DEBUT OF ZOMBCON INTERNATIONAL 2010 – SEATTLE ANNOUNCED

WORLD’S FIRST-EVER ZOMBIE CULTURE CONVENTION – HALLOWEEN WEEKEND

TRIBUTE TO THE GOD FATHER OF ZOMBIE FILMS, GEORGE A. ROMERO (IN ATTENDANCE)

25^TH ANNIVERSARY GALA SCREENING OF DAY OF THE DEAD

CELEBRITY GUESTS INCLUDE BRUCE CAMPBELL, MAX BROOKS, MALCOLM MCDOWELL, LADIES OF “THE EVIL DEAD”, CHUCK PALAHNIUK

OVER 100 PANELS, FAN WORKSHOPS, PREMIERES AND SPECIAL EVENTS CELEBRATING THE BIGGEST HORROR ICON: THE ZOMBIE.

Seattle, Wash. – September 20, 2010– A three-day zombie fan culture event dubbed ZomBcon (pronounced zombie-con) will make its debut this Halloween weekend (October 29-31, 2010) at the Seattle Center.

ZomBcon arose from the popularity of Seattle’s annual Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk that recently made waves for returning the Guinness World Record for staging the “Largest Zombie Walk” ever recorded back to Seattle for the second time. The Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk confirmed over 6,000 in attendance on July 3^rd reclaiming the title briefly held by Great Britain.

Featuring legends of horror and genre films, including George Romero, Bruce Campbell, Malcolm McDowell and Zombie author, Max Brooks, ZomBcon aims to build on the city’s growing notoriety as the epicenter of zombie fan culture and cement Seattle as the “Zombie Capital of the World”.

ZomBcon founder and Artistic Director Ryan Reiter says, “ZomBcon will be the first of its kind in the world celebrating the biggest horror icon, The Zombie. By design it will be a fresh break from the traditional convention experience while keeping the celebrity appearances, workshops and premier events fans have grown to expect and love at most conventions.

Highlights will include a Red Carpet Gala celebrating the 25^TH anniversary screening of Romero’s classic film, DAY OF THE DEAD. The meeting of Hollywood glitz and glamour with zombie culture will precede the inaugural presentation to George A. Romero of the Golden George Award on Saturday, October 30th. The Golden George Award celebrates and honors the true visionaries and legends of horror and genre films, as well as “significant contributions to zombie culture”. Cast members from Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD will be in attendance featuring Terry Alexander, John Amplas, and Jarlath Conroy in honor of the celebration.

Bruce Campbell and the Ladies of the Evil Dead (Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly) will attend a special screening (with a restored 35mm print courtesy of Grindhouse Releasing) of THE EVIL DEAD.

Additional highlights include innovative filmmaker, author, and zombie culture panels featuring Max Brooks (World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide), Roger Ma (The Zombie Combat Manual), Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke), among others.

The panel series will include lectures (co-presented by Zombie Research Society) by the country’s top scholars on the subject. Guests include Harvard Medical School’s, Dr. Steven Schlozman and Bradley Voytek, Neuroscientist from UC Berkley, to discuss topics ranging from brain deficiency, infection, anatomy to outbreak protocol and a political debate based on the prospects of a zombie apocalypse.

Along with attending the screenings, award presentations, panels, and perusing over 100 vendor booths, zombie and horror fans will also have an opportunity to participate in: Prom Night of the Living Dead – a Halloween costume party at Neumos (925 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA) on Friday, October 29; a blood drive donation to the Puget Sound Blood Center on Saturday, October 30 and a family day trick-or-treat event for all ages on Sunday, October 31^st.

The weekend will feature a series of screenings of iconic zombie films created by the Seattle International Film Festival. Deemed “Films That Ate Our Brains”, films screened will include: George A. Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD, Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD II and ARMY OF DARKNESS, Peter Jackson’s DEAD ALIVE, Danny Boyle’s 28 DAYS LATER, Robert Rodriguez’s PLANET TERROR, Paul W.S. Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL, Dan O’Bannon’s RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, Edgar Wright’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD, Victor Halperin’s WHITE ZOMBIE, Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE, Steve Miner’s DAY OF THE DEAD – THE NEED TO FEED, as well as a Northwest Filmmakers Screening Showcase with film titles yet to be announced taking place at SIFF Cinema (321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA) and AMC Pacific Place (600 Pine Street, Seattle, WA) on Friday, October 29.

Reiter adds, “This convention is completely interactive, embracing the rampant cult appeal of festival experiences similar to the “Burner experience” at annual rituals like Burning Man, to celebrating fan culture through costumes and self-expression known as CosPlay at San Diego’s Comic Con. The costumed trend offers attendees more than just a ticket; its offers a 360-degree fan experience with the opportunity to participate in the festivities. You have the control buttons; you can right jump in or simply watch, because you get to decide how involved you wish to be.”

Complete ZomBcon convention information can be found at www.zombcon.com. Check weekly for news, guests and events added to the schedule. Look for ZomBcon on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute announcements and more.

Special guests include:

Filmmakers and Actors

George A. Romero (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, DAY OF THE DEAD, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD)

Bruce Campbell (EVIL DEAD, ARMY OF DARKNESS, “Burn Notice”)

Malcolm McDowell (CLOCKWORK ORANGE, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, HALLOWEEN)

Terry Alexander, (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)

John Amplas (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)

Jartlath Conroy (Actor, DAY OF THE DEAD)

Danny Hicks (Actor, EVIL DEAD 2)

Timothy Patrick Quill (Actor, ARMY OF DARKNESS)

Writers & Authors

Max Brooks (Author, The Zombie Surivival Guide, World War Z)

Roger Ma (Author, Zombie Combat Manual)

Kevin David Anderson (Author, Night of the Living Trekkies)

Scott Browne (Author, Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament)

Robert Cordray (Author, Zombies 101)

Stephen L. Frank (Author, Zombie Vs. Cheerleaders)

Steven Hockensmith (Author, Dawn of the Dreadfuls)

Scott Kenemore (Author, Zen of Zombie)

Steve Mockus (Author, How to Speak Zombie for the Living)

Chuck Palahniuk (Author, Fight Club, Choke)

Jesse Petersen (Author, Married with Zombie)

Mark Rahner & Robert Horton (Authors, Rotten)

Jeffrey Reddick (Writer, FINAL DESTINATION, DAY OF THE DEAD – THE NEED TO FEED)

Don Roff (Author, Zombies: The Record of the Year of the Infection)

Billy Tackett (Legendary Artist)

Stephen Romano, Artist (Shock Festival)

Anthony Van Winkle (Author, Night Zero)

Scientific Professionals:

Daniel Drezner, Ph.D. – Temple University

Mike Harris, Ph.D. – University of Alaska

Steven Schlozman, M.D. – Harvard

Timothy Verstynen, Ph.D.

Brad Voytek, Ph.D. – UC Berkely

Matt Mogk, Founder of Zombie Research Society

SANTA FE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR 11^TH EDITION OF FILM FEST

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE CANNES PALME D’OR WINNER“ UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES”

40^TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF “CATCH-22” WITH RICHARD BENJAMIN AND PAULA PRENTISS ATTENDING

TICKETS ON SALE OCTOBER 8TH

SANTA FE, NM, September 30, 2010 – The Santa Fe Film Festival today announced the slate of films set to screen during the 11^th edition of the film festival (October 22-24) at the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA).

Highlighted by the 2010 winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, UNCLE BOOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES and a special 40^th Anniversary screening of the classic CATCH-22 with two of the film’s stars, Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss attending, the weekend will see 8 feature films and a collection of notable shorts from emerging filmmakers on display for Santa Fe film goers.

This year’s selections include:

THE ATHLETE (ATLETU)
Davey Frankel’s and Rasselas Lakew’s drama ATLETU tells the inspiring and incredible true story of Abebe Bikila, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the marathon in 1960 and 1964. An Ethiopian, Bikilia was the first African to win a gold medal and the first repeat champion in the marathon. Bikila was later involved in a tragic car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. And thus, began the greatest struggle of his life. Told on film as a hybrid of travelogue, biopic and documentary. Bikila’s first Olympic triumph was unprecedented, but his athletic conquests after a paralyzing car accident only add to his legend and impact.

BAG IT
Suzan Beraza’s documentary BAG IT follows the results of one man making a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. What he discovers is that this simple decision will change his life completely and through that change he comes to the conclusion that our consumption of plastic has finally caught up to us. BAG IT won the Audience Award at Telluride Mountainfilm 2010 earlier this year.

CATCH-22
Director Mike Nichols’ and screenwriter Buck Henry’s 1970 adaptation of Joseph Heller’s scathing satire of life in the Air Force during World War II is the pair’s boldest cinematic display. A brilliant black comedy with an all-star cast including Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles.

THE FOUR TIMES (LE QUATTRO VOLTE)
Michelangelo Frammartino’s enchanting, mystical film THE FOUR TIMES focuses on an elderly goat herder as he dies and becomes a goat; it wanders into the woods and transforms into a tree, which is processed into coal. The film lovingly observes village life in Calabria, and in the process becomes one of the most original Italian films in years. Selected for the prestigious Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, the film stars Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano.

LENNONNYC
Marking the 70^th anniversary of his birth and the 30^th anniversary of his death, Michael Epstein’s documentary LENNONNYC traces the experiences of John Lennon and Yoko Ono upon their arrival in New York City in 1971. After an initial heady period of music, politics, culture and creativity in their new home, a dark period followed for both Lennon’s career as well as their relationship. However, the intertwining of man, artist and adopted city righted itself before the musical legend’s untimely and tragic death.

THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER
Directed by the legendary Bertrand Tavernier and based on a short story by Madame de La Fayette, THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER is a French period romance set during the French Wars of Religion. As he experiences his own forbidden desire for the irresistibly beautiful and much-courted Marie, soldier-scholar Chabannes must also protect her from the dangerously corrupt court dominated by Catherine de Medici. Tavernier translates de Lafayette’s novel into a brilliant evocation of the tragic conflict between duty and passion. The film’s exceptional cast includes Melanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet, Gaspard Ulliel, Raphael Personnaz.

TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS (MARTI, DUPA CRACIUN)
Radu Muntean’s TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS is a drama which takes a singular, stripped-down look at adultery through the story of a man that must choose between his wife of ten years and his mistress, a pediatric dentist. Muntean constructs a powerful chain of scenes from a marriage with a rare display of great cinematic excitement. A product of the extraordinary Romanian New Wave, the film stars Mimi Branescu, Mirela Oprisor and Maria Popistasu.

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (LUNG BOONMEERALUEK CHAT)
Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES is a fable about a tamarind and honey farmer named Uncle Boonmee who is slowly dying of kidney failure, and finds the ghosts of departed family members coming back to visit him. The film stars Sakda Kaewbuadee, Jenjira Pongpas, Thanapat Saisaymar.

In addition, to the film schedule, SFFF will offer free panels hosted at galleries in the Railyard, Canyon Road and Plaza area arts districts, as well as an assortment of complimentary events produced in collaboration with Santa Fe arts organizations during the festival.

“This year’s festival is designed as a weekend viewing of carefully selected film highlights from key festivals like Cannes, Toronto, and New York as well as introducing interesting work from new indie filmmakers. We hope that Santa Fe will become a destination boutique film event that will anchor the fall festival season which begins with Telluride,” said SFFF Co-Director Rose Kuo.

SFFF Co-Director Michael Hare added, “We are thrilled to offer this group of films that have been some of the most talked about on the film festival circuit this year. And to be screening at CCA, which we feel is one of the cornerstones of Santa Fe cinema, makes it the perfect hub for SFFF 2010. One of our goals has been to showcase the artistic richness of Santa Fe, to anchor the festival within the larger community and we think we have gone a long way toward that effort with this slate of films and events that look to make for a tremendous weekend for film lovers.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 8 through Tickets Santa Fe (ticketssantafe.org). Additional information can be found at www.santafefilmfestival.com.

The 2010 Santa Fe Film Festival’s complete lineup follows:

Feature films
THE ATHLETE (ATLETU) (Narrative) Ethiopia/USA/Germany
DIR: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew
PROD: Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew, Darryn Welch
Cast: Rasselas Lakew, Dag Malmberg, Ruta Gedmintas, Abba Waka Dessalegn

BAG IT (Documentary) USA
DIR: Suzan Beraza
PROD: Michelle Hill

CATCH-22 (1970) (Narrative) USA
DIR: Mike Nichols
PROD: John Calley, Martin Ransohoff
Cast: Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles

THE FOUR TIMES (LE QUATTRO VOLTE) (Narrative) Italy/Germany/Switzerland
DIR: Michelangelo Frammartino
PROD: Philippe Bober, Marta Donzelli, Elda Guidinetti, Gabriella Manfre, Susanne Marian, Gregorio Paonessa, Andres Pfaffi
Cast: Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano

LENNONNYC (Documentary) USA
DIR: Michael Epstein
PROD: Susan Lacy

THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER (Narrative) France/Germany
DIR: Bertrand Tavernier
PROD: Marc Siliam, Eric Heuman
Cast: Melanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet, Gaspard Ulliel, Raphael Personnaz.

TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS (MARTI, DUPA CRACIUN) (Narrative) Romania
DIR: Radu Muntean
PROD: Dragos Vilcu
Cast: Mimi Branescu, Mirela Oprisor, Maria Popistasu

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Narrative) Thailand
DIR: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

PROD: Simon Field, Keith Griffiths, Charles de Meaux, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Cast: Sakda Kaewbuadee, Jenjira Pongpas, Thanapat Saisaymar

Short Films
CULEBRA (Narrative) USA
DIR: Sean Carter

HEDGEHOG IN THE FOG (YOZHIK V TUMANE) (1975) (Narrative/Animation) Russia
DIR: Yuriy Norshteyn

KAVI (Narrative) USA/India
DIR: Gregg Helvey

MAMANEK (Narrative) Czech Republic
DIR: Jesse Baldwin

MULTIPLE OPENING NIGHT FILMS INCLUDE “WILD TARGET,” “GOING VERTICAL,” “MONICA & DAVID,” “SIXTEEN CANDLES” AND “SUMMER WARS”

“INHALE” TO BE CLOSING NIGHT GALA PRESENTATION

FESTIVAL WILL HONOR DIRECTOR JONATHAN LYNN AND HECTOR ELIZONDO

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1

ANAHEIM, CA (September 26, 2010)—The Anaheim International Film Festival today announced a Grand Opening Night Gala event on Wednesday, October 13 featuring five feature films and a collection of film shorts to launch an ambitious program of films, filmmaker panels and gala events over the course of the inaugural edition of the five-day festival (October 13-17) at UltraStar Cinemas at Anaheim GardenWalk.

Representing the diversity of the lineup of films set for AIFF, film goers will participate in the festivities and see featured films including Jonathan Lynn’s WILD TARGET, the United States premiere of Academy Award nominee David Bradbury’s GOING VERTICAL: THE SHORTBOARD REVOLUTION, Alexandra Codina’s MONICA & DAVID, Mamoru Hosoda’s SUMMER WARS, a special Shorts Presentation and a special presentation of John Hughes’ classic SIXTEEN CANDLES, honoring the late director.

The Gala evening will feature red carpet entrances at the Anaheim GardenWalk, screenings at UltraStar Cinemas and an after party in the beautiful Anaheim GardenWalk Courtyard.

AIFF will feature 127 feature films and shorts.

Sinan Kanatsiz, chairman of the Anaheim International Film Festival, said, “The screening of multiple films on Opening Night enables us to welcome a larger audience of Orange County movie goers and shine the spotlight on more of our talented filmmakers. This is an ideal way to introduce our festival and the impressive variety of films we intend to offer. Our team has worked very hard to deliver a world-class film program that will establish the AIFF as a valuable platform for emerging filmmakers and long-term addition to the festival circuit.”

The Opening Night Gala films include:

WILD TARGET (representing narrative films)

Directed by Jonathan Lynn and featuring the all-star cast of Emily Blunt, Rupert Everett, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy, Eileen Atkins, Martin Freeman and Gregor Fisher, WILD TARGET is an action comedy about a middle-aged, solitary assassin who lives to please his formidable mother, despite his own peerless reputation for lethal efficiency. His professional routine is interrupted when he finds himself drawn to one of his intended victims – a beautiful thief. He spares her life, unexpectedly acquiring in the process a young apprentice. Believing the assassin to be a private detective, his two new companions tag along, while he attempts to thwart the murderous attentions of his unhappy client.

MONICA & DAVID (representing documentaries)

Directed by first time filmmaker Alexandra Codina, MONICA AND DAVID explores the marriage of two adults with Down syndrome and the family who strives to support their needs.  Monica and David are blissfully in love and want what other adults have:  an independent life.  Full of humor, romance and everyday family drama, the film weaves together intimate footage with personal interviews, revealing the complexity of their story. While Monica and David are capable beyond expectations, their parents, who worry about rejection from the mainstream world, have trouble letting go. Although marriage is very unusual for adults with intellectual disabilities, throughout the film Monica and David become a model for love and challenge what it means to be an adult. The film premieres nationally on HBO October 14.

GOING VERTICAL: THE SHORTBOARD REVOLUTION (representing Wild Blue: The AIFF Sports Showcase)

Directed by David Bradbury, the documentary seeks to unravel one of surfing’s great mysteries: Who started the Shortboard Revolution? Filmed in Australia, Hawaii and California and featuring extraordinary archival footage of surf legends of the past four decades as well as the hottest surfers today, GOING VERTICAL: THE SHORTBOARD REVOLUTION is not your usual surfing film. Set to a pumping soundtrack including tracks by Pearl Jam, Powderfinger, Spoon and Boards of Canada plus iconic artists from the summer of love including Manfred Man, Russell Morris and Thunderclap Newman, the film tells the story of an era, of a revolution and the extraordinary characters that made it happen. The film is narrated by Simon Baker.

SUMMER WARS (representing animation)

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, the animated adventure focuses on ‘Kenji Koiso,’ an eleventh grade math genius, following his decision to take a summer job at the Nagano hometown of his crush, ‘Natuski.’ When he arrives, he finds that her family has reunited to celebrate the 90th birthday of the family matriarch and he must pretend to be her fiancé. As if that isn’t enough to contend with, his attempt to solve a mathematical equation has caused a parallel world’s collision with earth.

SIXTEEN CANDLES (Special Presentation)

John Hughes’ classic comedy stars Molly Ringwald as a fifteen-year-old girl with a crush on the most popular boy in school. However, standing between her and the boy is the geekiest boy in school with a crush on her, her big sister’s wedding, a visit by inappropriate grandparents, and on top of it all – the indignity of having the rest of her family forget her birthday. Add all this adds up to the makings of a hilarious and unforgettable journey into young womanhood. The film also stars Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling, Justin Henry, John Cusack and Joan Cusack.

OPENING NIGHT SHORTS SELECTIONS

This exclusive presentation salutes some of today’s best and brightest shorts filmmakers. Representing most of the various styles that will play over the course of the film festival, the films include Joshua and Rebekah Weigel’s BUTTERFLY CIRCUS; Max Lang’s and Jakob Schuh’s THE GRUFFALO; Iram Haq’s LITTLE MISS EYEFLAP; Natalia Mirzoyan’s MY CHILDHOOD MYSTERY TREE; Lilli Birdsell’s ONCE UPON A CRIME; James Redford’s QUALITY TIME, starring Jason Patric; Cordell Barker’s RUNAWAY; and Peter Meech’s WINNER BEST SHORT FILM.

Closing Night Gala presentation:

INHALE

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur, the dramatic thriller stars Dermot Mulroney, Diane Kruger, Rosanna Arquette, Sam Shepard, Vincent Perez and Jordi Molla. The story follows the horrific struggle a couple go through upon discovering their daughter has been diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease. Needing a lung transplant, but with many patients ahead of her on the waiting list for donors, they seek out a mysterious doctor who performs transplants in Juarez, Mexico. However, in the course of their pursuit, they uncover an illegal organ harvesting operation where the donors are in fact, the victims and now they may have to choose between saving the life of their daughter or saving the lives of many other children.
AIFF Awards Night Celebration:

AIFF will truly turn the spotlight on the filmmakers and film fans alike with an Awards Night Celebration on Saturday, October 16 with an exclusive red carpet experience at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Presented by Disneyland Resort, the awards gala will honor film industry icons with Lifetime and Career Achievement Awards for outstanding work and contributions to motion pictures. The dinner and awards presentation will be capped off with a VIP showing of “World of Color,” the new nighttime water spectacular at Disney California Adventure Park weaving water, color, fire and light into a kaleidoscope of fantasy and imagination.

Jonathan Lynn and Hector Elizondo will be presented with the first Anaheim Film Honors awards during the AIFF Awards Night Celebration.

Jonathan Lynn is perhaps best known for MY COUSIN VINNY (1992), a critical and commercial hit that garnered an Academy Award for Marisa Tomei. In addition, he has delivered a signature series of comedies highlighted by films like NUNS ON THE RUN (1990) with Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane. That film won the Golden Cane Award at the Festival de Comedie in Switzerland. His 1993 film, THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN (1992), starring Eddie Murphy won a Special Award from the Political Film Society, as well as the Environmental Media Award. His other films include the ensemble comedy, CLUE (1985); GREEDY (1994) starring Michael J. Fox and Kirk Douglas; SGT. BILKO (1996) starring Steve Martin; TRIAL AND ERROR (1997); THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (2000) starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry; and THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS (2003).

Hector Elizondo is considered by Garry Marshall to be a “good luck charm”, having starred in 12 features for the comedy legend – notably PRETTY WOMAN (1990) which earned Elizondo a Golden Globe nomination, RUNAWAY BRIDE (1999), THE PRINCESS DIARIES films (2001, 2004) and most recently with VALENTINE’S DAY (2010). A stalwart character actor who has moved effortlessly from films to television for six decades, additional key films are THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974), THE FAN (1981), THE FLAMINGO KID (1984), NOTHING IN COMMON (1986), FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (1991) and TORTILLA SOUP (2001). Elizondo has also been a regular presence on television, staring in classic and critically acclaimed series such as “All in the Family,” “Columbo,” “Kojak,” and “The Rockford Files,” to “Chicago Hope” (for which he won an Emmy Award), “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Monk.”

“Jonathan Lynn’s films are crowd pleasers – pure and simple,” said AIFF Executive Director Jo Moulton. “Jonathan has melded that unique British comic sensibility with a light directing touch that has inspired some of the funniest onscreen moments from many of our biggest stars. And Hector Elizondo is one of the most beloved character actors of our time. In fact, his collaboration with Garry Marshall on their classic comedies alone would qualify him for the highest recognition. We think Jonathan and Hector are wonderful choices as our very first honorees as they exemplify the connection of artist to film fan that we will strive to celebrate at the Anaheim International Film Festival.”

Also announced is the complete schedule for AIFF. In its first year, the Festival’s programming includes an impressive selection of films with sections dedicated to sports, cult films and a celebration of Mexico (with respect to that country’s bicentennial) along with a thoughtful, eclectic roster of films from around the world. The combination of the film slate and a planned series of filmmaker panels along with dedicated discussions and presentations on New Media point to the ambitions and far-reaching outlook that AIFF is demonstrating in just its first edition.

Commenting on this year’s lineup, Director of Programming Matt Bolish said, “When we began to think about the program that we would like to see presented at the first AIFF, it occurred to our team that we had a very rare opportunity: to build from the ground up, to revel in one of the cornerstones of any festival experience – the discovery. It became our goal to create a slate of films that when fully realized would offer a wide range of cinematic choices present throughout the festival. We would achieve this by bringing in favorites from the festival circuit and films from at home and abroad that for one reason or another have been overlooked.”

AIFF 2010’s overall lineup will showcase a total of 47 features and 80 shorts for a total of 127 films from 30 different countries.

The breakdown by section is Galas & Special Presentations (4), Competition (7), Mexico Hoy (4), New Cult (5), Wild Blue: Extreme Sports Showcase (4), Animator (3), New Media (2), The State of the World (11), Framing the Real (7) and International Shorts (80).

The inaugural Anaheim International Film Festival runs Oct. 13-17, 2010 at UltraStar Cinemas at the Anaheim GardenWalk. Passes are now on sale and tickets go on sale, Friday, October 1. To purchase tickets for individual screenings, one-day film passes, all access passes and/or workshop passes, please visit www.ultrastarmovies.com. To purchase AIFF Awards Night tickets or tables, please visit www.anaheimfilm.org.  For more information, please call (714) 991-9110.

The 2010 Anaheim International Film Festival’s complete lineup follows:

GALAS & SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

INHALE (Narrative) USA/Iceland

DIR: Baltasar Kormakur

PROD: Michelle Chydzik Sowa, Jennifer Kelly, Nathalie Marciano

Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Diane Kruger, Rosanna Arquette, Sam Shepard, Vincent Perez, Jordi Molla

MONICA & DAVID (Documentary) USA

DIR: Alexandra Codina

PROD: Deborah Dickson

SIXTEEN CANDLES (Narrative) (1984) USA

DIR: John Hughes

PROD: Hilton A. Green

Cast: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling, Paul Dooley, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Justin Henry, Gedde Watanabe

WILD TARGET (Narrative) USA

DIR: Jonathan Lynn

PROD: Michael Pope, Michael Rose

Cast: Emily Blunt, Rupert Everett, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy

COMPETITION

AIFF’s competition section speaks to the range of choices present throughout the festival. Narrative films stand next to documentaries in recognition of the fact that good stories told well, be they fiction or fact, are what the Anaheim International Film Festival is all about. The competition section offers a selection of feature films that highlight the best and brightest new talents from around the globe.

