Boston Latino International Film Festival
October 3rd-12th, 2008
Harvard Film Archive, Boston University GSU Auditorium, 80 Border Street Cultural Exchange
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While Spanish films have always had a certain cachet amongst American moviegoers, Latin American cinema has not always met with the same curiosity, and certainly not with the same critical engagement. But these last few years have been a breakthrough for Latin American movies in the US: Mexican directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo Del Toro all featured prominently at the 79th Academy Awards, with Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth considered by many to be the best movie of 2007; and, only a few years earlier, City of God captivated American audiences with its mix of wistful, lighthearted storytelling and unflinching exploration of urban poverty in a society orphaned by drugs.

Beginning this weekend, the Boston Latino International Film Festival screens a mix of engaging documentaries, shorts, and features, which continue to attest to the growth and vitality of Latin American and Spanish filmmaking. The festival begins with Maldeamores (2007), Puerto Rico's official entry to the 80th Academy Awards. Produced by Benicio Del Toro, Maldeamores explores the differing and often contradictory emotions and feelings of love through multiple storylines. The unnervingly good Luiz Guzman gives an excellent lead performance.

Other highlights from the opening weekend are Quarta B (2005), a Brazilian movie about the discovery of a drugs in a fourth grade classroom co-presented by the Boston Underground Film Festival; Cubanos (2007), a documentary about the Cuban community and the problematics of national identity; and a selection of Spanish shorts.

This weekend's movies will all be screened at the Harvard Film Archive. Wednesday, the festival moves to BU's GSU auditorium with Guitar Holiday, a look at the guitar makers of Paracho, Michoacan, and the Mexican National Guitar Festival, and other documentaries.

Still of Maldeamores from Lumina Films website