Sol Dance arrives to Park City.

Sol Dance Film Fiesta 2007’s groundbreaking three-day event will screen independent films by Latino and Native American filmmakers. Sol Dance will present from January 21-23 at the new Dolce’s Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway, Utah, just 20 minutes down the road from the Sundance strip.

Sol Dance is dedicated to screening feature films, documentaries, and shorts by filmmakers whose lack of funds, resources, and other amenities have not stopped them from pursuing their passion for filmmaking. “This year is a celebration of Latin and Native American filmmakers,” said Elia Esparza, Sol Dance Co-Founder, a writer and former editor of Latin Heat and Estylo magazines. “The response has been so positive, and we are excited about unveiling our future plans.” Esparza, a contributor to the New York Post, says she envisions Sol Dance as an important home for Latino and Native Americans to compete, sell, and distribute.

Cristina Castro, CEO of Your Great Ideas, Inc., a Latino marketing and media agency and co-founder of Sol Dance, is spearheading the marketing and business development. “Every time I’ve been to Sundance there has been a missing link,” Castro said. “There seems to be a cultural disconnect. We need more films made by Latin Americans and Native Americans”.

Sol Dance will provide an added attraction to the 60,000 global participants already in the area. ”We will share the same mountain and dates as Sundance and Slamdance and add an extra window onto the world of film,” said Virginia Barreto-Applen, Nicaraguan born writer, director and executive producer at Tattoo Pictures. “Whether you are of Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee, Sioux, or Cree descent, Sol Dance recognizes that we, the indigenous peoples of the Americas, are all one nation. And we have stories to tell.”

Venezuelan born film writer/director, Betty Kaplan will give the keynote address at the industry luncheon, “Latinos in Hollywood’s Cross Hairs,” on Tuesday, January 23rd. “I want to open a discourse on what Latinos want to see and how to reach us,” says Kaplan. In 1994, Kaplan directed her first major Hollywood studio film, “Of Love and Shadows,” starring Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly. This thriller about Chile’s brutal Pinochet government, released by Miramax Films and Disney, received both critical acclaim and audience approval.

Salt Lake City businessman, Enrique Sosa, principal of Salt Lake City-based new-media company eFuerza, has embraced Sol Dance as its premier sponsor. There, Sosa intends to introduce his lifestyle company, SingleLatina.com.

Sosa was drawn to Sol Dance because the event reaches out to Utah’s diverse communities to share the beauty of cultures through cinematic arts. “This was most appealing to me,” he said, “and with a noted Latina director as keynote speaker, this was a natural launch pad for SingleLatina.com. We look forward to seeing Sol Dance bloom to its full potential and are proud to be a founding sponsor.”

Xenon Pictures will present a screening of two documentaries, “Los Lonely Boys” and the Reggaeton “Straight Out of Puerto Rico,” along with the feature film “7 Dias.” Carlos Gallardo will screen his “Curandero” (Miramax) on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Sol Dance opens on Sunday, January 21st with a full day of screenings, live music and broadcast coverage by sponsor Univision at the Zermatt’s Pavilion, and is open to the public. The next two days are packed with industry screenings and events. Utah’s Mariachi Zabala and Sacramento’s beloved musician, Aswut Rodriguez, a Latino-Native American, will perform with his band.

Sol Dance Film Fiesta ’07 sponsors include SingleLatina.com, Xenon Pictures, Mun2, Amigo Travel, Mindwalk Ventures, Tattoo Pictures, LLC, Weller/Grossman Productions, Dolce’s Zermatt Resort & Spa, Reyes Entertainment, Bustos Media, LLC, Center Stage, La Magica 106.1, Mariachi Zabala, Orgullo Café, Agel.com, and Nuskin.com.

For more information at http://www.rocksoldance.com