Latino Film Festival

Questions: Contact Elena Gutierrez

 

Friday, March 29

SESSION 3   8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Chicago Director: Jaime Mariscal

(8:00 – 8:30) - Dusk (Beta, 30 mins)

This film focuses on one day in the life of eleven-year old Issac, who lives with his mother on Chicago's southwest side. The trouble begins when mom's new boyfriend, Bobby, arrives unexpectedly and sparks emotions of animosity in the boy.  Issac is off to wander the streets, alone.  It is here that the film achieves a documentary quality that shows us the beauty and danger of the barrio.  This will lead to a climax at dusk, when a brutal street crime occurs that will change Issac's life forever.

(8:40 – 9:00) - Gustavo (Beta, 20 mins)

This film is a documentary on Gustavo Aguilar. He is an ordinary Mexican-American man living, working and struggling in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Except for one thing; he likes to dress like Jesus Christ and walk around the barrio carrying a large cross.  This is his mission in life and we follow him on one of his walks through the barrio.

(9:05 – 9:15) - Q & A with Jaime Mariscal

SESSION 4   9:25 a.m. -  10:40 a.m.   

Chicago Director: Esaú Melendez

(9:25 – 9:30) - Lost Love (Beta, 3 mins.)

Music combined with experimental illustrations – Lost Love is a tragic love story told with great speed, music, and performance.

(9:35 – 9: 52) – Escucha (Beta, 17 mins.)

The heroine in Escucha acts on her desires and exposes her boyfriend to the same abusive treatment that he imposed on her.  However, she is more creative.  She gags and hangs him and while he dangles, she taunts him with the reality of their lives.  Her treatment of him is a reflection of her reality; her paintings reveal her frustration.

(10:00 – 10:06) - El Solo in a New City (Beta, 6 mins.)

This short film is about a young Mexican immigrant who feels distance in a new city.  The story is moved by images and music searching the emptiness of this young immigrant. 

(10:10 – 10:30) – Q & A with Esaú Meléndez

SESSION 5   1:40 p.m. -  2:55 p.m.    

The Next Generation: New Chicana Independent Film

           

(1:40 – 1:55) – Mujeres de Maiz: The Roots of Herstory, Directors: Felicia Montes & Claudia Mercado  (Video, 15 mins.)

Through a montage of women’s voices (interviews, testimonies, performances, viewing, and interpretations of creative works), this film portrays the often-undocumented creative talents of young women of color.

(2:00 – 2:15) – Q & A with Felicia Montes & Claudia Mercado

           

(2:20 – 2:35) – Dirty Laundry, Director: Christina Ibarra (Video, 15 mins)

This is a humorous coming of age story about a 12 year-old Chicana who is forced to participate in her cousin's quinceniera, which brings about questions and rebellion.

(2:40 – 2:55) – Q & A with Cristina Ibarra

SESSION 6   3:05 p.m. -  4:20 p.m.    

The Politics of Discrimination: Past and Present

(3:05 – 3:35) – Los Repatriados: Exiles from the Promised Land, Director: Julio Guerrero (Video, 30 mins)

The Mexican community arrived in Detroit during the early 1920's to work at Ford Motor Company, the railroads and other related industries. The community thrived, built businesses and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, and started organizations.  Then the Depression hit and the Welfare Department carried out a massive Repatriation program in cooperation with the US and Mexican governments.  By the time it was over, the community was decimated.  The program started out as a voluntary return to Mexico, later to turn into a full scale witch hunt and deportation which targeted the unsuspecting Mexican community. 

(3:35 – 3:50) – Q & A with Julio Guerrero

(3:55 – 4:10) – UC Berkeley after 209: A Campus Conversation, Dir.: Julian Ledesma (Video, 15 mins.)

A documentary examining the current state of University of California, Berkeley after the implementation of California’s Proposition 209 and the ban of affirmative action in UC admissions.  This video includes interviews with UC Berkeley professors and various UC Berkeley undergraduates in support or opposition to the after-affects of banning race as a consideration in UC admissions policy.  The documentary also provides a discussion about the pros’, cons’, and general perceptions of the University of California’s affirmative action admissions policy. 

(4:15 – 4: 30)  - Q & A with Julian Ledesma

SESSION 7   4:30 p.m. -  6:00 p.m.    

SPECIAL SCREENING

(4:45 – 5:40) – Señorita Extraviada, Director: Lourdes Portillo (Video, 90 mins.)

Recipient of the Special Jury Prize in the Documentary category at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

NOTE: During Session Six there will be a panel discussing Portillo's many films and contributions.

Saturday, March 30

A Retrospective of Films by Lourdes Portillo

During a time when few women, and even fewer Chicanas, were producing films, Lourdes Portillo helped establish a new wave in Chicano cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Since her beginnings, she has received national and international praise for her impressive body of work – including an Academy Award nomination for her critically acclaimed documentary, Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her contributions to filmmaking, and several festival awards – all the while ensuring that the voice of Latina women would not be undermined despite the discriminating gaze of the greater film community.  Portillo’s impressive oeuvre is the result of a unique combination of social, political and feminist critique, an evolving cinematic style, and a commitment to advancing social change through alternative media.  From a young Nicaraguan refugee’s encounter with immigration and exile in the United States (After the Earthquake) to the filmmaker’s own exploration of her uncle’s mysterious murder in Mexico (The Devil Never Sleeps), Portillo’s vision has brought forth an unforgettable mosaic of stories and personalities that reflect the struggles, diversity and continuing polemics of the Latina/o experience. 

This year Lourdes Portillo continues to break new ground with her latest release, Señorita Extraviada, a riveting documentary investigating brutal murders of young women, many of whom were employed at the post-NAFTA sweatshops known as maquiladoras, in the border town of Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.  Recipient of the prestigious Special Jury Prize in the Documentary category at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, Señorita Extraviada has once again established Lourdes Portillo as one of the most important documentary filmmakers worldwide.  As NAACS celebrates the achievements of Chicanas at this year’s annual conference, Lourdes Portillo deserves particular recognition for the numerous contributions she has made in establishing the work of Chicanas and Latinas in the realm of arts and culture. 

SESSION 8   8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.      

(8:40 - 9:03) - After the Earthquake (23 mins.)          

(9:10 - 9: 28) - Columbus on Trial (18 mins.)

SESSION 9   9:55 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.    

(10:00 - 11:04) - Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (64 mins.)     

SESSION 10   2:00 p.m. -  3:15 p.m. 

(2:00 – 3:22) The Devil Never Sleeps (82 mins.)

This year's site committee would like to sincerely thank, and wish a happy 30th Anniversary to Women Make Movies, the world largest feminist film and video distributor, who has generously donated Portillo’s films for viewing at this year's conference.  More information on WMM is available in the screening room.

NACCS Conference Archive