CANARY (Narrative) USA

DIR: Alejandro Adams

PROD:  Marya Murphy, Alejandro Adams, Amanda Davis

Cast: Carla Pauli, Eli Kramer, Larissa Kasian, Jennifer Latch, Galen Howard, Justin McClure, Marya Murphy, David Menashe, Chloe Latch

COLD WATER OF THE SEA (Narrative) Costa Rica/France/Spain/Netherlands/Mexico

DIR: Paz Fabrega

PROD: Jean des Forets, Paz Fabrega

Cast: Montserrat Fernandez, Lil Quesada Morua, Freddy Chavarria, Annette Villalobos, Luis Carlos Bogantes

COLONY (Documentary) Ireland

DIR: Carter Gunn, Ross McDonnell

PROD: Morgan Bushe, Macdara Kelleher

GUY AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH (Narrative) USA

DIR: Damien Chazelle

PROD: W.A.W. Parker, Arleen McGlade, J. Mark Inman, Mihai Dinulescu, Jasmine McGlade

Cast: Jason Palmer, Desiree Garcia, Sandha Khin, Andre Hayward

I’M IN TROUBLE! (Narrative) South Korea

DIR: So Sang-min

PROD: Song Hyeok-jo

Cast: Min Seong-wook, Lee Seung-jun, Jeong Ji-yeon, Kim Ju-ryeong

THE MAN BEYOND THE BRIDGE (Narrative) India

DIR: Laximikant Shetgaonkar

PROD: National Film Development Corporation

Cast: Chitranjan Giri, Veena Jomkar, Prasanthi Talpanker, Vasanth Josalkar, Deepak Amonkar

ONE DAY LESS (Documentary) Mexico

DIR/PROD: Dariela Ludlow

PROD: Issa Guerra

MEXICO HOY

AIFF 2010 proudly offers this special spotlight section celebrating the Mexico of today in honor of our neighboring nation’s bicentennial.

9 MONTHS, 9 DAYS (Documentary) Mexico

DIR:  Ozcar Ramirez Gonzalez

PROD: Estrella Araiza Briseño, Sandra Paredes Orihuela, Ozcar Ramírez González, Ixchel Coutiño Angulo, Trisha Ziff

CIRCO (Documentary) USA/Mexico

DIR/PROD: Aaron Schock

PROD: Sally Jo Fifer, Jannat Gargi

PERPETUUM MOBILE (Narrative) Canada/Mexico

DIR: Nicolas Pereda

PROD: Catarina Coyoacan, Nicolás Pereda

Cast: Francisco Barreiro, Gabino Rodríguez, Teresa Sánchez

THE TOLEDO REPORT (Documentary) Mexico

DIR: Albino Alvarez Gomez

PROD: Germaine Gomez Haro

Subjects/Appearances in film: Francisco Toledo, Carlos Monsivais, Elena Poniatowska, Roberto Doniz, Peter Bramsen

NEW CULT

This section provides a survey of the best and most provocative genre material hitting the festival circuit. These films chill the spine, tickle the funny bone and provide an alternative cinematic feast for the brain.

BEST WORST MOVIE (Documentary) USA

DIR: Michael Paul Stephenson

PROD: Lindsay Rowles Stephenson, Michael Paul Stephenson, Brad Klopman, Jim McKeon, Mary Francis Groom, Ace Goerig

Subject/Appearances in film: George Hardy, Claudio Fragasso, Margo Prey, Jason Steadman, Darren Ewing

BROKEN SPRINGS: SHINE OF THE UNDEAD ZOMBIE BASTARDS (Narrative) USA

DIR: Neeley Lawson

PROD: Neeley Lawson

Cast: Teaque Quillin, Travis Moody, Brandon Jenkins, George Segal, Shannon Wallen, Ashley B. Maupin, Debra L. Young, Chris Cutler, Jacob Moore, Debbie Green, John L. Altom, Scott Parker, Jake Lawson, Jeff Bobo. Narrator: Teaque Quillin

MANDRILL (Narrative) Chile

DIR: Ernesto Diaz Espinoza

PROD: Derek Rundell

Cast: Marko Zaror, Celine Reymond, Alejandro Castillo, Luis Alarcon, Augusto Schuster, Mauricio Cespedes

PHASMA EX MACHINA (Narrative) USA

DIR: Matt Osterman

PROD: Jennifer Kramer

Cast: Sasha Andreev, Matthew Feeney, Max Hauser, Emily Fradenburgh, Ellen Karsten, Katrina Hawley, Laurie King, Ted Hall, Corey Walton, Bill Gorman, Carol Vnuk

SKELETONS (Narrative) United Kingdom

DIR: Nick Whitfield

PROD: Suzanne Alizart, Robbie Allen, Anna Seifert-Speck, Tracy Brimm, Kate Myers, Paul Welsh

Cast: Andrew Buckley, Ed Gaughan, Jason Isaacs, Paprika Steen, Tuppence Middleton, Josef Whitfield

WILD BLUE: THE AIFF SPORTS SHOWCASE

AIFF shines a spotlight on the films that explore and celebrate extreme sports, including Surfing, Off-Road Racing, Skating, and Biking. With exciting up close and personal footage of the sports themselves, as well as a series of conversations with the men and women who have innovated each sport and thrilled us with their skills, we are offered a unique look at this adrenaline-fueled world.

THE BIRTH OF BIG AIR (Documentary) USA

DIR: Jeff Tremaine

PROD: Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville

Subjects/Appearances in film: Mat Hoffman, Bob Burnquist, Tony Hawk, Dave Mirra, Travis Pastrana, Danny Way

FULLY FLARED/THE MAKING OF FULLY FLARED (Documentary) USA

DIR: Ty Evans, Cory Weincheque, Spike Jonze

PROD: Spike Jonze, Kevin Dunlap, Brian Dunlap, Tim Gavin, Rick Howard, Mike Carroll, Eric Koston, Megan Baltimore

Subjects/Appearances in film: Mike Mo Capaldi, Anthony Pappalardo, Jesus Fernandez, Nick Jensen, Danny Brady, Lucas Puig, JJ Rousseau, JB Gillet, Cairo Foster, Alex Olson, Rick Howard, Mike Carroll,  Brandon Biebel, Eric Koston, Guy Mariano, Marc Johnson

GOING VERTICAL: THE SHORTBOARD REVOLUTION (Documentary) Australia/USA

DIR: David Bradbury

PROD: Robert Raymond, Leah Wright

Subject/Appearances in film: Bob McTavish, Dick Brewer, Simon Baker, Kelly Slater, Mike Hynson, Skip Frye, Mick Fanning, Bob Cooper, Stephanie Gilmore, Duke Kahanamoku, Gerry Lopez, Sean Matteson, Mickey Munoz, Greg Noll, Rennie Yater, Nat Young, Wayne Lynch

THE ROOF OF AFRICA (Documentary) New Zealand

DIR: Jeff Pakosta

PROD: Grant Wheeler

Subjects/Appearances in film: Chris Birch, Kyle Redmond, Jade Gutzeit, Louwrens Mahoney, Andreas Lettenbichler

RE: ANIMATOR

Showcasing the talents of the masters of the craft of animation – be it traditional 2D, computer graphics, or stop motion – these films represent the best of the best from around the world.

MARS (Narrative) USA

DIR: Geoff Marslett

PROD: Anish Savjani, Robert Howell, Geoff Marslett, Javier Bonafont

Cast: Mark Duplass, Zoe Simpson, Paul Gordon, Cynthia Watros, Michael Dolan, Liza Weil, James Kochalka, Howe Gelb, Kinky Friedman Don Hertzfeldt

SUMMER WARS (Narrative) Japan

DIR: Maroru Hosoda

PROD: Takuya Ito, Yuichiro Saito, Nozomu Takahashi, Takashi Watanabe

Voices: Nanami Sakuraba, Ryonosuke Kamiki, Ayumu Saito, Mitsuki Tanimura, Sumiko Fuji, Takahiro Yokokawa

THE UGLY DUCKLING (Narrative) Russia

DIR/PROD: Garry Bardin

Voices: Mikhail Turetski, Svetlana Stepchenko, Artem Dzhigarkhanian, Konstantin, Raikine, Vladimir Spivakov, Yulia Rutberg, Vladimir Katchan, Grigori Anachkin

NEW MEDIA

Programmed as a film component of AIFF’s planned New Media Expo and Market, this category will feature films that explore, discuss, highlight and actively incorporate New Media into the art of film.

THE CAT, THE REVEREND AND THE SLAVE (Documentary) France

DIR: Alain Della Negra, Kaori Kinoshita

PROD: Thierry Lounas

Appearances in the film: Patrick Teal, Benjamin L. Faust, Jennifer R. Faust, Krista Kenneth

urFRENZ (Narrative) USA

DIR: Jeff Phillips

PROD: Jana Winternitz

Cast: Lily Holleman, Gayla Goehl, Najarra Townsend, Michael Robert Kelly, CaroleAnne Johnson, James Maslow

STATE OF THE WORLD

This collection of films from around the world offers an uncompromising look at our planet and its people via the discerning eye of the camera’s lens. Discoveries, the works of true auteurs, and unvarnished portraits of real people populate this section.

AMERICAN BULLY (Narrative) USA

DIR: Dave Rodriguez

PROD: George M. Kostuch, Matt Keith, Dave Rodriguez

Cast: Matt O’Leary, Marshall Allman, Jonathan Halyalkar, Sam Murphy, Ross Britz, Meghan Stansfield, Brooke Johnson, John Savage, Dan Wells, Paul Ben-Victor, Natasha Henstridge

AT THE END OF DAYBREAK (Narrative) Malaysia/Hong Kong/South Korea

DIR: Ho Yuhang

PROD: Lorna Tee

Cast: Chui Tien-you, Wai Ying-hung, Jane Ng, Chew Kin-wah, Mandy Chong, Kenny Gan Chi-bing, Berg Lee, Lim Yee, Ben Chung, Yeo Yann Yann, Yasmin Ahmad, Hassan Muttalib

CHILDREN METAL DIVERS (Narrative) The Philippines

DIR: Ralston G. Jover

PROD: Albert Almendralejo, Bessie Badilla

Cast: Meljun Ginto, Vincent Olano, JR Olano, Gina Pareno, Ketchup Eusebio, Joe Gruta, Simon Ibarra

GOLD & COPPER (Narrative) Iran

DIR: Homayoun Asadian

PROD: Manouchehr Mohammadi

Cast: Negar Javaherian, Behrouz Shaibi, Javad Ezati, Sahar Dolatshahi, Mehran Rajabi, Reza Radmanesh, Aida Adelpour, Zahra Abbas Zargari

JUDGE (Narrative) China

DIR/PROD: Liu Jie

Cast: Ni Dahong, Mei Ting, Qi Dao, Zheng Zheng, Song Yingchun, Gao Qunshu

A LONELY PLACE FOR DYING (Narrative) USA

DIR: Justin Evans

PROD: Justin Evans, Brent Daniels, Ross Marquand

Cast: Michael Scovotti, Ross Marquand, Michael Wincott, James Cromwell

RUNNING AMONG THE CLOUDS (Narrative) Iran

DIR: Amin Farajpour

PROD: Ali Ghavitan

Cast: Amir Safiri, Nasim Adabi, Ali Salahi, Keivan Saketof

SAMSON & DELILAH (Narrative) Australia

DIR: Warwick Thornton

PROD: Kath Shelper

Cast: Marissa Gibson, Rowan McNamara, Mitjili Gibson, Scott Thornton

TINY FURNITURE (Narrative) USA

DIR: Lena Dunham

PROD: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering

Cast: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz, Alex Karpovsky, Jemima Kirke, David Call, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Garland Hunter, Isen Hunter

THE YANKLES (Narrative) USA

DIR: David Brooks

PROD: David Brooks, Zev Brooks, Cary Glieberman

Cast: Brian Wimmer, Bart Johnson, Don Most, Michael Buster, Susanne Sutchy, Kenneth Brown, Jesse Bennett

FRAMING THE REAL

An exciting collection of documentary films that explores the world as it is and as it was, this category puts extraordinary people, places, and events in perspective to their times. From the ins and outs of party politics to the politics of the family, these films will open your eyes not to characters but to real people whose lives and stories are nothing short of amazing.

BINGAI (Documentary) China

DIR/PROD: Feng Yan

Appearances in the film: Zhang Bingai, Zhang Yunjian, Zhang Changwen, Zhang Lingzhi, Xiong Yungang

LANDS (Documentary) Brazil

DIR: Maya Da-Rin

PROD: Sandra Werneck

LOWLANDS (Documentary) USA

DIR: Peter Thompson

PROD: Peter Thompson

Voices: Manon Krems-Koppenol, Jan F.M. Krems, Martinette Krems-Bok, Judith Feddes

A SMALL ACT (Documentary) USA

DIR: Jennifer Arnold

PROD: Jennifer Arnold, Patti Lee, Jeffrey Soros

SOUL BIRDS (Documentary) Germany

DIR: Thomas Riedelsheimer

PROD: Stefan Tolz, Thomas Riedelsheimer

Appearances in the film: Pauline Wolf, Richard Swiderski, Lenni Grabe

TWO HORSES OF GENGHIS KHAN (Documentary) Germany

DIR: Byambasuren Davaa

PROD: Beatrix Wesle, Byambasuren Davaa

UNDER THE BOARDWALK: THE MONOPOLY STORY (Documentary) USA

DIR: Kevin Tostado

PROD: Craig Bentley, Kevin Tostado

Appearances in the film: Hank Azaria, Matt McNally, Phil Orbanes

Narration: Zachary Levi

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS

Featuring narrative, documentary, and animated films, these thematic programs offer dynamic discoveries as well as some of the most heralded and critically respected short films presented on the film festival circuit this year.

