Posted by: Luis Cruz - Posted on: 04-21-2009

International Latino Film Festival - Chicago
The 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival, held this year from the 4th to the 16th of April, was an event that bought the international Latino community together in Chicago to view and award excellence in Latino film.
Starting with an opening night on the 4th April, the festival continued across the course of a week to present a diverse range of films and genre. With over 100 films playing over the week long festival – the Latino Film Festival of Chicago brings together Latin films from across Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States.

The April 4 Opening Night saw a wide range of films being screened across a number of locations. The Latino Film Festival’s official opening ceremony was marked by a film screening followed by a celebratory cocktail reception attended by many noteworthy members of the film industry and film lovers alike. This reception incorporated elements of Lation food, music and culture, providing the attendees with just a taste of what was to come throughout this remarkable and diverse festiva,l showcasing the extraordinary achievement that has become a hallmark of the Latino film industry.

On Wednesday 9th April, the Mexican Night was held at the Thorne Auditorium at Northwestern University. The Mexican Night at this year’s International Latino Film Festival was a celebration of the success of the Mexican film industry. A cocktail reception was hosted prior to the screening to get the evening started. Film viewers, celebrated performers and others from the film industry had a chance to mingle before the focus of the evening – the Mexican film – was screened for the assembled group. A screening of the Mexican film ‘El Viaje de la Nonna’ (Nonna’s Trip), from director Sebastian Silva was featured after the cocktail reception. Silva’s debut film released in Mexico earlier this year tells the charming story of a family ‘road trip’ to Italy. This trip is initiated at the insistence of their grandmother and explores the relationships of the family as they are united in their actions by their love of their nonna.

The closing night of the festival held on 16th April saw the awarding of the Gloria Career Achievement Award. The Gloria Award celebrates lifetime achievement of the recipients – esteemed performers and directors who have earned this honor following a lifetime of excellence and achievement in the film industry. This year the evening commenced with a glamorous cocktail reception followed by the awarding of the Gloria Career Achievement Award. The deserving recipient of the award for 2008 was Puerto Rican entertainer – Jacobo Morales.

Hailed as a leading light and eminent director of film and television in Puerto Rico for over 50 years during a special tribute – the award recognised Jacobo Morales contribution to not only the movies and television, but also to theater and radio. During the tribute Morales was described by Gilberto Concepción Suárez as the “most multi-faceted and talented of Puerto Rican artists of all time�.

Following this the evening proceeded with the Chicago Premiere screening of Jabobo Morales ‘Angel’. The delivery of an award for a lifetime of excellence in Latino film was considered a fitting end to a festival showcasing the quality and excellence being created in Latino films today.

The International Latino Film Festival has become a much loved festival in Chicago and this year the level of excellence and the touch of Latin glamour ensured that this festival is going to remain a favorite. The vast array of films screened over the festival provides film lovers a great opportunity to see the diverse and exhilarating range of film that the Latin community is producing, as well as the excellence that is being consistently achieved by the Latin film industry.

Lisa Hernandez
LW Film Contributor