The New York Latino International Film Festival

Gunplay, histrionics and good intentions were major players in the first New York International Latino Film Festival, held for five days in early June. The brainchild of founder Calixto Chinchilla, this ambitious attempt to collect Latino films from all regions yielded decidedly mixed results; the selection veered from staid documentaries to soap-like dramas.

Kicking the Fest off with a literal bang was the New York premiere of Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s King of the Jungle, starring John Leguizamo, Anabella Sciorra, Julie Carmen and Rosie Perez. The tale of a retarded man and his activist lesbian mother in a violence-plagued NYC hood, King goes straight for the jugular with an anti-gun message, culminating in several major characters dead or shot at. While allowing Leguizamo to go way over the top, the film surprises with a wonderfully restrained performance by Perez and good work from Spike Lee-fave Sciorra. Also showing in a packed screening was Karyn Kusama’s Girlfight, in which a city teen takes up boxing in an effort to find her identity. At times embarrassingly naïve with its "reach for your dreams" motif, Girlfight plays a bit like a female-boxing variation of Flashdance.

Bob’s Video, a charming surprise by Dino Andrade, played to a smaller audience but was perhaps more satisfying. A dark comedy about a video-store robbery gone wrong, the film manages to turn a hostage situation into a setting for unlikely romance. Another unusual comedy, Lane Janger’s Just One Time, managed to raise more than a few eyebrows. After a young firefighter (Janger) realizes his fantasy of seeing his wife-to-be with another woman, she turns the tables by asking him to have sex with a man while she watches. It was amusing to watch the notoriously conservative Latino audience squirm with discomfort during the gay scenes in this bold, interesting film.

In Road Dogz, directed by Alfredo Ramos, an ex-con returns to his ’hood only to find that a young charge of his is now grown-up and terrorizing the area with his gang. Technically accomplished, the film’s principal cast lacks the acting prowess needed to pull the high drama off. An inability to escape the cycle of violence was also the theme of Lorena David’s Eastside and Van Fischer’s Blink of an Eye.

A little more variety was to be found amidst the international selections. Chile’s El Chacotero Sentimental was a crowd pleaser and easily the best film of the Festival. Directed by Cristián Galaz, this feature mixed drama, comedy and commentary on socio-economic issues.

On the documentary front, standouts included Laurie Collyer’s powerful and moving Nuyorican Dream. Chupacabra, by Patricio Serna, tracks the existence of the legendary blood-sucking creature. What at first seems like a Blair Witch homage is actually a serious piece dedicated to uncovering the truth behind the chilling myth. And Americanos!: Latino Life in the United States, a 35mm celebration of all things Latino by Susan Todd and Andrew Young, was vociferously upbeat if ultimately hollow.

There was no shortage of quality shorts at the Fest, a good number of them from Mexico and shown together in a special screening. Ponchada, by Alejandra Moya, was a macabre yet amusing tale of murder; Adios Mama, directed by Ariel Gordon, depicted a money-scamming granny; and Pasajera was Jorge Villalobos’s all-too-brief, and acidly humorous take on tensions between Mexico City’s youth and elders. From the States, Eric Daniel’s Details was a smart, interesting take on a woman’s preparations for her planned suicide, while Pancho’s Revenge, directed by Jorge Aguirre, has a disillusioned N.Y. radical fake his death and start over in South America as "Pancho."

Rounding out the programming was a series of panel discussions. Nowhere else was the dissent amongst the Latino community so clearly voiced with attendees complaining of a lack of support from Latinos in positions of power within the industry.

So, as the first N.Y. International Latino Film Festival came to an end, it was with mixed feelings of hope and frustration. Was the Festival a success? At the very least, it provided an important forum of quality Latino work; whether it placed any in the hands of distributors remains to be seen. – Arnold Salas

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