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NYILFF
3 Years and Counting
By Ramona Prioleau
New
York is home to a wide array of film festivals, but the festival
devoted to showcasing urban Latino films recently concluded its third
year.
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The festival kicked off with screenings
of Spy Kids 2 and Empire. The latter from NY's own John Leguizamo who
also screened his King of the Jungle at the inaugural fest (sorry,
MOSAEC can't give you a preview of the latter - yours truly was denied
entry to the screening; but that's a tale for another time…:-o).
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With the bulk of the 50 films screening
at Clearview Cinemas and Lighthouse International on East 59th Street,
the festival played host to a diverse Latino community, which turned
out in large numbers for the festival. In addition to partying to the
wee hours at NY hotspots that vibrated with Latin, Hip Hop and Soul
music, eager cinema buffs sold out many of the long and short form
documentaries and narratives from the US and abroad. If
you missed NYILFF's third installment, be sure to catch the following
when they're on a screen near you:
- Manito - Although suffering from
production values that are reflective of a microscopic film
budget, Manito is story with a magnificent heart that pulsates
from beginning to end. At its core, Manito vibrantly captures a
day in the life of two brothers who attempt to stay on the
straight and narrow in Manhattan's Washington Heights, once vilified
as the crack cocaine capital of the world.
- Roam - In 4 minutes, writer/director
Carolina Vila-Ramirez finely captures the poignant tale of a
teenager and his young brother as they struggle to remain a family
amidst poverty, homelessness and temptation.
- Washington Heights - Directed by Alfred
de Villa, Washington Heights is a story of fathers and sons who
dream big and small dreams in a neighborhood that embraced the
huddled masses yearning to breathe free - whether Irish, Jewish or
Dominican. Before tales of drug trafficking stigmatized it, the
community of Washington Heights was known for its distinctive
vistas - the Cloisters, the rolling hills and the 179th Street
twin towers. De Villa takes care to capture this on film and gives
voice to the complexity of the community and those who live in it.
Washington Heights walked away with the festival's Best Feature
Award.
Other winners included:
- Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story (Randy
Vasquez, dir.) - Best Documentary
- White Like the Moon (Marina Gonzales Palmier,
dir.) - Best Short and
- All Night Bodega (Felix Olivier, dir.) - Lincoln
Filmmaker Trophy. M
August 2002
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