Role Playing Role Models (Program One):

THE BOY WHO WANTED TO BE A LION France

DIR: Alois Di Leo

CUTE COUPLE USA

DIR: Courtney Moorehead Balaker

DEATH IN CHARGE USA

DIR: Devi Snively

GUIGNOL USA

DIR: Dana Turken

MAROONED USA

DIR: Ryan Nagata

ONCE UPON A CRIME USA

DIR: Lilli Birdsell

PATROL USA

DIR: John Patton Ford

Unsolved Mysteries (Program Two):

THE ARMOIRE Canada

DIR: Jamie Travis

DAS BABY Germany

DIR: Falco Jagau

BOXER Australia

DIR: Michael Latham

THE ODDS United Kingdom

DIR: Paloma Baeza

ROSENHILL Sweden

DIR: Johan Lundborg, Johan Storm

Romance is Comedy (Program Three):

A JOKE USA

DIR: Andy Brown

ALWAYS A BRIDE USA

DIR: Danny Strauss

CHUM USA

DIR: Gavin Carlton

FLAT LOVE Spain

DIR: Andres Sans-Vincente

Narration: Isabella Rossellini

THE GODMOTHER USA

DIR: Lior Chefetz

THE GOD OF LOVE USA

DIR: Luke Matheny

KARMA’S A BITCH USA

DIR: Justin Tan

OBSESSION Estonia

DIR: Andrew Bond

Animation for Grown-ups (Program Four):

A LOST AND FOUND BOX OF HUMAN SENSATION Germany

DIR: Stefan Leuchtenberg, Martin Wallner

Cast: Joseph Fiennes

Narration: Sir Ian McKellen

ANIMAL LIFTING USA

DIR: Richard Fenwick

BAIT USA

DIR: Michael Moore

CHOMP USA

DIR: Jake Olimb

LET’S POLUTE USA

DIR: Geefwee Boedoe

THE LOST THING Austraila

DIR: Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan

MAN AND CAT Australia

DIR: Adam Marr

WISDOM TEETH USA

DIR: Don Hertzfeldt

THE WONDER HOSPITAL USA

DIR: Beomsik Shim

Animation for Kids (Program Five):

THE GRUFFALO United Kingdom

DIR: Max Lang, Jacob Schuh  

Cast (Voices): Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson

HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP Canada

DIR: Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski

Cast (Voices): Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker

THE MOUSE THAT SOARED USA

DIR: Kyle Bell

ORMIE Canada

DIR: Rob Silvestri

ZERO Australia

DIR: Christopher Kezelos

Fantastic Journeys (Program Six):

THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS USA

DIR: Joshua Weigel

Cast: Eduardo Verastegui, Nick Vujicic

FATUM Spain

DIR: Pablo Millan

HOLE USA

DIR: Ben Saltzman

JUNKO’S SHAMISEN Canada

DIR: Sol Friedman

LITTLE MISS EYEFLAP Norway

DIR: Iram Haq

RUNAWAY Canada

DIR: Cordell Barker

SOMETIMES THE MOON IS VELVET United Kingdom

DIR: Tom Phillips

Out and About GLBT Shorts (Program Seven):

BEDFELLOWS USA

DIR: Pierre Stefanos

DEEP RED Israel

DIR: Eddie Tapero

GAYBY USA

DIR: Jonathan Lisecki

GAYSHARKTANK.COM USA

Cast: David Burtka, Miss Coco Peru

DIR: Guy Shalem

VIGILANT! HEALTHY! WHOLESOME! Australia

DIR: Lauren Anderson

YES MAN USA

DIR: Grant Reed

YOU MOVE ME USA

DIR: Gina Hirsch

Late Night Monster Show (Program Eight):

ALICE JACOBS IS DEAD USA

DIR: Alex Horwitz

Cast: Adrienne Barbeau

CULEBRA USA

DIR: Sean Carter

DRACULA’S DAUGHTERS VS. THE SPACE BRAINS USA

DIR: Frank Ippolito, Ezekiel Zabrowski

Cast: Neil Patrick Harris

LAND OF THE HEADS Canada

DIR: Claude Barras, Cedric Louis

OFF SEASON USA

DIR: Jonathan Van Tulleken

TINGLEWOOD Australia

DIR: Alexander Von Hofmann

Cast: Nathan Coenen

THE TWIN GIRLS OF SUNSET STREET Spain

DIR: Marc Riba, Anna Solanas

WINTER STALKER USA

DIR: Stephen Reedy

A Hero’s Salute (Program Nine):

HEAD IN THE SAND USA

DIR: David Baldwin

LIGHTS Belgium/Germany

DIR: Giulio Ricciarelli

LOST AND FOUND United Kingdom

DIR: Philip Hunt

THE RESPONSE USA

DIR: Andrew Spieler

SHE WORE SILVER WINGS USA

DIR: Devin Scott

SORES AND SIRIN Germany

DIR: Katrin Gebbe

UNREST USA

DIR: Christina Rubenstein

Secret to Success (Program Ten):

DOLL FACTORY Spain

DIR: Ainhoa Menendez Goyoaga

FREE LUNCH USA

DIR: Rick Curnutt

HECTOR CORP USA

DIR: Gary H. Lee

SALESMAN OF THE YEAR Spain

DIR: Cote Soler

TWO INTO THREE (ZWEI ZU DRITT) Germany

DIR: Neelesha Barthel

Shorts Preceding Features:

APOLLO Germany

DIR: Felix Gonnert

(Preceding the feature animation MARS)

BANANA BREAD USA

DIR: Barton Landsman

(Preceding the feature film WILD TARGET)

CLEAN CAROUSEL Denmark

DIR: Andreas Bodker

(Preceding the feature film BROKEN SPRINGS)

COLD TURKEY Ireland

DIR: Gavin Keane

(Preceding the feature film SKELETONS)

THE HISTORY OF AVIATION Hungary

DIR: Jonathan Ostos Yaber

(Preceding the feature film LOWLANDS)

LA NOSTALGIA DEL SR. ALAMBRE Mexico

DIR: Jonathan Ostos Yaber

(Preceding the feature film CIRCO)

THE LITTLE DRAGON Switzerland

DIR: Bruno Collet

(Preceding the feature film MANDRILL)

MY CHILDHOOD MYSTERY TREE Russia

DIR: Natalia Mirzoyan

(Preceding the feature animation film THE UGLY DUCKLING)

ONLINE Argentina

DIR: Federico Santillana

(Preceding the feature film URFRENZ)

QUALITY TIME USA

DIR: James Redford

(Preceding the feature film TINY FURNITURE)

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD USA

Dir. Jessica Polaniecki

(Preceding the feature film ONE DAY LESS)

W(HOLE) USA

DIR: Chris Bryant

(Preceding the feature film COLD WATER OF THE SEA)

WINNER: BEST SHORT FILM USA

Dir. Peter Meech

(Preceding the feature film BEST WORST MOVIE)

14^TH LOS ANGELES LATINO INTERNATIONAL

FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS

“HABANA EVA” RECEIVES THE RITA AWARD FOR BEST FILM

“TIEMPO DE LEYENDA” AND EL AMBULANTE SHARE THE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY

“MAL DIA PARA PESCAR” IS BEST OPERA PRIMA

“ALIJUNA” IS BEST SHORT

CINELATINO AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS GO TO “HERMANO” FOR BEST FEATURE AND “HARVEST OF LONELINESS” FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY

ANNA MUYLAERT RECEIVES NOD AS BEST DIRECTOR FOR “E PROBIDO FUMAR” WITH ROBERTO FONTANRROSO AND RODRIGO GRANDE CITED FOR BEST SCREENPLAY FOR “CUESTION DE PRINCIPIOS”

LOS ANGELES, CA August 25, 2010 – The 14^th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) announces the award winners at its Closing Night Awards Ceremony presented by The Coca Cola Company with Fina Torres’ HABANA EVA taking home the Rita Award as Best Film; Jose Sanchez-Montes Gonzalez’s TIEMPO DE LEYENDA and Eduardo de la Serna’s, Lucas Marcheggiano’s and Adriana Yorcovich’s EL AMBULANTE sharing the award for Best Documentary; Alvaro Bechner’s MAL DIA PARA PESCAR cited for Best Opera Prima; and Cristina Escoda’s ALIJUNA named Best Short Film.

Cinelatino’s Audience Choice Awards went to Marcel Rasquin’s HERMANO for Best Feature and Gilbert Gonzalez’s and Vivian Price’s HARVEST OF LONELINESS for Best Documentary. Cinelatino sponsored prizes of $1000.00 to each of the winners. The 2nd highest choice for audiences in the Feature Film category was HABANA EVA, with GO FOR IT! Placing 3^rd. The Documentary category saw EL AMBULANTE in the 2^nd spot, with THE STORM THAT SWEPT MEXICO, the 3^rd most popular with LALIFF audiences.

In addition to Torres’ HABANA EVA winning the Rita Award for Best Film, Tatiana Gaviola’s TERESA received an Honorable Mention in the category.

In the Best Documentary category, Jose Sanchez-Montes Gonzalez’s TIEMPO DE LEYENDA and Eduardo de la Serna’s, Lucas Marcheggiano’s and Adriana Yorcovich’s EL AMBULANTE winning films were joined by the Honorable Mention nod given to Consuela Alba and John Speyer’s EL ANDALON – A MAVERICK HUMANITARIAN IN CHIAPAS.

The Short Film category was led by Cristina Escoda’s ALIJUNA for Best Short Film and Rafael & Raul Cardenas’ LUNA for Best Animated Short Film. Honorable mentions were given to Aina Calleja’s LOS DIAS DE VERANO SON MAS LARGOS, Juan Francisco Viruega’s ESTOCOLMO, and Yancy Arias’ BABY.

Anna Muylaert was named Best Director for E PROBIDO FUMAR, with the trio of Yousef Delara, Michael D. Olmos and Victor Teran receiving an Honorable Mention for BEDROOMS. Roberto Fontanarrosa and Rodrigo Grande received the nod for Best Screenplay for their work on CUESTION DE PRINCIPIOS. Julian Roman was also given an Honorable Mention for Acting for his performance in RETRATOS EN UN MAR DER MENTIRAS.

Adding a celebrated conclusion to its 2010 Youth Program, LALIFF also announced a special award from the British Film Academy (BAFTA) presented to Franchesco Ramos’ BREAKAWAY for Best High School Film. As part of the award the British Film Academy will make 100 DVD presentation copies of Ramos’ film for the young director’s use.

LALIFF Executive Director Marlene Dermer said, “The artistic accomplishments of the films and filmmakers this year truly ranked among LALIFF’s best. As difficult as it made our jury’s selection process to single any film from the rest, our audiences were rewarded every time they entered the theater to watch them. We take our role in bringing these films to the public’s attention and providing a spotlight on the best work of our Latino filmmaking artists very seriously, and the shared love of film and sense of community between filmmakers and fans, artists and patrons evident over the course of this year’s festival could not be more gratifying.”

LALIFF Co-Founder Edward James Olmos added, “It is always a challenge to put on an event like this one requiring the combined efforts of countless staff members, volunteers, sponsors, patrons and vendors – and this year was no different. In fact, this year might have been one of our most challenging to date thanks to the economics and logistics of producing film festivals today. But, I believe everyone involved with LALIFF views this as something beyond a film festival. LALIFF encourages such a rich connection between audience and art, between the blend of cultures taking place through these screenings and panels and events, that we enthusiastically do it – and everyone reaps the rewards.”

The festival featured 91 films, including 46 features (32 narrative and 14 documentaries) and 45 shorts. Highlights included an Opening Night Gala appearance and speech by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa prior to the North American debut of Marcel Rasquin’s devastating drama, HERMANO. The screening was followed by an after party at The Highlands in the Hollywood & Highland Complex.

LALIFF’s signature series of Hollywood Connect filmmaker panels featured a conversation with THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE screenwriter Matt Lopez; a director’s roundtable with some of the many female directors populating LALIFF’s 2010 slate of films; and a special panel addressing the issues surrounding immigration which included the participation of activist legend, civil rights leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, Dolores Huerta, among others.

The festival concluded with the Closing Night Film presented by LEXUS of Carlos Carrera’s BACKYARD, Mexico’s official selection for the 2010 Academy Awards at the legendary Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, followed by a Gala after party sponsored by The Coca Cola Company in the Egyptian Theater’s Courtyard. In a special appearance, the star of BACKYARD, Ana de la Riguera introduced the film. Other attendees during the film festival included Beau Bridges, Clifton Collins Jr., Lisa Vidal, Dayanara Torres, Aimee Garcia, Patricia Velasquez, Michael Pena, Wanda de Jesus, Lupe Ontiveros, Lalo Alcaraz, Yancy Arias, Shalin Ortiz, Jordan Belfi  Benito Martinez, David Zayas, Roselyn Sanchez, Humberto Luna and Kike Santander.

