Please join us after the screening for more music, dancing and celebration at an exclusive dinner-performance in North Beach!

10:00 PM - Eddy Navia, director of Sukay and founder of the renown Bolivian group Savia Andina joins Peruvian dancer Eleana and Flamenco dancers for a unique and outstanding performance!

* $1 off on mojitos, margaritas, martini cocktails and wine
* 50% discount on the show cover ($5 only!)

Peña Pachamama
| 1630 Powell Street, San Francisco
One of those magical places... a little island of the future where those who enter her doors are forever transformed by the spirit of the music and dance that takes them in. You'll find it on a little side street in San Francisco's old Latin Quarter somewhere between Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and endless Italian late-night cafes - http://penapachamama.com






.:: CINE365 JUNE SCREENINGS ::.



Super Amigos | Super Friends


Super Amigos Film ImageWednesday, June 18 - FREE SCREENING
Richmond Public Library
325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond

Dir. Arturo Perez Torres, Mexico,2007, 82 min

Their masked wrestling costumes suggest this is a "Nacho Libre" spoof. But just wait. These five comic-book superheroes champion the causes of Mexico's oppressed in a vivid and realistic documentary. Super Barrio, a tenants' rights activist, prevents the eviction of the poor from a building bought by corporate interests. Super Animal protests the barbarity of bullfighting with graphic demonstrations at Mexico City's City Hall. Super Gay fights homophobia by visiting the parents of its victims in their homes and by teaching gay pride. Fray Tormenta champions homeless children as a professional wrestler by raising money from his winnings for orphanages and schools. And Ecologista Universal is an impassioned environmental conservationist who raises awareness for his cause in both personal and public ways. Five heart-warming—and true—stories of activism, shot with gorgeous cinematography in and around Mexico City, lead you to believe that super powers are within the grasp of us all.


Al otro lado/ To the Other Side


Al Otro Lado Film ImageWednesday, June 18, 6pm
West Valley Branch Library
1243 San Tomas Aquino Rd.
San José, CA 95117
(408) 244-4766


Dir. Gustavo Loza/Mexico/2005/ 80 min.

This beautiful fictionalized story follows the complexities of migration through the eyes of family members who have been left behind. Three countries, three cultures, and three realities serve as the stage to delve into the lives of three children, each of whom must endure the absence of a loved one, each wanting to bring them home.

Esta bella historia narrativa cuenta las complejidades de la migración a través de los ojos de los niños que han sido dejados atrás. México, Cuba, Marruecos, tres culturas, tres realidades que sirven de escenario desde el cual exploramos las vidas de tres niños que sufren la ausencia de un ser querido a quien quieren traer de vuelta al hogar.



Cruzando Arizona | Crossing Arizona


Crossin Arizona Film ImageSaturday, June 21, 3pm
Hillview Branch Library
1600 Hopkins Dr.
San José, CA 95122
(408) 808-3033


Joseph Mathew & Dan DeVivo/ Mexico, US/ 2006/ 95 min.

Heightened security in California and Texas has pushed illegal border-crossers into the treacherous Arizona desert in unprecedented numbers – an estimated 4,500 a day. Most are men in search of work, but increasingly the border-crossers are women and children seeking to reunite with their families. This influx of migrants crossing through Arizona and the attendant rising death toll have elicited complicated feelings about human rights, culture, class, labor and national security. “Crossing Arizona” examines the crisis through the eyes of those directly affected by it.



Al otro lado/ To the Other Side


Al Otro Lado Film ImageSaturday, June 28, 3pm
Biblioteca Latinoamericana Branch Library
921 South First St.
San José, CA 95110

Natalia Almada/Mexico/ USA/2005/ 70 min.

Special guest: Walesa Kanarek, from Amnesty International USA - WEST Field Organizer

Corridos are the "daily archives of Mexican life”, told through song. This beautifully filmed documentary recounts the stories of cross-border drug and human smugglers, through Mexico's traditional corrido songs and an aspiring composer, Magdiel, whose only hope is to follow in the footsteps of "The Little Tigers of the North".

