The world premiere of 7th & Union will open the 20th anniversary in 2021 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on June 2nd.
Anthony Nardolillo directed the production of Broken English starring Mexican actor Omar Chaparro, the story of two men pursuing their dream of giving their families a better future. Ruben Islas’ Grandave Capital funded the film.
Lissette Feliciano’s directorial debut and coming-of-age drama Women Is Losers, set in 1960s working-class San Francisco, will be the festival on the 6th Simu Liu, star of the upcoming Marvel studio Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings , also starred in the film that premiered at SXSW.
The program includes world premieres of Something Blue, the debut film by Panamanian filmmaker Mariel García-Spooner, and Blursday by Sergio Guerrero; international premieres of Javier Fuentes-León’s The Best Families (Peru) and Papi by Noelia Quintero (Dominican Republic), based on a novel by the queer artist and musician Rita Indiana.
There are US premieres for the Colombian documentary film Between Fire & Water by Viviana Gómez Echeverry and La Botera (Argentina) by Sabrina Blanco.
The international feature film list is rounded off by the debut of the aspiring Mexican director Ángeles Cruz’s Nudo Mixteco and the Afrofuturist Executive Order (Brazil) by Lázaro Ramos, which premiered at the SXSW.
Latino selections include the documentary Rita Moreno: A Girl Who Decided To Go for It, directed by Mariem Perez Riera; Bridges, the debut film by director and actress Maria Corina Ramirez; Documentaries American Exile by John J. Valadez, landing place of Cecilia Aldarondo and Fruits of Labor by Emily Cohen – all three made public with the support of Broadcast Latino – and Jonathan Cuarta of 202 Tribeca Selections My heart won’t beat when you do it by email .
“After such a challenging year, LALIFF is stronger than ever with a varied program that testifies to the creativity and resilience of our artists,” said Diana Cadavid, Artistic Director of LALIFF.
“Our combination of in-person and virtual events is designed to enhance our viewing experience and ensure that everyone can enjoy the rich array of films, episodes, music and art that we have carefully curated.”
Last fall, LALIFF announced its Netflix-sponsored Latinx Inclusion Fellowship series, awarded to Afro-Latino filmmakers Lorena Durán, Justin Floyd, Kase Peña, Monica Suriyage, and Tamara Shogaolu. All five will premiere their short films as part of LALIFF 2021.
The festival’s first day of animation will be showcased by Cartoon Cartoons, Cartoon Network Studios’ recently announced animated short film initiative.
The LALIFF Industry Days are intended to bring together filmmakers and industry experts such as sales representatives, buyers, producers, production managers, craftsmen, financiers, festival programmers, film commissioners, film journalists and exhibitors.
As previously announced, LALIFF will be previewing In the Heights on June 4th 2021.