The following includes the list of the winners or the 14th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival:

Best Feature Film (RITA AWARD)

Sponsored by: Deluxe Laboratories

HABANA EVA

Director: Fina Torres

Country: Cuba/Venezuela/France

Honorable Mention – Best Feature Film

TERESA

Director: Tatiana Gaviola

Country: Chile

Best Documentary

Sponsored by: Fuji Film

TIEMPO DE LEYENDA

Director: Jose Sanchez-Montes Gonzalez

Country: Spain

EL AMBULANTE

Director: Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yorcovich

Country: Argentina

Honorable Mention – Best Documentary

EL ANDALON – A MAVERICK HUMANITARIAN IN CHIAPAS

Director: Cosuelo Alba, John Speyer

Country: United States/Mexico

Best Opera Prima

Sponsored by: Final Draft, Showbiz Software, Movie Magic

MAL DIA PARA PESCAR

Director: Alvaro Bechner

Country: Spain/Uruguay

Honorable Mention – Best Opera Prima

OVEJA NEGRA

Director: Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz

Country: Mexico/Spain

Best Short Film

Sponsored by: Final Draft, Showbiz Software, Movie Magic

ALIJUNA

Director: Cristina Escoda

Country: United States

Honorable Mention – Best Short Film

LOS DIAS DE VERANO SON MAS LARGOS

Director: Aina Calleja

Country: Mexico

Honorable Mention – Best Short Film

ESTOCOLMO

Director: Juan Francisco Viruega

Country: Spain

Honorable Mention – Best Short Film

BABY

Director: Yancy Arias

Country: United States

Best Animated Short Film

Sponsored by: Final Draft, Showbiz Software, Movie Magic

LUNA

Director: Rafael Cardenas & Raul Cardenas

Country: Mexico

Cinelatino Audience Choice Award: Feature Film

Sponsored by: Cinelatino

HERMANO

Director: Marcel Rasquin

Country: Venezuela

2^nd – HABANA EVA

Director: Fina Torres

Country: Cuba/Venezuela/France

3^rd – GO FOR IT!

Director: Carmen Marron

Country: USA

Cinelatino Audience Choice Award: Documentary

Sponsored by: Cinelatino

HARVEST OF LONELINESS

Director: Gilbert Gonzalez, Vivian Price

Country: USA

2^nd – EL AMBULANTE

Director: Eduardo del la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovivh

Country: Argentina

3^rd – THE STORM THAT SWEPT MEXICO

Director: Ray Telles

Country: USA

Best Director

Sponsored by: Final Draft, Showbiz Software, Movie Magic

Anna Muylaert (E PROBIDO FUMAR)

Country: Brazil

Honorable Mention – Best Director

Yousef Delara, Michael D. Olmos, Victor Teran (BEDROOMS)

Country: United States

Best Screenplay

Sponsored by: Final Draft, Showbiz Software, Movie Magic

Roberto Fontanarrosa & Rodrigo Grande (CUESTION DE PRINCIPIOS)

Country: Argentina

Honorable Mention – Actor

Julian Roman (RETRATOS EN UN MAR DER MENTIRAS)

Country: Colombia

Best High School Film

Selected by BAFTA

BREAKAWAY

Director: Franchesco Ramos

Country: USA

2010 JURY MEMBERS

FEATURE FILM JURY includes:

Peter Murrieta

Emmy winning producer/writer. Credits include “Wizards of Waverly Place”, “Hope and Faith” and “Greetings From Tucson”

Carlos Carreras

Talent agent at Paradigm.

Millie Luna

Head of acquisition and business development for Venevision International Films.

Fernando Sariñara Márquez

General Director of ONCETV MEXICO.

DOCUMENTARY JURY includes:

Francisco Jose Perez Martinez

Marlene Forte

Actress with credits including “Lost”, “CSI”, “Cold Case” and “ER”.

SHORTS JURY includes:

Lorenzo O’Brien

Producer/Screenwriter with credits including WALKER, HIGHWAY PATROLMAN and DEATH AND THE COMPASS.

Rosalinda Morales

Casting Agent with credits including UNDER THE SAME MOON, DOWN FOR LIFE and FLIGHTS OF FANCY.

Jesse Garcia

Actor with credits including A BEAUTIFUL LIFE and QUINCEAÑERA

BACK (left to right) Franchesco Ramos (Best High School Film – BREAKAWAY), Victor Teran (Honorable Mention/Best Director – BEDROOMS), Michael Olmos (Honorable Mention/Best Director – BEDROOMS), Yousef Delara (Honorable Mention/Best Director – BEDROOMS), Alvaro Bechner (Best Opera Prima – MAL DIA PARA PESCAR), Yancy Arias (Honorable Mention/Best Short – BABY), Marcel Rasquin (Audience Choice Award Feature Film – HERMANO), Julian Roman (Honorable Mention/Actor – RETRATOS EN UN MAR DER MENTIRAS), Sandro Fiorin (E PROBIDO FUMAR)

FRONT (left to right) Rodrigo Grande (Best Screenplay – CUESTION DE PRINCIPIOS), Xochilt Gonzalez (Audience Choice Award Documentary – HARVEST OF LONELINESS), Carmen Marron (Audience Choice Award 3^rd Place – GO FOR IT!), Fina Torres (Best Feature Film – HABANA EVA), Consuelo Alba (Honorable Mention/Best Documentary – EL ANDALON)

“GOD’S EARS” RECEIVES THE JURY PRIZE FOR BEST FEEL GOOD FEATURE

“BUTTERFLY CIRCUS” IS NAMED BEST FEEL GOOD SHORT FILM

AUDIENCE AWARDS GO TO “10 MOUNTAINS 10 YEARS” FOR FEEL GOOD FEATURE AND “MARY ANNE GOES TO THE MARKET” FOR FEEL GOOD SHORT

“HERPES BOY” TAKES BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST ENSEMBLE

BRENT FLORENCE NAMED BEST DIRECTOR FOR “EAGLES IN THE CHICKEN COOP”

LOS ANGELES, CA August 17, 2010 – The Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF) announces the award winners for its 3rd outing with Michael Worth’s GOD’S EARS taking home the Panavision Grand Jury Prize for Best Feel Good Feature Film (with more than $70,000 in in-kind prizes) and Joshua Weigel’s BUTTERFLY CIRCUS named as the winner of the Hollywood Rentals Grand Jury Prize for Best Feel Good Short Film.

Camadeus Audience Awards went to Jennifer Yee’s 10 MOUNTAINS 10 YEARS for Feel Good Feature and Ethan Cushing’s MARY ANNE GOES TO MARKET for Feel Good Short. The Feel Good Award for Best Student Film was presented to Ryo Shiina and Bassem Wahbi for CHINESE ANTIQUE, while Dana Jones’ and Joel Reaves’ FLYING FOR MICE received a runner up nod in the category.

Nathaniel Atcheson’s HERPES BOY swept the performance categories with Byron Lane and Ahna O’Reilly named as Best Actor and Best Actress and the film receiving the Best Ensemble nod, as well. Brent Florence was named Best Director for EAGLES IN THE CHICKEN COOP.

Martin Garner’s “Shinola” won the Feel Good Screenplay Competition and Jessica De Rooij won the Feel Good Original Score Competition for her work on the film, WAKIYAKU MONOGATARI (CAST ME IF YOU CAN).

For GOD’S EARS Best Feel Good Feature Award, Worth was presented with a prize package of more than $70,000 highlighted by $60,000 in-kind & 4 week camera rental from Panavision, $5000 in-kind from Camadeus, $3000 in-kind from Hollywood Rentals, $2000 in-kind from ISS Props, and $500 in-kind from IndieRentals.

BUTTERFLY CIRCUS’ Best Feel Good Short Award earned Weigel a prize package of more than $4000, led by $2000 in-kind from Camadeus, $1000 in-kind from Hollywood Rentals and $1000 in-kind from ISS Props.

Both filmmakers also received one copy of Final Draft, a subscription to SCRIPT Magazine, a copy of Showbiz Budgeting and Showbiz Labor Guide, 3 hours of Architectural design consultation from MEHRNOOSH, membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box.

Yee took home $1000 in-kind from Camadeus and $1000 in-kind from Hollywood Rentals for 10 MOUNTAINS 10 YEARS’ Best Feel Good Feature Audience Award and Cushing received $500.00 in-kind from Camadeus for MARY ANNE GOES TO THE MARKET’s Best Feel Good Short Audience Award.

The Audience Award winners also received one copy of Final Draft, a copy of Showbiz Labor Guide, membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box.

For their Best Feel Good Student Film honor bestowed upon CHINESE ANTIQUE, Ryo Shiina and Bassem Wahbi received a one-week scholarship at the New York Film Academy and $1000 in-kind from Camadeus, while FLYING FOR MICE earned Dana Jones and Joel Reaves one-week scholarships to New York Film Academy as well. The student film winners also received one copy of Final Draft, a copy of Showbiz Software and Showbiz Labor Guide, membership to Film Independent and an Eclore Soap gift box.

Martin’s Best Feel Good Screenplay honor garnered him one copy of Final Draft, a subscription to SCRIPT Magazine, membership to InkTip.com, one-week scholarship to New York Film Academy, a copy of Showbiz Labor Guide, membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box. All other finalists in the competition received membership to InkTip.com, as well.

Jessica De Rooij’s Best Feel Good Score brought her one day of studio recording with an engineer at Tuff Cut Sound, as well as a copy of Showbiz Labor Guide, membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box.

Brent Florence’s Best Director kudos also came with a one-week scholarship to New York Film Academy, a subscription to SCRIPT Magazine, a copy of Showbiz Labor Guide, a $300 gift certificate to Dr. Gordie, Inc., membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box. Each of the performance awards included a subscription to SCRIPT Magazine, a copy of Showbiz Labor Guide, membership to Film Independent, Barefoot Wine, TETEO Tequila and an Eclore Soap gift box as well.

Kristen Ridgway Flores, FGFF Founder and Co-Director, said, “in our third year, the Feel Good Film Festival began the process of widening our scope and redefining what it means to “feel good” through the programming of our films and our New Media panel. We really felt we grew this year, as an organization and an event. It was especially gratifying for myself and co-director America Young to have our first female Host (Cheryl Hines) and our first female Feel Good Life Tribute Honoree (Shirley Jones). We feel humbled that this film festival has quickly become a mark-your-calendar event for so many people and we feel like our ‘feel good’ spirit has really got a solid toe-hold in the independent film community now.”

The festival featured 64 films, including 14 features, 39 shorts, and 11 student films. Along with the films offered throughout the festival, highlights included a lively Opening Night intro from Host Cheryl Hines; a New Media panel “Why Web Series Suck” presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation discussing some hot-button issues prevalent in the web community and highlighted by the world premieres of a handful of web series, an outdoor bazaar highlighted by “green” and health-oriented vendors, and nightly after parties in the Egyptian Theatre Courtyard.

The weekend concluded Sunday evening with a Closing Night Awards Gala hosted by comedian and actor Hal Sparks featuring the Feel Good Life Tribute to film and television legend, Shirley Jones. Jones made her way to the podium to accept her honor to a standing ovation and spoke of the need for events such as the Feel Good Film Festival before her husband Marty Ingels joined her at the podium and chided the major networks and news for not being present and covering the event designed to make people “feel good”. Other attendees included Dan Lauria, Josie Davis, John Saxon, Heather Stephens, Marisa Cuevas, April Macie, Eliza Schlesinger, Todd Glass, Nicki Aycox, Dash Mihok, Ray Abruzzo, Frances Fisher, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, Caryn Richman and Eric Stonestreet (who attended the Opening Night screening of his film FATHER VS SON, while taking time to raise awareness for the Motion Picture & Television Fund).

(Kristen Ridgway Flores, Shirley Jones, America Young – Photo by Teresea Martino)

JURY AWARDS:

BEST FEEL GOOD FEATURE FILM: GOD’S EARS

Dir: Michael Worth

BEST FEEL GOOD SHORT FILM: BUTTERFLY CIRCUS

Dir: Joshua Weigel

BEST FEEL GOOD STUDENT FILM: CHINESE ANTIQUE

Dir: Ryo Shiina, Bassem Wahbi

BEST FEEL GOOD STUDENT FILM RUNNER UP: FLYING FOR MICE

Dir: Dana Jones, Joel Reaves

BEST FEEL GOOD DIRECTOR: Brent Florence (for EAGLES IN THE CHICKEN COOP)

BEST FEEL GOOD ACTOR: Byron Lane (for HERPES BOY)

BEST FEEL GOOD ACTRESS: Ahna O’Reilly (for HERPES BOY)

BEST FEEL GOOD ENSEMBLE: HERPES BOY

FEEL GOOD ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY AWARD: “Shinola”

Writer:                        Martin Garner

FEEL GOOD ORIGINAL SCORE AWARD: WAKIYAKU MONOGATARI (CAST ME IF YOU CAN)

Composer:            Jessica De Rooij

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

FEEL GOOD FEATURE: 10 MOUNTAINS 10 YEARS

Dir: Jennifer Yee

FEEL GOOD SHORT: MARYANNE GOES TO THE MARKET

Dir: Ethan Cushing

2010 FGFF JURY MEMBERS

FEATURE FILM JURY includes:

Zachary Matz

Zachary Matz is an award-winning veteran producer of independent feature films and a versatile entertainment industry executive with more than two decades of experience. Credits include CITY ISLAND, JOLENE, MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT, WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD, DRUM and PARANOIA 1.0. His production company, filmsmith, is an international entity which develops, finances, and produces its own films, as well as consults and represents other filmmakers.

