Latest news with #LosAngelesLatinoInternationalFilmFestival
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The 10 movies we are most looking forward to watching at the L.A. Latino International Film Festival
Forget Memorial Day weekend. Summer movie-loving begins with the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, five days of films pertinent to the experiences of U.S. Latinos, as well as a wide-ranging collection of productions from across Latin America. The event is often one of the few chances L.A. audiences get to see some of these stories. The big-screen festivities kick off with the Gael García Bernal-produced documentary 'ASCO: Without Permission,' about the 1970s Chicano art collective. The program also features titles that debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival: the L.A.-set satire 'Serious People' (the festival's closing night film); 'Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo),' the Bronx tale centering a young father struggling to stay afloat; and 'Rains Over Babel,' the Colombian queer ensemble piece about an otherworldly bar. To help you parse through the offerings, here's a list of 10 films not to miss at the fest. Prolific filmmaker José María Cabral dares to go where cameras have not always been welcomed: la 42. The epicenter of dembow music and Dominican urban culture where 'teteos,' or endless parties, are both integral to the local economy and the space where artistic innovation flourishes. Narrated as if a deceased local producer Zuamy (voiced by Ramón Emilio Candelario) were speaking from the beyond, the kinetic docufiction introduces audiences to the key figures in this music movement, the outsiders fascinated by its energy and even the police officers tasked with reining in the violence and drug trafficking in the area. The always remarkable Chilean actress Paulina García ('Gloria') turns in a harrowing performance in Ana Endara Mislov's delicately rendered and breezily beautiful drama examining the sharper edges of motherhood. García plays Mechi, an aging woman dealing with dementia who was once a successful business owner. Hired as a live-in caretaker in the opulent home, Ana Maria (Jenny Navarrete), a pregnant Colombian immigrant in Panama City hiding a major secret, develops a genuine bond with the initially standoffish Mechi, making for an unassumingly poignant and superbly acted two-hander. The Puerto Rican flag once held a prominent place in the Brownsville, Brooklyn apartment Elaine Del Valle (played largely by an extraordinary Nathalia Lares) grew up in. But as her music-loving father's flaws come into the limelight, forcing her to mature, her identity takes on more complex shades. This lively and touching autobiographical film adaptation of the novel and stage play of the same name — written by Del Valle herself — chronicles Elaine's coming of age amid the challenges of a disadvantaged neighborhood, but also the joys of a tight-knit community. Sorrow and wonder intermingle in the astute girl's turbulent journey. Playing a fictionalized version of himself, Jonathan Benaim, a disabled Venezuelan man, leads this irreverent 'revenge' narrative. The Jonathan on-screen enlists Angela (Paulina Mondragón), his impromptu chaperone, and his driver Eduardo (telenovela heartthrob Aarón Díaz) to travel to Panama and find the daughter of the doctor responsible for his condition. Via piercing dark humor — including cheeky thoughts from Jonathan's mind as on-screen text sprinkled throughout — Benaim and writer-director Daniel Poler defy sanctimonious societal expectations imposed on individuals living with physical disabilities. Luminous, candid and brimming with thought-provoking contradictions, this concise cinematic portrait introduces a non-conforming family in Mexico City where a spiritually minded, disarmingly charming trans woman, Melisa Hackerman, functions as father figure to five children and romantic partner to Claudia, a cisgender woman with traditional views on womanhood. Through evocative visual flourishes that reflect a connection to Indigenous traditions, their household dynamic is observed with curiosity and compassion, yet always probing at the more peculiar ideologies at play in their interpersonal relationships. The young Zapotec Indigenous people in La Raya, a small rural town in Oaxaca where the Chatino language is spoken, dream of migrating north to the United States, seeking prosperity. But in this subtly playful gem propelled by magical realism, those who remain or have returned are the focus. When Sotera (Diana Itzel Cruz Baltazar), a perspicacious girl whose parents are on this side of the border, and her friend Erick (Noé Salvador ) come across a mysterious refrigerator — a strange sight in these parts — a series of unexpected events unfold. A whimsical mixed-media fantasia, this Dominican work of shape-shifting animation takes an oneiric approach to exploring an elderly woman's memories, including that of a lover from her past, as well as her present-day relationship with her adult son, who in turn is dealing with his own romantic woes. Each vividly entrancing frame combines intricate techniques (hand-drawn characters or stop-motion) and endlessly innovative transitions to express surrealist concepts that collectively create a truly inspired and inspiring work of art. Effectively unnerving and strikingly photographed, this horror effort is concerned with the clash between