Los corridos son el “archivo cotidiano de la vida mexicano” contado en canciones. Este bellísimo documental narra la historia de las drogas y el contrabando humano en la frontera a través del tradicional “corrido” mexicano relatado por Magdiel, un aspirante a compositor cuya esperanza es seguir los pasos de “Los Tigres del Norte”.




ILFS Co-presentations with Frameline

La Leon


La Leon Film ImageMonday June 23 11:30 amCastro Theatre
Wednesday June 25 7:00 pm Victoria Theatre

Set on a remote island in northeastern Argentina, this artfully shot debut feature simmers with sexual tension. Alvaro is a quiet man who repairs books and harvests reeds. Doubly isolated by his remote home and his homosexuality, he lives simply and doesn't talk much, resorting to hook-ups with outsiders for release. On the more garrulous side of the spectrum is Turu, who pilots the water taxi nicknamed La León because of the sound its engine makes chugging up the river. Turu fancies himself a community leader of sorts because his boat ferries the local population whenever they need to go to town. He's also a loudmouth and a brute, ranting against missionaries, immigrants from Paraguay who've come to work, and Alvaro for being gay. Like most bigots, the captain has some unresolved issues and is alternately fascinated and repelled by the handsome man he transports. To frame the story, Otheguy employs a wonderfully textured black- and-white cinematography with the jungle at center stage. Whether providing Alvaro with cover for a nighttime tryst or drowning out the noise of a more brutal encounter with its own natural clamor, the environment is a keen, impartial observer of the human drama unfolding in its midst. Placed among other recent noteworthy examples of Latin American art cinema including Los Muertos and A Thousand Clouds of Peace, La león heralds the arrival of a new cinematic talent. - ROD ARMSTRONG



A LOVE TO KEEP


A Love to Keep Film ImageWednesday June 25 9:15 pm Victoria Theatre

SShy, awkward Elvira (Susi Sanchez) and bubbly, forthright Pilar (Carmen Elias) are schoolteachers in Franco's fascist Spain in the early 1970s. They fall in love only to be torn apart when Pilar's parents have her institutionalized, hoping that regular shock treatments will jolt her into heterosexuality. Despite years of separation, the two women find their way back to one another in a newly free Spain. But the happily-ever-after that the couple eagerly anticipates proves elusive when Pilar's mind and body begin to suffer horrific aftereffects from the electroshock therapy. Based on a true story and nominated for an ATV Award (Spain¹s equivalent of the Emmys) for Best TV Movie, Juan Carlos Claver¹s heartfelt drama works on multiple levels: It is a kind of social and legal history of gay life in Spain as, during the course of the drama, Spanish society transforms from the repressive Franco years to today's more open way of life. It is part tragedy, with Pilar subjected not just to shock therapy but to other forms of abuse during her years in the hospital. It is a family story, as Pilar pays the price for her parents' homophobia, and her mother eventually pays a price for what she has done. But above all, it is a moving, romantic melodrama. Sanchez and Elias are luminous and heartbreaking as women determined to let nothing ' not the law, society, family nor illness ' destroy their love. ' PAM GRADY

For more information visit: www.frameline.org





.:: Recent Events ::.





ILFS Co-presents with QUELACO (Queer Latino/a Artist Coalition):

Dias de Boda | Wedding Days


Wedding Days Film ImageThursday June 12, 7:00pm
Galería de la Raza

2857 24th St, San Francisco

General Admission: $7

Dir. Juan Pinzás, Spain, 2002, 104 min.



Sonia, the beautiful daughter of an important publisher, believes her life's dream will come true when she marries Rosendo, a handsome writer, until he turns out to be gay. The wedding celebration brings unexpected surprises for all the guests, reveals the truth about the wedding party and causes the bride, who longed for this day, to wish the moment would never come when she'd say "I do". The Dogma film style, lovingly executed with natural light and sound, and shot entirely at the beautiful Galician parador of Bayona, creates intimacy with the troubled characters. Spoken in "Gallego", this is the second Dogma film produced in Spain by Pinzás.