Caroline Mitchell

Mitchell began her film career as a dialogue coach, working with established actors such as Jeremy Irons, Harvey Keitel and Sigourney Weaver. In 1993, she became involved in the creation, organization and development of the Equinoxe Screenwriter’s Workshop. Mitchell created the Festival International Cinema & Costume Moulins in 2006, and in April 2011 she will unveil the first edition of the Boulogne-Billancourt International Film Festival (France) in partnership with the Los Angeles Feel Good Film Festival.

Robert Yu

Robert Yu is currently a film consultant specializing in distribution.  Most recently, Mr. Yu was the Vice President of Acquisitions for PorchLight Entertainment overseeing all aspects of acquisitions and development.  Prior, Mr. Yu was the Head of West Coast Operations for CinemaVault Releasing International, supervising the Los Angeles office.  Previously Mr. Yu was the Vice President of the entertainment law firm / producer’s representative, Harris Tulchin & Associates / Tulchin Entertainment. Robert Yu started his career at Paramount Classics and Alliance Atlantis in Marketing and International Sales respectively.

SHORT FILM JURY includes:

Bill Chott

Chott is one of the stars of DISNEY’S WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, as well as the feature film THE RINGER. Recent television guest spots have been on “Monk” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Chott als lends his voice to animated segments on “Saturday Night Live” as well as PBS’ “Curious George.” An alum of Second City, Chott is one of the country’s top improv teachers and professional coaches.

Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly moved out to Los Angeles shortly after graduating from the

University of Texas at Austin, and has worked for Disney, Sony Pictures, The Jim Henson Company. After working in development as a story editor and director of development, he entered the wide world of blogging where he currently writes for sites like Cinematical, io9, Joystiq, /Film, Film School Rejects, Los Anjealous, LAist, and others. There’s a constant supply of pop culture being dripped into his veins these days, and he’s always looking for a new fix.

Jennie Monica Hammond

Hammond has worked in Casting and Production at Nickelodeon for 12 years. She was part of the founding crew for “SpongeBob SquarePants” and has continued to be a part of the production’s success. She is currently an Associate Producer at Nickelodeon.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY JURY includes:

Jason Berlin

Jason Berlin was born in New Jersey and soon after went to Harvard, where he got grades so good, they made A’s look like F’s.  To celebrate, he attended the American Film Institute as a Directing Fellow.  He’s been writing for TV since ‘99, with an emphasis on comedy and reality.  Credits include ABC’s “Wipeout”, NBC’s “Tommy Lee Goes to College”, and for MTV, “Undressed”, “DisMissed”, and “Next”.  In the past four years, he created two comedy/reality pilots for Fox Television Studios, and 2 comedy pilots for SpikeTV and SciFi with his sketch comedy troupe, The Ministry of Unknown Science.  This April, the 2010 L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival screened one of these pilots, called “Operation: BALLS”.  Jason is gorgeous, though you wouldn’t know it to look at him.  He’s been doing standup since April and is 15 years late for famous.

Robert Knott

Robert wrote and produced APPALOOSA with Ed Harris.  Harris directed, Knott directed second unit. As an actor, Knott starred as the troubled waterman in SWIMMERS with two time Tony Winner, Cherry Jones.  SWIMMERS premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Seattle International Film Festival.  Robert also starred along with APPALOOSA’S Tom Bower in Robert M. Young’s HUMAN ERROR, a comedy based on Richard Dresser’s play that also premiered at Sundance.  Robert’s been working in theater, film and television for over 30 years.  His film credits include: POLLOCK, directed by Ed Harris, Stephen Frears’ HIGH LOW COUNTRY with Billy Crudup, STORM with Martin Sheen, BUFFALO SOLDIERS with Danny Glover and Walter Hill’s, WILD BILL with Diane Lane and Jeff Bridges just to name a few.  Robert had the pleasure of working on stage ‘also’ with Tom Bower in Harold Pinter’s THE CARETACKER.  As a writer Robert has written a diversity of scripts, depicting the stories of his family’s wayfaring past to stage plays about oil riggers.

Colin O’Reilly

Following a stint as an assistant in the development department at New Line Cinema, O’Reilly went on to become a literary manager at Smart Entertainment where he served as co-producer on BLADES OF GLORY. Shortly after he left to go out on his own and sold the screenplay for the film SUNSHINE CLEANING. He has sold film and TV projects to Universal, Paramount and New Line Cinema.

ORIGINAL SCORE JURY includes:

Richard Kraft

Richard Kraft is the founder of Kraft-Engel Management, one of the world’s leading agencies specializing in representing film and theatre composers. Together with his partner, Laura Engel, they represent such clients as John Barry, Christophe Beck, Andrew Bird, Terence Blanchard, Jon Brion,  Alexandre Desplat, Danny Elfman, Marvin Hamlisch,  Alan Menken, David Newman, John Ottman, John Powell, Trevor Rabin, Graeme Revell, Marc Shaiman, Gabriel Yared and Aaron Zigman.

David Campbell

Arranger-conductor David Campbell’s work appears on more than 425 Gold or Platinum albums.   During his long recording career, albums David worked on have received 50 Grammy awards and film scores have earned 2 Oscars. David has composed music for many films, and for commercials for George Lucas, Panasonic, Sony and others.  He orchestrated and conducted scores for Dead Man Walking, Friday Night Lights, Oliver Stone’s W, Scott Pilgrim versus The World and the Oscar-winning score for Brokeback Mountain.  As arranger/ conductor for motion picture songs, Campbell worked on Armageddon, Dreamgirls, City of Angels, Daredevil, Men in Black II, Spiderman 2, Ladder 49, the Oscar-nominated song from Pearl Harbor, and the Oscar-winning song “You’ll Be in My Heart” from Tarzan. In recent years, David has enjoyed recording and arranging for Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Radiohead, Elton John, Air, Cat Power, Leonard Cohen, Beck, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Macy Gray, Beyonce, Metallica, The Mars Volta, Josh Groban and Dido. Later this year, David Campbell will write incidental music and orchestrations for the Broadway production of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, directed by Julie Taymor with music & lyrics by Bono and The Edge.

Ludek Drizhal

Drizhal most recently composed the score for the film ALABAMA MOON directed by Tim McCanlies. He has worked on a number of Starz Productions as well as independent films, such as BADLAND directed by Francesco Lucente and SIMON SAYS directed by Bill Dear.   He recently finished work on the European production U PANA BOGA ZA MIEDZA (God’s Little Village) with acclaimed Polish director Jacek Bromski. Ludek graduated with a Masters of Music from the USC Thornton School of Music where he also taught for six years.

ACTING JURY includes:

Scott David

David has been in casting for nearly 15 years and worked with many amazing Casting Directors such as April Webster and Nan Dutton. Currently, he is casting “Criminal Minds” and recently cast the show’s new spin-off, as well as the “Army Wives” spin-off for Lifetime. Past film credits include THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, 2012, THE CHICAGO 8, amongst others.

FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES

“HERMANO” TO MAKE NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE AS OPENING NIGHT GALA PRESENTATION

VENEZUELAN DRAMA RECENTLY SWEPT TOP AWARDS AT 2010 MOSCOW INTL FILM FEST

HOLLYWOOD CONNECT PROGRAM ALSO ANNOUNCED

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

A CONVERSATION WITH SCREENWRITER MATT LOPEZ (THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE)

DIRECTORS ROUNDTABLE WITH “NEW FEMALE VOICES”

A DIALOGUE ON IMMIGRATION WITH THE DIRECTORS OF IMMIGRANT NATION AND RABIA

LOS ANGELES, CA August 9, 2010 – The 14^th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) announces Marcel Rasquin’s HERMANO will be the Opening Night Gala presentation on Thursday, August 19 at the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theater (6925 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA).

Written by Rasquin and Rohan Jones, and featuring Rasquin’s directorial debut, HERMANO tells the story of ‘Daniel,’ an exceptional soccer player and ‘Julio,’ the team’s captain and a born leader. Raised as brothers, they play football in their slum, La Ceniza as Daniel dreams of playing professional soccer and Julio feeds the family with dirty money; having no time to dream. The opportunity of their lives arrives when a soccer scout invites them to tryout with the city’s best team: Caracas Soccer Club. But tragedy intervenes bringing everything back to the soccer field, where they must choose what is more important: family, revenge or their lifelong dreams. Produced in Venezuela, the film stars Eliú Armas, Fernando Moreno, Gonzalo Cubero, Marcela Girón.

HERMANO will make it’s North American premiere at LALIFF after having swept the trio of top awards at the 2010 Moscow International Film Festival, including the Golden George Award for Best Film, the Critics Award and the Audience Award.

LALIFF Executive Director Marlene Dermer said, “This year our Opening Night film, HERMANO, will be the gateway to wondrous worlds of tales from far away places made by some of the masters, as well as the new voices of cinema. We are honored to once again introduce these talented filmmakers to our public.” Dermer continued, “This is a classic story of the paths two young men raised as brothers take, as they face what men they will ultimately become. HERMANO is an exhilarating drama and is an Opera Prima that exemplifies that good stories are universal stories. HERMANO was the Grand Prix winner at the Moscow International Film Festival in its World Premiere. I know you will find it as exhilarating and entertaining as I did.”

The Los Angeles Latino International Film festival Opening Night Gala presented by Egada & Filmotech will include an excusive after party at The Highlands (6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA).

LALIFF also announced the schedule for its Hollywood Connect program.

A series of events, receptions, industry panels, discussions, conversations and presentations created to build bridges between filmmakers and professionals from the Hollywood film community, Hollywood Connect works to do exactly what the title implies: Create events and a forum to encourage interaction with and instruction from prominent experts, financiers, filmmakers, talent, and industry executives. These include indie and studio executives responsible for development, financing, production, and distribution and marketing.

Hollywood Connect program events include:

Friday, August 20

12:30PM – 3:30PM

The Advantages of International Co-Production

Presented by: EGEDA

Moderated by: Leon Ichaso, Director

Panelists:

Rafael Sanchez, Managing Director, EGEDA-SGR

Manuel Soria, Managing Director, Madrid Film Commission

Julia Steinweg, Founder/Producer, Steinweg Emotion Pictures

Gabriela Tagliavini, Director/Producer

This panel will discuss the “ins and outs” and the “dos and don’ts” with industry professionals that have worked in and around the field of International Co-Productions.

Location:

EGEDA U.S. Offices

681 Trenton Drive

Beverly Hills, CA  90210

Saturday, August 21

1:00PM – 2:00PM

Café con… MATT LOPEZ

Presented by: WGA, West

Moderated by: Ligiah Villalobos, writer UNDER THE SAME MOON (LA MISMA LUNA)

Matt Lopez (BEDTIME STORIES & RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN) discusses his latest film, the Walt Disney Pictures action adventure, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE with fellow screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos (LA MISMA LUNA).

**Special Bonus – A Special FREE Screening of THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE at 10AM at the Mann Chinese 6 Cinemas will precede Café con… MATT LOPEZ.

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Saturday, August 21

2:30PM – 4:00PM

BEFORE THE CAMERA ROLLS/MAXIMIZING YOUR TAX INCENTIVES

Introduction by: Leimomi Coloretti, Outreach and Development Director ,

Media Services / Showbiz Store

Dealing with a key element of film producing and budgeting, this seminar aims to serve as a definitive look at pre-production and tax incentives planning, presented by Media Services and Showbiz Software.

Panelists:

Otter Huntley, VP of Business Development, Media Services

Steven Fishman, VP of Sales, Media Services

Roger Jones, Business Development/Software Support, Media Services

John Robertson, Tax Incentives Specialist, Media Services

Alan Bailey, West Coast Production Consultant to Tax Credits, LLC

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Sunday, August 22

2:00PM – 3:00PM

A DIRECTORS ROUNDTABLE

Moderated by: Sydney Levine, Sydney’s Buzz-Indie wire

The panel features a roundtable dialogue with six exciting new voices whose films are being showcased in this year’s Festival. Each filmmaker will share their stories on what it took and the roads they each travelled to get their current films made.

Participants:

Fina Torres – Director, HABANA EVA

Carmen Marron – Director/Producer/Writer, GO FOR IT!

Consuelo Alba – Director , EL ANDALON

Isabel Cueva – Director, IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM

Yvette Edery – Director, JILLIAN DILLON

Sarah Vaill – Director, WOMEN WITH ALTITUDE

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Sunday, August 22

3:30PM – 4:30PM

NEW MEDIA AND YOU

Moderated by: Sydney Levine, Sydney’s Buzz-Indie wire

The panel focuses on using social networking, DIY and Hybrid Models to market and distribute your film.

Panelists:

Orly Ravid, The Film Collaborative

Vanessa Arteaga, Jaman

Sheri Candler, Marketing & Publicity

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Monday, August 23

4:00PM – 5:00PM

A GUILD EXPLORATION

Presented by: SAGindie

Moderated by: Darrien M. Gipson, Director SAGindie

Representatives from SAG, SAG Indie and Writers Guild of America, West speak on this panel about independent film and new media – how to work with the Guilds and why.