Christianity and pre-Columbian traditions. Bent on evangelizing the Indigenous population in a remote Ecuadorian village, Candice (Sara Canning), a white American woman, alongside her husband and teenage son, must confront endemic beliefs and the man who holds the knowledge about them: the shaman. The confrontation, and what it unleashes, comes to a head when Candice realizes the key to saving herself and her loved ones might be on the other side of the spiritual fence. Comprised of three separate trans-centric stories, this anthology features Carmen Carrera as a formerly incarcerated sex worker on a new path, a straight man grappling with his friends' regressive views on trans women and a Salvadoran trans immigrant in South Gate yearning for connection. Aside from depicting a wide array of trans experiences, filmmaker Kase Peña portrays working-class lives in a city often depicted as a playground for the privileged. Her characters travel on the public transport and engage firsthand with the unglamorous but still relevant realities of a vast metropolis. A farmworker turned heroine during a parent's worst nightmare, Angeli Rose Gomez bypassed the authorities and rescued her sons from the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. This sobering documentary doubles as an indictment of a town that still overlooks its large Mexican American population and a police force that didn't do enough to protect local children — 19 of whom were murdered that day — but swiftly retaliated against a mother who denounced their negligent inaction.
Newsweek
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Diego Boneta Wanted His First Novel to be a Steamy, Sexy Summer Read
Mexican actor Diego Boneta attends the 2022 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) closing night screening of "Father Of The Bride" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on June 5, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Mexican actor Diego Boneta attends the 2022 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) closing night screening of "Father Of The Bride" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on June 5, 2022 in Hollywood, California. VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty "It was one page at a time, like one day at a time." Diego Boneta knew he wanted to write a sexy, steamy murder mystery for his first novel. "And I also really wanted it to be a novel that was a great summer read." That's exactly what he's done with The Undoing of Alejandro Velasco. Set in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the story follows a mysterious young man, Julian Villareal, who arrives at the estate of his friend and tennis rival, Alejandro Velasco, after his sudden death. "You think he's this super rich kid from Mexico City, who's studying at UCLA, and then you slowly start realizing that he's not who he says he is." The book is also being adapted by Amazon MGM Studios as an original series. "It's my first time doing this, where it's acting out a character that I wrote in a novel." But for Boneta, whose father was a "national [tennis] champion in Mexico [and] played Wimbledon," he's more than prepared to play Julian. "Julian is something that I already have in my DNA, because we've been working on this for so long now, I just want to make sure that it's the best version of the show that it can be for audiences to be entertained." SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARTING SHOT WITH H. ALAN SCOTT ON APPLE PODCASTS OR SPOTIFY AND WATCH ON YOUTUBE Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication. Where did the story come from? I've been obsessed with [The] Talented Mr. Ripley. I love that movie and the book. Let me backtrack a bit, ever since I worked with Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages in 2012, he really instilled the don't just be an actor—direct, write, produce, and it really stuck with me. And for many years, I was like, "I want to be able to produce and have my own production company." We spent a lot of time [together] when we shot that movie, and I would see him in calls for a movie that he just shot that's on post, then shooting Rock of Ages, and then taking meetings for his next project. I was like, "Man, that's the dream." Cut to 2017, I produced my first project that I started, and I executive produced a show called Luis Miguel, based on [the] singer. And no one thought it was going to be as big as it was. We were all super excited about the idea, but we knew it was a big risk, and it really, really worked and it kind of started my producing career as well. Shortly after, I starred in my first Mexican film directed by Michel Franco [New Order], and Michel was like, "Diego, I saw you produce, Luis Miguel, do you want to produce New Order with me?" I was like, "Dude, it would be a dream for me, as long as it's not a vanity credit. I really want to get to learn." We did that together, and it won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. Throughout COVID, I started with my manager and partner, Josh Glick, just packaging ideas, our dream writers, directors, and selling them across the board at the Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Sony, and it really came in a very organic, natural way. I was like, it took five years to be able to materialize that dream to produce. And Amazon comes to us and goes—because we sold two projects to Amazon—and says, "We want