The Sixth Annual New York International Latino Film Festival Heats Up New York Streets with Latino Flavor
This year's festival turnout exceeded all previous years.
NEW YORK, NY (PRWEB) August 25, 2005 -- The sixth annual New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) took New York by storm with a box office-breaking turnout. Attendance increased by 30 percent from 2004, and films were sold out throughout the duration of the festival. The final attendance totaled almost 20,000.
"We're really excited about the turnout at this year's festival," exclaimed NYILFF executive director Calixto Chinchilla. "This year's roster featured amazing films by extremely talented filmmakers and the reaction from our audiences was overwhelming."
The festival, which was presented by HBO from July 26 -- 31, 2005, included over 70 domestic and international features, as well as documentaries and short films from emerging Latino filmmakers.
Festival activities had something for the whole family including a Family Weekend, outdoor screening, parties and a special live music showcase. It also had an extensive list of activities for industry leaders and participants, such as the panel discussions with HBO executives and Rosie Perez, educational forums and special cultural events.
A sneak-peak screening of Sueño ("Dream"), set to be released by Sony Pictures in early Fall 2005, kicked off the festival with featured actor John Leguizamo, along with director by Renee Chabria, in attendance. The official Opening Night picture was the sold-out New York premiere of How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer. Featured actress America Ferrera and director Georgina Garcia Riedel both attended the event.
For the first time in its six year history, NYILFF hosted an outdoor screening, which was presented by McDonald's. The screening took place at Riverbank State Park and showcased The Mambo Kings, starring Antonio Banderas and Armand Assante, courtesy of Warner Home Video. The special night under the stars was a huge hit, with a crowd of approximately 600 people.
The success of last year's Family Day resulted in the extended NYILFF Family Weekend, presented by the Eastman Kodak Company. During NYILFF Family Weekend, children and their parents enjoyed family-friendly films, including The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in both English and Spanish, and took pictures with their favorite costumed characters: Scholastic's Maya & Miguel, Thirteen's Digit from Cyberchase and even Ronald McDonald!
Other weekend events included live reptiles from the Brooklyn Children's Museum, dance lessons with The New York Theater Ballet and free popcorn and beverages, courtesy of Pepsi-Cola North America.
Another highlight of the festival included the McDonald's showcase concert by Imani Entertainment Group and A&M Interscope Records recording artist Keyshia Cole. Ms. Cole performed to a packed crowd at SHOW, the velvet draped club in midtown Manhattan. The performance took place after the screening of Rikers High. Fifty percent of the proceeds from Rikers High ticket sales were donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Program, HACER, which has awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarships and is now the largest high school-to-college scholarship program for Hispanic students.
The festival closed with an awards ceremony highlighting the amazing works of the talented filmmakers that participated in the festival. The winner of Best Picture, who received a $5,000 check from presenting sponsor HBO, was George Valencia and Edwin Figueroa's film Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee. Best Documentary was awarded to Favela Rising, directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary. St. Paul, directed by Francisco Ordoñez, won Best Short, and was acquired by SíTV. The McDonald's Audience Award was presented to Love for Rent, directed by Shane Edelman, who received $2,000 from the sponsor. The Kodak Cultural Voice Award was presented to Natalia Almada's Al Otro Lado / To the Other Side; Natalia received from Kodak valuable film stock for her next film.
HBO also officially acknowledged Aurora Guerrero, the winner of the 2nd Annual HBO/NYILFF Filmmaker Competition. Ms. Guerrero received from HBO a $15,000 grant to produce and direct the winning short film based on her original script "Viernes Girl" ("Friday Girl"). In addition to the production grant, HBO presented Guerrero an additional $5,000 reward and, in an exciting surprise, acquired the short, which was screened throughout the festival.
The 2005 NYILFF was presented by HBO and made possible with the additional support of premier sponsor, McDonald's, official sponsors, American Airlines, Amtrak, CreativeOndemanD Advertising, Daily News/VNY, Kodak, Metro NY Newspaper, NBC/Telemundo, Reality Check, The Roger Smith Hotel, Time Warner Cable and, 103.5 WKTU-FM, and benefactors, El Especial/El Especialito, Latina Magazine, SíTV, Somosarte, and Zipcar. NYILFF is also made possible by support from The New York State Council on the Arts, The NYC Latin Media & Entertainment Commission and The New York State Parks Department. Special thanks to Time Warner Inc. for underwriting the NYILFF Future Filmmaker Contest for high school students.
The 2005 NYILFF Family Weekend was presented by Eastman Kodak Company and made possible with the additional support of Amtrak, Brooklyn Children's Museum, CreativeOndemanD Advertising, McDonald's©, The New York Theater Ballet, Nickelodeon Networks, Pepsi-Cola North America, Reality Check, Scholastic Inc., Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Thirteen/WNET, Time Out New York Kids, Tribeca Cinemas and 103.5 WKTU-FM.
The New York International Latino Film Festival is the first festival in New York City to showcase the works of national Latino filmmakers
alongside international Latin American films, while offering expansive
images of the Latino experience. The festival presents works in the
categories of Feature Film (in Spanish and English) and Vanguard Cinema, which includes experimental works, documentaries, student works and short films.
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