Mojado: el documental indocumentado | Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary




Mojado Film ImageSaturday June 7, 6pm, San Jose Public Library
Educational Park Library
1770 Educational Park Dr.
San José, CA 95133
(408) 272-3663

Arturo Pérez Torres/Canada, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua/2004/87 min


It's estimated that each day 3000 Central Americans embark on the treacherous journey north to the U.S.; fewer than 300 ever make it. Canadian Director Perez Torres made this documentary by accompanying five Nicaraguan migrants on every step of their journey, documenting their struggle in alarmingly revealing and provocatively objective detail.

Se estima que cada día 3000 personas se embarcan en la peligrosa travesía al Norte, pero sólo 300 consiguen llegar a su destino. Pérez Torres acompaña a estos emigrantes en cada paso de ese recorrido, exponiendo honestamente este esfuerzo con reveladores y provocativos detalles.



ILFS Co-presents with the 1st International San Joaquin Film Festival:
Nonna's Trip (El Viaje de La Nonna)



Nona Film Image Director: Sebastiàn Silva
Central Valley Premiere
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 | 6:45PM
Bob Hope (Fox) Theatre

93 min | Mexico | 2007 | Opening Night Gala Film #1

La Nonna, grandmother of the Todaro family, forgets everything. Almost. The one thing she won't forget (and keeps insisting on) is her last wish - to go to Italy, to the village of Todaro, the birthplace of her beloved, deceased husband. This is a charmingly funny, ultimately touching story of a family united by love for their grandmother.




OPENING GALA & CELEBRATIONS

•At 5:45PM, start the Gala with an official ribbon-cutting, pre-show of entertainment, and treats from Downtown Stockton restaurants

• At 6:45PM, enter the theatre for the Gala program, featuring the Opening ceremonies and the screening of the first film "El Viaje de La Nonna."

• Next, patrons can: proceed at 8:45PM to the rooftop terrace of the historic Hotel Stockton for the "With the Stars" Opening Night Party at Paragary's Skyview Terrace at Hotel Stockton

• or attend the 9:10PM screening of the second film "The Clown and the Führer.




ILFS Co-presents with the 1st International San Joaquin Film Festival:


MADE IN L.A

Made in L.A Film ImageDirector: Almudena Carracedo
Saturday, June 7, 2008 | 4:00 PM
Sockton Empre Theatre

93 min | Mexico | 2007 | Opening Night Gala Film #1

María, Lupe and Maura are three Latina immigrants struggling to survive in Los Angeles sweatshops. But one day, determined to win basic labor protections, they embark on a three-year odyssey that will transform their lives forever. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.





CINCO DE MAYO FUNDRAISING EVENT!


15

Monday, May 5 from 9pm-2am
, Elixir Charity Guest Bartending
, 3200 16th Street, San Francisco

Everyone knows that ILFS parties are the best, but the party just got better because on Cinco de Mayo all of the proceeds from tips will benefit the ILFS!

ILFS staff will be behind the bar serving you frosty margaritas! Guest bartenders include Associate Director, Kerensa DeMars; Programming Associate, Charlotte von Hemert and Development Officer, Lou Ramirez!

Drink up for the Latino Film Society and the great films we bring you from Spain, Latin America and Latinos in the US! The Brickhouse Cafe will be grilling delicious Mexican burgers outside!







PROIBIDO PROIBIR | FROBIDDEN TO FORBID

Proiido proibir Wed. May 21, 7pm
, Richmond Public Library

325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond

Free screening

Dir. Jorge Durán, Brazil, 2006, 105 Mins.



Tragedy occurs when Paulo, a young medical student, and his two roommates - the romantically involved León and Leticia - try to help the family of a terminally ill patient, Rosalina, from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Their youthful idealism is shattered by the reality of police brutality that exists in Rio today and their friendship is tested when a change in Leticia's feelings for Paulo sends the trio on an emotional roller coaster. But the personal feelings within the triangle are overshadowed by their mounting concern for Rosalina's young son Cacao, as the three struggle against all odds to save him from the injustice that favela dwellers face at the hands of the police. "Proibido proibir" is a cutting statement about racism and the plight of the poor in today's Rio, but it is also a poignant look at three young students as they search for love and identity on the road to adulthood.


