Latino Film Festival Showcases Texas-Based Chicano Filmmakers.

The nation’s oldest and largest Latino film festival pays homage to Texas Chicano and Latino filmmakers during the 24th Annual CineFestival February 22 – 25 and March 2 – 4 at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (GCAC). Filmmakers premiering works include Efrain Gutierrez, one of the top 50 most influential Chicano independent filmmakers; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director of today’s hottest Latino film; Willie Varela, the only Chicano filmmaker to have a retrospective at New York’s Whitney Museum; and other internationally acclaimed Chicano and Latino filmmakers.

The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center has brought together special screenings and curated programs that showcase the pioneering and cutting edge contemporary work of Texas-based Chicano and Latino filmmakers for the 2001 CineFestival. Festivities include the opening night film premiere of Come and Take It Day by San Antonio native Jim Mendiola, the Premio Mesquite awards ceremony on March 2, public screenings and a select program of short videos. Highlights of the festival include:

— Texas premiere of the hottest Mexican film Amores Perros (Love is a Bitch): Currently the hottest Latino film in the world, Amores Perros won the 2000 Cannes Critics Week Grand Prize and is Mexico’s entry in this year’s Academy Awards. This widely acclaimed and controversial film by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu brings to life the harsh realities of urban living in Mexico.

— Efrain Gutierrez Retrospective: Named one of the top 50 most influential independent filmmakers by Filmmaker Magazine, Gutierrez’s films paved the way for a whole generation of Chicano and Latino filmmakers by providing concrete funding, production and distribution models for others to follow. He also was the first Chicano to direct a feature film, Please Don’t Bury Me Alive!/Por Favor, NO Me Entierren Vivo.

— World premiere of Hector Galan’s Accordion Dreams: This exhilarating musical journey tells the story of a unique Mexican-American musical expression called conjunto. The hour-long documentary is narrated by singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa and is scheduled for national PBS broadcast in 2001.

— Special program of experimental film pioneer Willie Varela: CineFestival will present a select program of short films by this pioneering El Paso-based experiential filmmaker. Varela’s career spans over 20 years and includes one-man shows at the Museum of Modern Art, videos in the 1993 and 1995 Whitney biennials and a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

The festival begins with a special opening night premiere of Come and Take It Day by San Antonio native Jim Mendiola. The film tells a story of the hunt for the lost treasure of gold coins given to the man who helped capture the legendary Gregorio Cortez. The feature-length fiction film stars San Antonio’s own actor Jesse Borrego (Fame television series, Blood In Blood Out, and Lone Star), Jacob Vargas (Selena, Mi Familia, Traffic) and Maria Candelaria (Ballad of a Soldier).

For more information on CineFestival call the GCAC at (210) 271-3151.