Panelists:

Kim Myers, WGAWest, Director of Diversity

Mark Friedlander, SAG, National Director, New Media

Elisabeth Flack, WGAW, Contracts Administrator, New Media

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Monday, August 23

5:00PM – 6:00PM

FROM FINANCING TO NEW MEDIA DISTRIBUTION: DECONSTRUCTING FILM

Presented by: Ethos Group

Moderated by: Ivan Cevallos, CEO, Ethos Group

This panel takes a start-to-finish look at film production to distribution with top executives within the independent film arena.

Panelists:

Adrian Ward, SVP, Entertainment, Sports & Media, NBCal

Howard Cohen, Co-President, Roadside Attractions

William Wu, Entertainment Attorney

Marcos Cruz Gonzales, Partner, MCG & Co.

John Kuri, CEO/President, Elixir Entertainment

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Tuesday, August 24

5:00PM – 7:00PM

A DIALOGUE ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES: WE ARE AMERICA/NOSOTROS SOMOS AMERICA

Presented by: UCLA Latin America Institute

Moderated by: Lalo Alcaraz, (comic strip “La Cucaracha”, host KPFK “Pocho Hour of Power”)

This panel will address the issue of immigration as a civil rights crisis impacting the Latino immigrant community that has culminated with Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB1070.

Panelists:

Esaú Meléndez, LALIFF Filmmaker, Director of IMMIGRANT NATION

José Jacques  Medina, Federal Deputy, LX Legislature, 2006-09, Mexican Congress

Professor Justin Akers Chacon, San Diego Community College, Chicano Studies

Thomas Saenz, President & General Consul of MALDEF

Sebastian Cordero, LALIFF Filmmaker, Director of RABIA

Location:

Renaissance Hotel & Spa, 3rd Level

Hollywood & Highland

1755 North Highland Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

Festival passes and tickets are available for purchase at latinofilm.org.

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER AND CURRENT EMMY NOMINEE SHIRLEY JONES AS FEEL GOOD TRIBUTE RECIPIENT

CHERYL HINES AS OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION HOST

HAL SPARKS AS CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS CEREMONY HOST

NEW MEDIA PANEL FEATURES WORLD PREMIERES OF “ALIEN NINJA,” “MY FUTURE GIRLFRIEND,” “THE TREASURE HUNT: A CHAD, MATT AND ROB INTERACTIVE ADVENTURE” WEB SERIES

LOS ANGELES, CA August 4, 2010 – The 2010 Feel Good Film Festival (FGFF) announces Academy Award winner Shirley Jones will be the Feel Good Tribute Honoree for the 3^rd edition of the film festival.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Cheryl Hines will serve as the Host for the Opening Night Celebration on Friday, August 13. Comedian Hal Sparks takes on the hosting duties for the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Sunday, August 15.

Details were also announced for the FGFF Filmmaker Panel. Focusing on new media, the panel is titled, “Why Web Series Suck.”

Hines will serve as the host for the Opening Night Celebration co-presented by FETE that will feature the presentation of Joe Ballarini’s FATHER VS SON. Beginning with the film festival’s signature “yellow” carpet entrances (in honor of FGFF’s sunflower logo), in the Egyptian Theatre courtyard, the Gala event will include an after party presented by Roaring Lion, The Happy Ending Bar & Restaurant, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and TeTeo Tequila.

A two-time Emmy nominee for her work on the Golden Globe Award-winning series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and director of last year’s critically acclaimed indie dark comedy SERIOUS MOONLIGHT, Hines most recent project has required her to serve as executive producer on the upcoming NBC reality series “School Pride.” The decidedly feel good project is a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. The cameras follow students; teachers and parents as they roll up their sleeves and rebuild their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school.

Hines previous credits include the feature films THE UGLY TRUTH, RV, WAITRESS, THE GRAND and BART GOT A ROOM, as well as ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” and “In the Motherhood,” Hines has also produced and directed various television projects, including the award-winning comedy series “Campus Ladies” for the Oxygen Channel and the Starz Networks original comedy series “Hollywood Residential.”

Regarding taking the reins from previous FGFF hosts Rainn Wilson and Carlos Mencia, “It’s a thrill to be the first woman to host the Feel Good Film Festival’s Opening Night Celebration. Just like Carlos and Rainn, I’ll put on my Old Spice and Spanx and do my best. It’s a great festival and I look forward to kicking off the weekend of films and events with some really, really good feelings.”

Popular comedian and actor, Hal Sparks, will host the FGFF Closing Night Filmmaker Awards Ceremony.

Following his hosting duties on E! Entertainment Television’s “Talk Soup” (1999-2000) and frequent appearances on a myriad of comedy clip shows on VH-1, Sparks is primarily known for his work on Showtime’s “Queer as Folk” (2000-2005).

Currently, Sparks has been dividing his time on the comedy tour following the release of his “Charmaggedon” DVD, as well as performing with his band, Zero 1.

The choice of Shirley Jones as the Feel Good Tribute Honoree also will mark the first time a woman has been so honored, following Jonathan Winters and Ed Asner during the first two years of the film festival.

From her start in the classic big screen musicals OKLAHOMA! (1955), CAROUSEL (1956) and THE MUSIC MAN (1962), Shirley Jones embodied the image of singing ingénue. Her startling Academy Award winning performance in ELMER GANTRY (1960) simply confirmed her versatility on the big screen.

Of course, any discussion of Jones’ impact on the world of entertainment has to include her role as the iconic ‘Shirley Partridge’ on the classic 70s situation comedy “The Partridge Family” (1970-74). Co-starring with her real life stepson David Cassidy, the series not only was immensely popular during its four-year run, but also has proved evergreen gaining fans through syndicated runs and DVD releases up to the present.

A four-time Golden Globe nominee (ELMER GANTRY – 1960), (THE MUSIC MAN – 1962), (“The Partridge Family” – 1971 & 1972), Jones has recently added another Emmy nomination to her impressive list of accolades for her performance last season in “The Cleaner”. The nomination follows previous nods for “Silent Night, Lonely Night” (1969) and “Hidden Places” (2006).

Feel Good Film Festival Founder and Co-Director, Kristen Ridgway Flores said, “We are thrilled to have two fabulous feel-good female role models for the 2010 festival! With Cheryl Hines opening the festival and then honoring the legendary Shirley Jones on Closing Night, I guess we could call this year the “Year of Woman”. What an exciting time!”

The Feel Good Film festival also announced details for its annual featured Filmmaker panel to take place at the Egyptian Theater on Saturday, August 14. Focusing on New Media and presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation, the panel is entitled, “Why Web Series Suck.”

Taking the form of a mock trial, the panel will screen some of the hottest web content currently available online, as well as offer up notable world premieres of highly anticipated series – all in the service of looking at the inroads that scripted entertainment produced for the internet have made over the last few years.

Co-moderated by FGFF Programmer Matt Bolish and FGFF Co-Director America Young, confirmed panelists will include Devin Faraci (CHUD.com), Dave Poland (Movie City News) and Dana Tuiner (Manager, Comedy Development – FOX Broadcasting).

Participating Web series include:

ABIGALE’S TEENAGE DIARY

SCR/PROD/CAST: Hayden Black

ALIEN NINJA (World Premiere)

DIR/SCR: Greg Aronowitz

PROD: Sheri Bryant

MY FUTURE GIRLFRIEND (World Premiere)

DIR/PROD: Brian Amyot

SCR/PROD: Steven Tsapelas

PROD: Patrick Cohen

THE LEGEND OF NEIL

DIR/SCR/EXEC PROD: Sandeep Parikh

PROD: Jeff Winkler

SCR/CAST: Tony Janning

PROD: Leah Mann

THE TREASURE HUNT: A CHAD, MATT, AND ROB INTERACTIVE

ADVENTURE (World Premiere)

DIR/SCR/PROD/CAST: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

DIR/PROD: Tyler Gillett

SCR/CAST/PROD: Rob Polonsky

PROD: Justin Martinez

PROD/CAST: Chad Villella

Regarding the announcement of the “Why Web Series Suck” panel, Young said, “While there has been a lot of discussion and forums about web shows, they seem to be done mainly by those who already appreciate and/or create them.  There are a lot of critical views of web series.  We wanted, with respect and fun, to open up the floor to differing opinions with the hope of broadening the influence and popularity of quality web shows even further. This panel should be a creative way to call attention to that while debuting and shining a light on some of the best work being done on the web.”

Festival passes and tickets are available for purchase on fgff.org.

SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA

Korean golfing legend will make big screen debut in the film

LOS ANGELES, CA (August 3, 2010) – Korean pro golfer K.J. Choi has joined the cast of SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA, the feature film adaptation of Dr. David L. Cook’s  best-selling book, Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. Directed by Matthew Dean Russell, SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA stars Lucas Black and Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall.

Filming on location in Fredericksburg and Utopia, Texas, SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA follows the story of Luke Chisolm (played by Lucas Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour.  When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (played by Robert Duvall).  But Johnny’s more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future. The cast also includes Deborah Ann Woll (HBO’s True Blood), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) and Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo (Frozen River). The feature adaptation was written by Russell, Cook and Rob Levine.

Since joining the PGA Tour in 2000, Choi has quickly gained notable success, finishing in the top 30 money winners in each of the last three years with over two million dollars in earnings in 2004. The first Korean born player to have secured a PGA card and won on the PGA tour, Choi is one of only two Asian born players with multiple wins on the PGA Tour and is only the fourth Asian born player with a PGA Tour victory

Choi plays ‘Tae Kwon Oh’, one of the chief and most intimidating competitors that Black’s ‘Chisolm’ character must face during his attempt to succeed on the PGA tour. Of taking on his first role in a feature film, Choi said, “I was inspired by Dr. Cook’s book. Acting in a feature film is a new challenge, and one I am enjoying undertaking.”

“Having a genuine star of the PGA tour onboard to play this role automatically raises the game so-to-speak,” said producer Mark G. Mathis.  “K.J. Choi’s presence adds another level of legitimacy and authenticity to a project that has already soared beyond any of our expectations.“

SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA is being produced by Mark G. Mathis (Brick, Precious) and Jason M. Berman (The Dry Land).   Executive Producers are Ken Herfurth, Phil Myers, Robert Carliner and Lucas Black.   The film was cast by Mary Vernieu and Lindsay Graham.

FILM FESTIVAL

ANNOUNCES “BACKYARD” (“EL TRASPATIO”) TO BE CLOSING NIGHT GALA PRESENTATION

“BEDROOMS” MAKES ITS WORLD PREMIERE

“FORGED” MAKES WEST COAST DEBUT

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED INCLUDING AWARD WINNERS “BAD DAY TO GO FISHING” (“MAL DIA PARA PESCAR”), “ENTRE A LUZ E A SOMBRA,” “RABIA,” AND “SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES” (“E PROBIDO FUMAR”)

LOS ANGELES, CA July 26, 2010 – The 14^th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) announces it will return to the Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood Thursday, August 19 through Wednesday, August 25. The seven-day event will highlight the best films and showcase both the auteurs and new talent in the Latin filmmaking community.

The Closing Night presentation of Carlos Carrera’s BACKYARD on Wednesday, August 25 will serve as the capstone for an impressive lineup that will feature 73 films, including 37 features (25 narrative and 12 documentaries) and 36 shorts. Along with the films offered throughout the festival, additional activities will include LALIFF’s filmmaker panels, parties and gala events. The Closing Night Gala will include an after party presented for the 14^th consecutive year by The Coca-Cola Company, as well as Lexus.

Carrera’s BACKYARD is an astonishing fictional account of a series of murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Most of the victims have been low-paid laborers who were drawn to the town by the possibility of work at American-owned factories. In the film, Mexican police officer Blanca Bravo (Ana de la Reguera) is sent to Cuidad Juarez to investigate and discovers the realities of the women’s lives, as well as the truth about a police force and local power structure embodied by entrepreneur Mickey Santos (Jimmy Smits) that has ceased to care. The film also stars Joaquín Cosio, Alejandro Calva, Amorita Rasgado and Enoc Leaño.

The drama, BEDROOMS will be making its official World Premiere on Friday, August 20. Directed by Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos and Victor Teran, the film follows four interwoven stories of heartbreak, the infidelity that’s often the result and the redemption that comes from tearing the walls put up between people down. The impressive cast includes Jordan Belfi, Julie Benz, Xander Berkeley, Moon Bloodgood, Barry Bostwick, Jesse Garcia, Sarah Clarke and Dee Wallace.

William Wedig’s FORGED will be making its West Coast Premiere at LALIFF on Friday, August 20. Co-written and co-produced by Manny Perez, the drama focuses on the struggles of an ex-convict to make a new life and try to salvage a relationship with his son while settling old debts with the criminal element he used to run with. The film stars Manny Perez, David Castro, Margo Martindale, Jaime Tirelli and Kevin Breznahan.

