Steppin' Out
Cover Story
Photograph courtesy of El Teatro Campesino
Writer/director/producer Luis Valdez will be honored by the International Latino Film Festival.
Festival honors
The 11th annual International Latino Film Festival
By Heather Zimmerman
The International Latino Film Festival has always made a point of reaching a wide audience. Perhaps that's why these days, although the festival has star-power, it also maintains a down-to-earth sensibility.
The 11th annual International Latino Film Festival holds screenings at venues around the Bay Area and in Sacramento this month. The San Jose edition takes place Nov. 6-11 and Nov. 17-18 at Camera 12, 201 S. Second St., San Jose; MACLA, 510 S. First St., San Jose; and San Jose State University.
The festival includes tributes to influential filmmakers, as well as more than 20 films. This year marks the festival's largest program yet in San Jose.
On Nov. 8, the festival honors activist, writer, producer and director Luis Valdez, who has broken new ground in film, as well as in theater with his company El Teatro Campesino. The company has been operating in San Juan Bautista for more than 40 years. He is also an alumnus of San Jose State University, where he began writing. Among his many film credits are writer/director for the 1987 blockbuster La Bamba, The Cisco Kid and Zoot Suit, based on his influential play.
"We are recognizing the incredible work that Luis has done over such a long period of time in bringing awareness to Latino arts. He's been a pioneer; he's been a visionary. He has produced some of the most exciting, classic films of Chicano filmmaking," festival founder and director Sylvia Perel says.
The tribute includes Pat Launder and Rick Bollinger's documentary The Legacy of Luis Valdez: Father of Chicano Theater; Little Louie, a short about Valdez directed by his sons Anahuac and Kinan; and the 2002 feature Ballad of a Soldier, also made by Anahuac and Kinan. The screenings will be followed by a conversation with Valdez and his sons. "A Tribute to Luis Valdez" takes place Nov. 8, 6 p.m. at Camera 12, with a reception to follow at the nearby Chacho's Restaurant.
Top Mexican director Maryse Sistach will be honored at the "Tribute to Women and Film" held on Nov. 9, 7 p.m. at Camera 12. "We have always had a series about women and film; we always want to emphasize the contribution of women in filmmaking in Latin America," Perel says. "So we are going to honor Maryse Sistach, probably the most important Mexican director at this point. She has a fabulous career."
Sistach, also a writer and producer, made her name with dark dramas that tackle issues of violence against women, but her latest film, Emma's Bra, takes a new direction with a whimsical coming-of-age tale. The film screens at the event honoring Sistach, which also features a reception at Anno Domini gallery.
However, Perel notes that honoring established artists is only one aspect of the festival. Because the festival aims to reach a broad audience, it seeks a variety of places to screen movies. The majority of the films will show at the independent movie theater Camera 12, a venue that Perel credits with helping the Latino Film Festival stay in San Jose. Movies especially appropriate for students will show at SJSU, and those with appeal for young adults will screen at visual and performing arts space MACLA, making the festival's diverse offerings even more accessible.
Education has always been a key element of the festival's mission. In addition to bringing films to students at SJSU and other area schools, since its second year, the Latino Film Festival has offered the Youth in Video program, which teaches filmmaking skills to young people in the North Bay and now in Argentina. "It is based on the vision of the festival, which is not only to celebrate talented artists, but also to open the doors for the next generation," Perel says.
She notes that the 10-year-old program has produced more than 30 shorts and documentaries. This year, everyone will get to see the work of the festival's Youth in Video students in Argentina. The group of grade-school-aged children created a 1-minute animated short that will run as the festival's "trailer" before every screening.
Valdez tribute tickets are $40-$50 including reception or $10-$12 for films only. Sistach tribute tickets are $20-$25 or $10 film only. Tickets to most screenings are $6-$12. For a complete schedule and more information, call 925.866.9559 or visit www.latinofilmfestival.org.