to do an overall with your production company, Three Amigos." And that was when we both realized, okay, this is serious. It's a three-year deal. We have to do four projects in three years. It's not just us running around like idiots, like this is actually serious. And Josh goes, "Dude, we should have your sister run the production company with us." I was like, "Natalia?" She's in Wall Street, like she's really a sergeant. She's been working in the corporate world, trading derivatives for three years now. She's the perfect person for the job. And I spoke to Natalia, and she was in. She really helped streamline everything. And when she first came on board, I was like, "Natalia, I think I'm ready to write my first screenplay." And she was like, "Nope, it's not going to be a script. It's going to be a book." And I was like, "What are you talking about?" She's like, "Yeah, we're going to write a novel. We're in Amazon publishing, and simultaneously we're going to tell Amazon Studios, and we're going to develop the limited series for the book." Like, that's why you're my boss. That's why you're here, That's why she worked on Wall Street. She has the brain. And we started working on the book, and we both knew that it had to come from something extremely personal. This is my first novel. So, I absolutely love tennis. My dad was national champion in Mexico [and] played Wimbledon. So it's something that's been a part of my life since I was a kid. I love Talented Mr. Ripley, and love that genre of movies. And the first thing was, normally in these con man movies,Talented Mr. Ripley or Saltburn, it's always kind of like the weird guy con man. The quiet guy. I was like, "What if in our version, it's actually the Jude Law part, instead of the quiet dude?" It's like the outgoing, bon vivant, worldly guy who then you go, "Wait, this guy's not that." So that was the first idea. And then Match Point, as far as how they integrated tennis, just having it be truly a part of the story, metaphorically, and having it be woven into the story. And for two years we just went at it, and now it's like crazy because few things make me more anxious than a blank page. I was like, "What? We're gonna write a novel? How the hell are we gonna do this?" It was one page at a time, like one day at a time. I was talking to different friends of mine—writers, screenwriters and novelists, and they're like, "Dude, you have to make sure that the foundation is solid. Really spend a lot of time on the structure, the outline, the characters." And it's counterintuitive, because you'll be like, "Oh, we've been doing this for a year, but we haven't started writing a chapter." But if you have that solid, the book will write itself. It was an amazing piece of advice, because I would have done the complete opposite. That advice was really game changing. And such an incredible thing to be able to do with my sister, and with Josh. That's why the company is called Three Amigos. I couldn't be more excited. You know, you hear that in Hollywood about Tom Cruise, how instrumental he is to so many in the industry, because of that type of advice. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned from Tom. Rock of Ages was my first movie ever where I got to play the lead. And Tom really mentored me throughout the whole thing and even now, when we got the overall deal I texted, I was like, "Tom, I just have to tell you this, because it's thanks to you, man." Because it's the work ethic, but it's also the passion, you know, he is so passionate about what he does to such a degree that he's willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. And seeing that from someone who's been working in the business for what? Four decades? Seeing that passion, seeing him on set, was like seeing a kid going to Disneyland for the first time in their life. The book is very cinematic. As you're writing it, because of your work as an actor, is the visual front and center? One thousand percent. It's all based in San Miguel de Allende, which is a magical town. It's like the Florence of Mexico. It's just an unbelievable place. And it was so important for me, to me, for San Miguel to be a character in the story, so that as you're reading it, all those visuals, even for people who've never heard of this place, or who've been so they can really feel like they're there when they're reading it. And have it be a character in the story, because that backdrop is so important to understanding the family dynamics in Mexican society and culture. It's very informative on a visual level, but also on a cultural level. Because you're writing this novel and then later adapting it into a script, is it tough to cut out stuff? Because you can describe so much more in a book. Yes. Someone who really gave me a great piece of advice for this, he's my favorite filmmaker, he's a genius, we've become friends, is Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón just did Disclaimer, and he adapted it from a book. He was like, "Each format is different, and it's impossible to try to mirror the book into a TV show. Just make sure that it's the best version of each." There's going to be things that, like with Disclaimer, he took creative liberties because he thought that was what was best for the TV show. And that was another amazing piece of advice. Because at first, I was very like, we have to make sure it's this, and I don't think that's the right approach. We have