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The
Los Angeles Latin Film Festival concludes with cite of awareness
October
30th 2005
The
Los Angeles Latin Film Festival concludes today it's 9th
annual
of responsibilitycite, aware of its responsibility to serve
a community,
which every year grows larger in the US
As
remembered by the director of the festival, Marlene Dermer,
this cinematographic display, disembarking in Los Angeles
over the past 10 years, wants to ""celebrate both the spirit
and the presence of the Latin-made movies in this country.""
The biggest display is a number of 120 movies, amidst them
documentaries, artworks of fiction, short movies, all those
to be seen on the big screens of the Egyptian Theatre, the
central stage of the festival.
In sharp contrast with 1997, when only 42 productions where
shown. In 1997 at the festivals' debut, there where 5000
spectators. Today this number is well above the 15,000 mark.
Despite
this rosy picture of the current bonanza, Dermer is the
first to admit the situation worsens every year.
""Its
for sure there exists a huge interest amongst Latin people
for the movie industry, but until now we are still poorly
understood."" admits the actor and singer Carlos Ponce to
EFE.
The Puerto Rican walked the red carpet, appearing at the
festival, presenting the movie Meet Me in Miami, a romantic
comedy. It tells the story of the adventures of two Hispanic
young men, being both in New Zealand on their quest to find
true love.
Ponce
is convinced the large movie studios ""are making some mistakes
in their assessments"" when analyzing the Hispanic audience.
We are not understood very well. We are the largest minority
group in the US, and the most divided. We are not effectively
supported as community, and its for this the numbers fall
short"" he complains. However he keeps strong faith the
movie industry will change.
According
to his opinion, it was not really helpful to make a lot
of low quality movies, which are ""caricature"" projects,
unsuccessfully made in a bid to reach the Latin audience.
""It's
clear, its not easy, due to the lack of work, we swallow
that what is left"" he adds to distance himself somewhat
from previous statements.
This
reason motivated his colleague and co-star the Mexican Eduardo
Verástegui to start his own production company Metanoia,
the name means: Profound inner change, the inner turn towards
the Light.
Adding:
Verástegui admits his arrival in Hollywood was ""a simple
motivation to pursue the shallow and simple wish to get
money, fame, and women"" after leaving México having a blossoming
career as singer, and actor on Telenovelas.
His plan was to become the new Antonio Banderas, a Spanish
actor, admired by Verástegui. The face of Banderas is to
be seen on billboards all over the place in the vicinity
of the Egyptian Theatre. Just a week before the theatrical
release of ""La leyenda del Zorro"" (The Legend of Zorro)
""But
I noticed all the decades since the 1930ties the industry
depicted us as stereotypes: Varying from drug-addicts, prostitutes,
criminals, or that of a '"Latin lover"" which is just a
womanizer"" he complains.
Because of this he changed his relation with the industry,
and from his production company he likes to express responsibility
which in his opinion is needed to help the Latin movie industry
helping to foster an improved image of the Latin community.
Having this opinion, Verástegui considers the The Los Angeles
Latin Film Festival as the ""most important window"", to
see the Hispanics on celluloid, to express the truth, and
become well known by the entire movie industry.
""But
we should not continue telling this over and over again
to ourselves. We know ourselves. Now the time has come the
rest of the world has get to know us"" he resumes.
Dermer agrees completely with this philosophy, she wishes
to show the best of the best of Latin film, and too about
the Latin community at the festival.
""We
are not a totality, we are a part. We are part of the worldwide
movie industry."" the director indicated.
Because of this nothing is more appropriate to conclude
the Ninth edition of the festival with a Brazilian movie
titled ""O casamente de Romeu y Juileta"" a romantic comedy
of Bruno Barreto, translating the universal love story of
William Shakespeare towards the world of Hispanic soccer
fans.
Terra
Actualidad - EFE
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