The Latina Women's League wants to share the diverse stories of Latin America with the Gainesville community. With six independent films, it has organized the Fourth Annual Gainesville Latino Film Festival, which will be different than the past three in that two of the film's directors will make presentations and hold bilingual readings for young children.
The film screenings begin Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Hippodrome State Theatre, which will run a new film every Saturday until the festival's conclusion on Oct. 18.
"These are all incredible films," said Victoria Condor-Williams, president of the LWL. "We want to expose the diverse culture of Latin America and the art of film and open a great discussion about these kinds of issues."
The film line-up includes the twice nominated Ecuadorian award film "Qué Tan Lejos" ("How Much Further") on Sept. 20; "Dragones: Destinos de Fuego" ("Dragons: Destiny of Fire"), an animated tale from Peru on Sept. 27; the Brazilian environmental film "Lauareté, Cachoeira das Onças" ("Lauareté: Waterfall of the Jaguars") on Oct. 4; a human rights documentary from Chile "Apaga y Vámonos" ("Switch Off") on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.; a narrative feature Afro-Latino film "A Dios Momo" ("Goodbye Momo") from Uruguay on Oct. 11; and "Dance of My Heart," a story about the Gainesville artist Alberto Alonso on Oct. 18.
Condor-Williams said the LWL decided to bring directors Tania Hermida and Ricardo Acosta to give presentations on their films, a new aspect to the festival this year.
The festival began with an "Opening Night Gala" at the Hippodrome on Sept. 15, with a special appearance by Hermida.
Hermida's film "Que Tan Lejos" is her first film as a director and writer. She is best known for being second associate director of the Oscar-nominated film "Maria Full of Grace."
Condor-Williams explained that it's important for Hermida to see Gainesville and its history of students who traveled from foreign countries to experience other cultures.
"She is so nice and young. It's important because it motivates the students, especially high school students," Condor-Williams said. "It's a great opportunity to see this kind of artist and have new views."
Hermida is involved in developing issues regarding culture and events and is part of the league's desire to emphasize women in film, Condor-Williams said.
The film "Dance of my Heart," directed by Ricardo Acosta, was made here in Gainesville at Santa Fe College.
The film was produced by the SFC's endowment corporation, said Michael Curry, director of development services at SFC. Students were also actors in the film.
"The dance department are in the film in a big way," Curry said. "It shows Alberto teaching them new choreography for a show at the end of the film."
This is SFC's first time being part of the festival.
"We were invited to participate," Curry said. "Gainesville is our home and Albert's home, and we're glad to be showing the film here."
Acosta is also giving a presentation for high school students at the Alachua County Library District Headquarters to introduce teens to the art of filmmaking. The presentation will be held Oct. 18 at 11 a.m.
There will also be programming specifically for children, Condor-Williams said. The library will host Cuentos Latinoamericanos presenting two bilingual stories, "La Cucarachita Martina" ("Martina, the Little Roach") on Oct. 7 and "La Boda de Xdzunuum" ("The Wedding of Xdzunuum") on Nov. 4.
The festival is very important to the LWL, Condor-Williams said.
"One of the things we hope that after we finish is that there is a lot of learning and open discussions about things that we need to put attention to in our community," she said. "We want people to learn about the diverse cultures and help the community meet these incredible directors and enjoy the films."
She said that everyone is welcome to the festival, especially students.
"Students want to learn more, so it's one of the reasons to put it together. It gives us a chance to show these stories," Condor-Williams said.
All films are free and open to the public. More information and tickets can be found at www.latinawomensleague.org.