The film schedule also has a truly impressive number of films that have won awards and made notable appearances at previous festivals. Some of those films include:

Anna Muylaert’s É PROIBIDO FUMAR (SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES)

AWARDS: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Music, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Candango Trophy – 2009 Brazilia Festival of Brazilian Cinema, Best Actress, Best Director, APCA Trophy – 2010 São Paulo Association of Arts Critics Award

Luciana Burlamaqui’s ENTRE A LUZ E A SOMBRA

AWARD: Winner – 2010 Guadalajara Film Festival

Ciro Guerra’s LOS VIAJES DEL VIENTO (THE WIND JOURNEYS)

Un Certain Regard selection – 2009 Cannes Film Festival

AWARD: Winner of Latino Screenwriter’s Lab – 2005 LALIFF

Alvaro Bechner’s MAL DIA PARA PESCAR (BAD DAY TO GO FISHING)

AWARDS: Best Art Direction – Gijon International Film Festival, Best Actor Mar del Plata Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize – Sofia International Film Festival, UFCA Award – Uruguyan Film Critics Association, Free Spirit Award – Warsaw International Film Festival)

Miguel Coyula’s MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO (MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT)

AWARDS: Havana Star for Best Film – 2010 Havana Film Festival, Honorable Mention for Narrative Feature – 2010 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, Best Feature Film – New Media Film Festival

Sebastián Leilo’s NAVIDAD (CHRISTMAS)

Directors’ Fortnight selection – 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Sebastian Cordero’s RABIA

AWARDS: Best Director at FICG and won the Golden Globe selection for Best Film at FICG

Carlos Gaviria‘s RETRATOS EN UN MAR DE MENTIRAS (PORTRAITS IN A SEA OF LIES)

AWARD: Winner – 2010 Guadalajara Film Festival

This year’s Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) Showcase films include Abby Ginsberg’s CRUZ REYNOSO: SOWING THE SEEDS OF JUSTICE, Esaú Meléndez’s IMMIGRANT NATION and Ray Telles’ THE STORM THAT SWEPT MEXICO. LPB Showcase features documentaries created by Latino Producers in the States that focus on the Latino community; the stories, art and culture and issues that affect  Latino communities not simply in the US, but worldwide.

The only Latino international film festival in the world to have its collection of films archived at the Academy Film Archive, this year LALIFF has chosen DIOS LOS CRIA, the Puerto Rican classic film (1979) by Jacobo Morales for presentation continuing its ongoing pledge to preserving the Latino cinematic history for the world. This fully restored print was created by the Academy Film Archive, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences™; Archivo de Imágenes en Movimiento del Archivo General de Puerto Rico; Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival; and the Film and Electronic Arts Department of California State University, Long Beach.

LALIFF Executive Director Marlene Dermer said, “We are very pleased with the

amazing scope of film subjects and talent on display with this collection of films. BACKYARD is a dramatic and thrilling film that will give us a great conclusion to an exciting festival and brings awareness to the crimes happening to the women in Juarez. On a personal note, there is a particular gratification with the tremendous number of female filmmakers participating in this year’s edition of LALIFF. We take our place and responsibility in highlighting the best work of our Latino filmmaking artists very seriously, so to be able to put that part of the artistic community in the spotlight is exhilarating.”

LALIFF will screen films from 20 different countries.

Tickets go on sale today. Festival passes and tickets are available for purchase at latinofilm.org.

The 14^th L.A. Latino International Film Festival’s films are as follows:

FEATURE LENGTH FILMS

NARRATIVE (in alphabetical order):

BEDROOMS (USA)

Dir: Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos, Victor Teran

CHAMACO (THE KID) (Mexico)

Dir: Miguel Necoechea

CONTRACORRIENTE (UNDERTOW) (Peru, Colombia)

Dir: Javier Fuentes-Leon

CUESTION DE PRINCIPIOS (A MATTER OF PRINCIPLES) (Argentina)

Dir: Rodrigo Grande

DIOS LOS CRIA (FACADE) Puerto Rico)

Dir: Jacobo Morales

È PROBIDO FUMAR (SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES) (Brazil)

Dir: Anna Muylaert

EYES WIDE OPEN (Uruguay, France)

Dir: Gonzalo Arijón

FORGED (USA)

Dir: William Wedig

GO FOR IT! (USA)

Dir: Carmen Marron

HABANA EVA (Cuba, Venezuela, France)

Dir: Fina Torres

HERMAFRODITA (Dominican Republic)

Dir: Albert Xavier

LOS VIAJES DEL VIENTO (THE WIND JOURNEYS) (Colombia)

Dir: Ciro Guerra

LULA, O FILHO DO BRASIL (LULA, THE SON OF BRAZIL) (Brazil)

Dir: Fabio Barreto

MAL DIA PARA PESCAR (BAD DAY TO GO FISHING) (Spain, Uruguay)

Dir: Alvaro Bechner

MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO (MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT) (USA/Cuba)

Dir: Miguel Coyula

NAVIDAD (CHRISTMAS) (Chile, France)

Dir: Sebastián Leilo

OVEJA NEGRA ((BLACK SHEEP) Mexico, Spain)

Dir: Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz

RABIA (SPAIN, COLOMBIA, MEXICO)

DIR: Sebastian Cordero

RETRATOS EN UN MAR DE MENTIRAS (PORTRAITS IN A SEA OF LIES) (Colombia)

Dir: Carlos Gaviria,

TE EXTRANO (I MISS U) (Mexico, Argentina)

Dir: Fabian Hofman

EL TRASPATIO (BACKYARD) (Mexico)

Dir: Carlos Carrera

TROPICO DE SANGRE (Dominican Republic)

Dir: Juan Delancer

UN DIA DE SOL (Guatemala)

Dir: Rafael Tres

VIAJO PORQUE PRECISO, VOLTO PORQUE TE AMO (ITRAVEL BECAUSE I HAVE TO, I COME BACK BECAUSE I LOVE YOU) (Brazil)

Dir: Karim Ainouz, Marcelo Gomes

LA YUMA (Nicaragua)

Dir: Florence Jaugey

DOCUMENTARY (in alphabetical order):

CRUZ REYNOSO: SOWING THE SEEDS OF JUSTICE (USA)

Dir: Abby Ginsberg

EL AMBULANTE (THE PEDDLER) (Argentina)

Dir: Eduardo del la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovivh

EL ANDALON – A MAVERICK HUMANITARIAN CONSUELO ALBA (USA)

Dir: Consuelo Alba

ENTRE A LUZ E A SOMBRA (Brazil)

Dir: Luciana Burlamaqui

HARVEST OF LONELINESS: THE BRACERO PROGRAM (COSECHA TRISTE) (USA)

Dir: Gilbert Gonzalez, Vivian Price

IMMIGRANT NATION (USA)

Dir: Esaú Meléndez

ONLY WHEN I DANCE (Brazil, UK)

Dir: Beadie Finzi

SEQUESTRO (KIDNAPPING) (Brazil)

Dir: Jorge Wolney Atalla

THE STORM THAT SWEPT MEXICO (USA)

Dir: Ray Telles

TIEMPO DE LEYENDA (Spain)

Dir: José Sánchez-Montes González

TIN TAN (Mexico)

Dir: Francesco Tabeada Tabone

WOMEN WITH ALTITUDE (USA)

Dir: Sarah Vaill

SHORT FILMS (in alphabetical order):

204 (Puerto Rico)

Dir: Rafi Mercado

ALIJUNA (USA)

Dir: Cristina Escoda

APPLES, (USA)

Dir: Gary Perez

EL ARMADILLO FRONTERIZO (THE BORDER ARMADILLO) (Mexico, Argentina)

Dir: Miguel Anaya

LA AUTORIDAD (Spain)

Dir: Xavi Sala

BABY (USA)

Dir: Yancey Arias

CAPTIVES OF HOPE (USA)

Dir: David Cebrero Ortega

COOKIE (USA)

Dir: Francisco Ordoñez

EL HIJO DE LA 40/THE HOOKERS SON (Costa Rica)

Dir: Erika Bagnarello

EL PRIMOGENITO (THE FIRST BORN) (Mexico)

Dir: Stefano Riccardo

EN TUS MANOS (USA)

Dir: Ron Jacobs

I WANNA SHINE (Venezuela)

Dir: Prakriti Maduro

I’LL BE ALONE (USA)

Dir: Carlos Marques-Marcet

IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM (USA)

Dir: Isabel Cueva

JARDIM BELELÉU (HEAVEN GARDEN) (Brazil, UK)

Dir: Ari Candido Fernandes

JILLIAN DILLON: A HIPPOPLATYPUS TALE (USA)

Dir: Yvette Edery

LOVE (Colombia)

Dir: Guillermo Ivan Duenas

MAGO (USA)

Dir: Maria Victoria Ponce

MAÑANA (USA, Colombia)

Dir: Felipe Holguín

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (USA)

Dir: Michael Carreño

LA PASTISSERIA (USA)

Dir: Victor Ridaura

POSITIVE BUY (USA)

Dir: Hanley Valentin

EL PRIMOGENITO (THE FIRST BORN) (Mexico, Argentina)

Dir: Stefano Riccardi

ROOFTOP WARS (USA)

Dir: Miguel Silveira

ROOM 401 (USA)

Dir: Jason C. Sting

S&M (USA)

Dir: Daniela De Carlo

SOUL CHECK MATE (JAQUE MATE AL ALMA GEMELA) (Chile)

Dir: David Albala

SOUTHBOUND (USA)

Dir: Tim Disney

TAUGHT TO HATE (USA)

Dir: James Garcia

TRES Y MEDIO (THREE AND A HALF) (Chile)

Dir: Jean-Marc Simonneau

TROUBLESOME (USA)

Dir: Hilliard Guess

UNO O EL OTRO (EITHER/OR) (Venezuela)

Dir: Juan Avella

THE VIOLINIST (EL VIOLINISTA) (USA)

Dir: Carlo Besasie

VIRGIN OF THE CANDLES (USA)

Dir: Victoria Giordana

VISITAS (Argentina)

Dir: Juan Schnitman

LA VIUDA (THE WIDOW) (USA)

Dir: David Martin-Porras

14^TH LOS ANGELES LATINO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and the

UCLA LATIN AMERICAN INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES

FILMMAKER PANEL TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION ISSUES

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS TO HOST DISCUSSION

MODERATED BY KPFK-FM’s LALO ALCAREZ

LOS ANGELES, CA July 13, 2010 – The 14^th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) announces that the filmmaker panel, A Dialogue on Immigration Issues:  We Are America/Nosotros Somos America will be featured as a centerpiece of the film festival’s planned panel series for this year’s edition of  LALIFF, the premier Latino international film festival in the United States.

Taking place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel & Spa (1755 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood) Tuesday, August 24, 5:00PM-7:00PM, the anticipated event will be co-sponsored with the UCLA Latin American Institute.

Presented with LALIFF’s series of films on immigration including Esaú Meléndez’s IMMIGRANT NATION, the panel will address the issue of immigration as a

civil rights crisis impacting the Latino immigrant community that has culminated with  Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB1070.

Moderated by Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip La Cucaracha and Host of KPFK-FM’s “Pocho Hour of Power,” the panel will take an incisive and critical look at the current plight of immigrant workers in the United States.

Following the passing of Arizona’s controversial law, some states have taken steps to isolate Arizona to voice their opposition, while others are preparing similar legislation in its wake. Meanwhile, as the nationwide debate continues to heat up this summer, immigrant workers, who have long been a part of our nation, are being subjected to racial profiling and harassment by law enforcement at the same time they are, increasingly, targeted for violent hate crimes.

Filmmakers like Meléndez will be joined by Latino minds such as Professor Justin Akers Chacon (San Diego Community College), co-author of the book, No One is Illegal, for a spirited discussion that will go beyond the politicians and media figures that have encouraged anti-immigrant politics by spreading false propaganda scapegoating immigrants for our nation’s problems. The conversation will then reach beyond the politics to delve into the civil rights crisis that has resulted in the separation of families, and increased violence against the immigrant community.

Actor, filmmaker and LALIFF Chairman, Edward James Olmos stressed the necessity for a substantial dialogue from the Latino point of view, saying “The current events in Arizona has delivered a potentially life changing moment at the doorstep of Latinos. The films we show at LALIFF this year and for years to come will be influenced by the actions of a country that so many in our community have embraced and adopted as their home. But this goes beyond art. This goes to a larger understanding of a very complicated issue.”

LALIFF Executive Director Marlene Dermer agreed, adding “From the beginning, LALIFF has sought to bring people and communities together through our films and the meeting of minds with our attending filmmakers. Central to that effort is a message of a crucial need for unity, comprehension and participation among cultures in this country. We see this particular panel as an opportunity for our film festival to spur and inspire a very timely dialogue from a viewpoint that we have yet to see from today’s pundits and politicians.”

LALIFF is scheduled for August 19-25, 2010 at the Chinese 6 Mann Cinemas, Last year, LALIFF drew an attendance in excess of 15,000 over the course of its 6 day run. In 2010, the film festival will include a full line-up of international award-winning features, short films, panels, workshops, musical performances and networking events.

Additional information can be found at latinofilm.org.

A DIALOGUE ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES

We Are America/Nosotros Somos America

Moderator:

Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip La Cucaracha

Host of “Pocho Hour of Power” on KPFK 90.7FM

Confirmed panelists include:

Professor Justin Akers Chacon – San Diego Community College, Chicano Studies, Co-Author of No One is Illegal

José Jacques Medina – Diputado de la LX Legislatura, 4a Circunscripcion, Author of De Mojado a Diputado

Esaú Meléndez, – Director, IMMIGRANT NATION

Thomas A. Saenz – President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)