Oliver Goldstick, who's showrunning this with us, and he has amazing ideas. And it's a different format, let's make it its best version for each format. That's also very liberating, because you can take some creative freedoms. Having spent so much time with this character, do you approach preparing to act as him differently? It's my first time doing this, where it's acting out a character that I wrote in a novel. So it's been interesting, because we've been developing both simultaneously, and then the writer strike happened, and we had to put the show on pause and continue with the novel. And now that we're back to the show, it's fun because I know Julian very, very well, right? But I'm honestly really focused on Sophia, because I think that character is so important, and something that I think my sister was able to really nail is making sure that the Sophia role is a layered character. And it's such an important character to the story, and we want her to be super smart and cunning and manipulative, and making it truly a three-dimensional character. So it's funny, because I don't see it so much as what's best for Julian, I see it as what's best for the show, and I think that's something that has been one of the coolest things about producing now for some years, is that you really get to see things as a collaborative effort. And ultimately, yes, I'll do all the prep as an actor, and I'll go to my acting coach in Madrid, who's a freaking genius, Juan Carlos Corazza, and I'll do all the work as an actor. But then when I'm on set, and it's something that we're producing, you have to be able to separate that and have the acting cap on and be like, "Okay, this is what I'm doing for the scene." And then when you're doing a production meeting, once you wrap the day, putting on the producer cap, and seeing it as what is best for this movie, what is best for this show, what is best for right now, I'd say that that's what I'm really most focused on with Amazon, how do we make this show unique, different, compelling, entertaining, and keep the all those twists and really show that different side of Mexico that's not really been shown before. Like a bunch of Mexican stories are either drug-related or border-crossing stories. Mexico has so much more to offer, and these are stories that haven't been told and haven't been seen. That's what I'm really focused on. I think that Julian is something that I already have in my DNA, because we've been working on this for so long now, I just want to make sure that it's the best version of the show that it can be for audiences to be entertained. What is it about Julian that you're that you're drawn to? I am drawn to multi-layered characters who may say something in the dialogue, but there's really something else underneath. And I really love how it's unraveled throughout, how he comes to the Velasco household. You think he's this super-rich kid from Mexico City, who's studying at UCLA, and then you slowly start realizing that he's not who he says he is, and his story and his background, he's truly a chameleon. I love that, because it's so much fun to be able to play that and to see it unfold, in small dosages, as you start going to flashbacks, and you see Eduardo there and Julian and Alejandro. And also, I love how it's always show me, don't tell me. And I love how you get to see who he really is from the get-go, and how he plays tennis, from the first time you see that he may not have the best technique, he maybe didn't go to these super fancy schools, he's someone who's not super polished. So you see that in his tennis game, but in his scenes, he's saying something totally different. And that to me, as an audience tells me, wait a second, there's something here. I'm not sure I know exactly what it is, but having the arc of where he starts and where he ends, with Sophia, he's met his match. And she brings out who he really is. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to give out more. What is kind of exciting about reading the book is that you know it's being adapted, so you can start to have very clear visuals of what it's going to look like, who the characters are... I think that's a very cool and cinematic way of shooting that while something else is going on. There's the sexiness, there's the steaminess, right? There's this murder mystery, sexual thriller. And I also really wanted it to be a novel that was a great summer read. After reading this, I just know fans are going to want more books. Are you prepared for that? Listen, I think there's a lot more story to unfold. Would I be down? Absolutely. I think that right now it's promoting the book, making the show, and then listen, if it's time for another book, that's a happy problem, we'll freaking make it work. And I do think that there's more to it and not only more, but the whole Sophia and Julian dynamic could go in a very interesting direction. It's all about it not being predictable, being full of twists, so that as you're reading it, you're just like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And you're also seeing it at the same time. And knowing the actors in the project I think only makes future books successful. We've seen this with so many franchises. One thing that I'll say as an actor, to me, it's really all about the characters. If you really develop a character that is multi-dimensional, layered and very specific, that is so important to how the story unravels.
