LOCAL
TALENT SHINES AT 19th CHICAGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL
The
Chicago Latino Film Festival continues to get
better as it leaves its teens and matures into
young adulthood, with an expansive lineup of
film from 22 countries screened over 13 days.
A
glimpse of the festival at its midpoint demonstrates
its wide reach, as festivalgoers from all age
groups and walks of life shared the experience
at a sponsor reception and a screening of a
locally produced drama.
The
reception hosted by La Raza Publications featured
great DJ-powered dance music and the fine company
of Latino professionals. Some names to be dropped:
Carmenza Millan from UIC; Miguel Alba from SBC;
Coca-Cola's John Rosales; Marisela Perez from
Price WaterhouseCoopers, and the irrepresible
Marilyn Santiago from Hispanic Broadcasting
Company.
Party
host Luis Rossi and festival director Pepe Vargas,
also in attendance, must have been pleased with
the warm vibe produced by the event.
Vargas
recognized the festival's amazing ability to
reflect Latino diversity in many socio-political
areas.
"The
wide range of films provides a different taste
of Latino life, a culture rich with people who
come from all corners of the world," Vargas
said through his statement in the festival program.
"You
will see a Russian immigrant trying to adapt
to his new home in Buenos Aires (in the movie
"Vladimir en Buenos Aires); you will watch young
black Brazilian men, influenced by the sounds
of hip-hop and r-and-b, speak their minds on
racism and poverty ("Uma Onda No Ar"), and learn
about a great Argentinean jazz guitarist who
astounded the likes of Louie Armstrong and Duke
Ellington ("Oscar Aleman: Vida Con Swing"),"
Vargas wrote.
DANCE
AND POETRY: GRACE AND POWER ON SCREEN
Speaking
of swing and our dancing community, "La Tropical"
is this festival's can't-miss movie, a look
inside the Cuban night spot where talented young
artists and dancers went to develop their fabulous
style.
"Urban
Poet" may turn out to be the festival's Audience
Choice award winner, not only because the Chicago
production has home field advantage, but because
of its honest soul in its portrayal of positive
Latino images.
The
feature by New Film Productions, directed and
written by Antonio Franceschi, depicts the tale
of Rita Martinez (Gloricelly Martinez-Franceschi),
a Humboldt Park coffee shop employee who hits
the open mic poetry slam circuit with passion.
Martinez-Franceschi
gives a strong performance, as does Xavier Nogueras
as Vidal Vazquez, a cocky poet with incredibly
powerful messages. Our own Miguel Mendez, editor
and publisher of SalsaChicago.com, shines as
a construction site manager whose project represents
the move towards gentrification in the barrio.
The
film was shot on location in Chicago's Humboldt
Park community and addresses gentrification,
social boundaries, the protection of family
bonds and other important issues. Most of the
cast and crew was in the audience for the April
10 screening at the Biograph Theater, and they
were certainly enjoying their look at the finished
product on screen.
"Urban
Poet" is one of 14 pieces in the "Made in USA"
sectcion for this year's festival, sub-organized
in 17 special programs from "Women in Film"
to "Soundbites in Celluloid." The latter focuses
on musicians and the sociological forces that
helped to create them and serve as a source
of their inspiration, according to the festival.
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