CARNAVAL CELEBRATION: VINICIUS AND BRAZILIVE


Vinicius Thursday May 22 Percussion Class: 6:15pm, Film: 7:30pm

Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

2868 Mission St., San Francisco

General Admission: $8, $6 students, seniors, disabled


Dir. Miguel Faria Jr., 2005, Brazil/ Spain, 120 mins.



For Brazilian music lovers, this is an outstanding portrait of the legendary Vinicius de Moraes (1913- 1980): poet, musician, composer and diplomat. Beautifully structured, this award-winning documentary is a superb mix of performance, storytelling and biography. Through archival footage and in-depth interviews, "Vinicius" brings to life the poetic and musical genius of this mythical figure of Brazilian culture. We hear from the greats of Brazilian music: Joåo Gilberto, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Antônio Carlos Jobim. Throughout his life Vinicius was influenced by Afro-Brazilian culture, and in his "Samba of the Blessing" wrote, "I am the most black white man in Brazil." This film revels in Vinicius' immense love of music, his friends, his nine wives, whiskey and - most of all - life itself.



BraziLive night!



Join the ILFS at the after party at El Rio, where you can listen to live Brazilian music and drink Caipirinhas and Guaraná sodas at the bar. Admission: 21 yrs and over; Cover $8. Free with ILFS film ticket stub!

To purchase tickets call the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts Box Office: 415-643-2785



638 WAYS TO KILL CASTRO


Tuesday April 22, 7pm @ Mission Cultural Center
2868 Mission St, San Francisco CA 94110
http://www.missionculturalcenter.org

2006, Dollan Cannell, 76 Mins, Feature Documentary

This shockingly objective documentary tells how the CIA and Cuban exiles have made 638 attempts on the life of Fidel Castro. Amazing archival footage and interviews with would-be assassins reveal the incredible cloak-and-dagger plots, from employing the mafia heavies, to noxious gas and exploding cigars, and the bizarre lengths the United States has gone to trying to end Communism in Cuba. We see how John F. Kennedy asked Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, for advice on ending the Castro regime. But perhaps most controversial are the clips of Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen welcoming just about anyone interested in assassinating Castro. This documentary, by Britain's Dollan Cannell was initially screened in Cuba, only to be later banned for showing the revolutionary government in a bad light. Find out exactly what the CIA has been up to on behalf of the American people.



MY MEXICAN SHIVA


Thursday April 17, 7:30pm @ Jewish Community Center of the East Bay

1414 Walnut Street
Berkeley CA 94709

Hebrew/Spanish/Yiddish (English Subtitles)

When the exuberant patriarch of a Mexico City family dies of a heart attack in the middle of a raucous mariachi party, he leaves behind a complicated web of secrets that must be untangled over the course of his seven-day shivah. In this sly and charming dysfunctional-family drama, the comically unraveling shivah will bring those he left behind to account for themselves. Director Alejandro Springall commissioned renowned Mexican Jewish writer Ilan Stavans to develop a story set in Mexico City's small but vibrant Jewish community (in a city of eighteen million, there are fewer than 20,000 Jews), which was published as the novella Morirse está en hebreo (Dying in Hebrew). Springall's colorful adaptation is an affectionate, tearful party that's hard to leave.

Jewish Community Center of the East Bay
www.jcceastbay.org




LA ZONA

April 24 - May 8 at SFIFF
The International Latino Film Festival is proud to co-present La Zona, directed by Rodrigo Pla, at the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival – April 24 to May 8, 2008.

This powerful drama studies the social stratification of present-day Mexico in its story of a gated community whose members will do anything to protect themselves after a burglary occurs. Also dramatized is the fate of one of the burglars who is given shelter by a boy who lives in La Zona. Rodrigo's Plá's taut debut tackles some disturbing consequences of a widening gap between haves and have-nots in contemporary Mexican society.

This film screens on May 3 at 9:30PM at the Clay Theatre, May 5 at 2:00PM, and May 7 at 9:30PM at the Sundance Kabuki Theatre.

For tickets and information visit www.sffs.org or call 925-866-9559.