Los Angeles Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The L.A. Latino International Film Festival announces its 2025 lineup
The Latino Film Institute has announced the lineup for its 24th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF). Between May 28 and June 1, LALIFF will screen more than 90 films at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Attendees can expect a wide selection of features, shorts, episodic works, animation, panels and masterclasses. This year will place an added emphasis on the power of art: a theme that feels more timely than ever before for the festival coordinators. 'This is such a hard time,' says Diana Cadavid, LALIFF's director of industry programs, regarding the tensions of today's political and economic climate. 'Many in our community feel threatened by the level of instability we're facing, we want to make sure we continue to celebrate what makes us very powerful.' LALIFF was founded in 1997 by Edward James Olmos, Marlene Dermer, Kirk Whisler and George Hernandez with the goal of uplifting emerging Latino filmmakers. Since then, it has debuted films by Academy Award-winning directors, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Pablo Larraín. As of last October, LALIFF was officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Oscar Qualifying Festival, which means that this year's winners in the Best U.S. Latino Live Action Short and U.S. Latino Animated Short categories would be subsequently eligible for consideration at the 98th Academy Awards. 'The festival continues with that same goal of being this platform for Latino cinema, now with a bigger focus on U.S. Latinos,' says Cadavid, who notes that roughly half the lineup is comprised of U.S. filmmakers. The program will kick off with a screening of 'ASCO: Without Permission,' a documentary about the L.A. teen collective whose avant-garde methods pushed the boundaries of Chicano performance art in the '70s and '80s. Under the executive production of Mexican actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, the film was written and directed by Travis Gutiérrez Senger and recently premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March. 'I really love the way in which ['ASCO: Without Permission'] brings back the historical work that ASCO did,' said Cadavid. 'That's why we chose it as our opening film, [because] it encompasses precisely that vision that we have for this year's festival.' LALIFF will conclude its itinerary with a showing of another L.A. based film titled 'Serious People.' Co-written and co-directed by Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson, the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It stars Gutierrez as a successful music video director, who hires a look-alike to take his place while he prepares for fatherhood. This decision ripples into a series of unexpected events that reflect the growing asymmetry of work-life balance in the States. '['Serious People'] is very connected to art and to culture, to artistic movements,' says Cadavid. 'It's also fun and very L.A., so for us it was very important to give a lot of visibility to the talent in the city.' This year also marks the return of LALIFF Eastside programming at the Regal L.A. Live in DTLA, which aims to highlight Los Angeles stories. Included in the lineup is Yelyna De León's '20 Pounds to Happiness,' a romantic comedy written by 'Real Women Have Curves' creator Josefina López; Yolanda Cruz's 'La Raya,' an Oaxacan coming-of-age story, plus her short film '40+,' about a divorced Los Angeles court translator; Aot Rivera's 'Los Angeles Canvas,' which explores city murals, as well as Kase Peña's 'Trans Los Angeles,' which features four different trans women in different L.A. neighborhoods. ' It's not that easy to come all the way to Hollywood to enjoy the festival,' says Cadavid. 'We wanted to be able to expand to a satellite festival where people can still go and enjoy the films.' In line with LALIFF's mission to spotlight rising filmmakers, they will also showcase the work by participants in the LFI Inclusion Fellowship and LFI Spark Animation Fellowship. This includes 10 live action films and three animation films that are shown across two different screenings at the Egyptian Theatre. The LALIFF lineup includes titles that have graced major international film festivals. From Sundance: 'Rains Over Babel' by Gala del Sol and 'Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, Dile que no Soy Malo)' by Joel Alfonso Vargas, which won the NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. From SXSW: '42nd Street' by Jose Maria Cabral; 'Uvalde Mom' by Anayansi Prado and 'American Sons' by Andrew James Gonzales. From the Toronto International Film Festival: 'Beloved Tropic' by Ana Endara, 'Linda' by Mariana Wainstein, 'Carnival Is Over' by Fernando Coimbra and 'The Freedom of Fierro' by Santiago Esteinou. From the Málaga Film Festival: 'Stay Still' by Joanna Lombardi. Miami Film Festival: 'Espina' by Daniel Poler. From DOC NYC, 'Isla Familia' by Abraham Jiménez Enoa and Claudia Calviño. Also being featured is 'Shaman,' a film by Antonio Negret, which first aired at the inaugural LALIFF Film Market and later secured distribution. ' There's [a showing] for everybody, you don't necessarily need to be Latino to come and connect with our industry,' says Cadavid. To view the full list of films and purchase passes, visit the festival's official website.
