Between Worlds

Introduction

They say the third time's a charm. Not that the first two years of Austin's Cine las Americas Festival of New Latin American Cinema were not successful. But in its third year, the festival has hit its stride -- with an added venue, the expected attendance of filmmakers and performers, panel discussions, parties, and a diverse mix of films including features, shorts, and documentaries. Original festival director Lara Coger first conceived Cine las Americas as a Cuban film festival. With the input of development director, then co-director, Celeste Serna Williams (whom Coger calls "a force of nature") and Austin's Chicano Latino Film Forum, Coger expanded the festival to include films from across Latin America. This year, Williams takes over as Cine's executive director, with the C/L Film Forum taking a larger role in organizing the festival. Coger now lives in Miami, pursuing her own interests in filmmaking and journalism, although she remains a loyal fan of the festival.

For its first two years, Cine piggybacked off the Chicago-Latino Film Festival, which occurred the week prior. Using films screened there eased the bureaucratic headache of getting films directly from distributors in Latin America. To gather this year's selections, Cine organizers turned to a high-tech resource: the World Wide Web.

"The films this year were selected through an international call for entries. Filmmakers could submit their work though our Web site," Williams explains. The tactic was suggested by Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) colleagues who have successfully attracted attention to their festival in the past. In addition to their mentors at aGLIFF, Cine made contact with other film festival organizers, including those at the granddaddy of all Latin American film festivals -- the Internacional del Nuevo Cinema Latino Americano in Havana -- and ended up with a first-class education in how an international festival should be run.

"We didn't use Chicago at all this year," says Williams, "but we are showcasing some of the same wonderful films, such as Split Decision." (See related story.)

This year's Cine las Americas differs from the previous two in another way: U.S.-produced films are heavily represented, with a strong showing on the part of Austin-based filmmakers (Marcy Garriott and Nancy Schiesari, to name two). Other filmmakers, including the producer-director team of Anahuac and Kinan Valdez (sons of El Teatro Campesino's Luis Valdez), hail from locations such as California, New York, Cuba, and Mexico. While the high profile of U.S.-made films may dilute the festival's international flavor, it encourages consideration of how to place the U.S. Latino experience in a Latin American context.

A common theme emerges in this year's Cine festival and in the preponderance of U.S.-produced films: the ever-present challenge to negotiate between two or more worlds and the passing back and forth through the membrane between cultures, the living and the dead, sobriety and addiction, the U.S. and Mexico, difficult realities and dreamed-of futures.

All screenings are regional premieres. Films are in English or their original language with English subtitles. Unless otherwise noted, the directors of full-length features will be available for question-and-answer sessions following screenings of their work. Tickets to each screening are $6 and may be purchased in advance by calling 454-TIXS. There are no screenings on Easter Sunday. For more information, call 416-0986 or visit the Cine Las Americas Web site: http://www.cinelasamericas.org.