This year's festival includes Cuba, Spanish, and American Latino special programs. Here's the details:
American-Latino Filmmakers
Club Frontera, USA
A riveting documentary about the Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles (Xolos) professional Mexican soccer team and their positive impact on the city of Tijuana, Mexico.
I Was There, USA
A 9/11 hero firefighter struggling with survival guilt is blackmailed into a journey of redemption by a photographer who can prove he survived only because he ran away.
Millie and the Lords, USA
A lonely young Puerto Rican woman from Spanish Harlem who secretly longs for a different life. An avid reader, Millie fantasizes about going to college and becoming a writer. She believes that this is not a realistic goal. But when she meets Mateo, a former Young Lord, her entire life is changed.
The Nightingale & The Night, USA
Chavela Vargas, in her last year of life, have a last wish: She will make a record to pay tribute to the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and with this, finally meet with her friend in the ranks of death.
American-Latino Short Film Series
Two programs of shorts from US-based Latino filmmakers.
Crave: The Fast Life
Max's troubled past sparked by the abandonment by his father TONY creates a deep-rooted hunger for success; which fuels him down the dark and ruthless path of anger, greed, and self-destruction
Cuban & Spanish Series
Oscar's Cuba, Cuba/USA (2010)
Dr. Oscar Biscet, a prisoner of conscience currently serving a 25 year prison sentence in Cuba for his promotion of human rights.
Pastport Cuba, Cuba/USA (2012)
This documentary follows swimwear designer Nicole Di Rocco travels with her parents to Cuba, a country they left almost 50 years ago. The film captures her quest to find a model to represent her Cuba-inspired line, but the real discovery comes from a place she’s never been.
Before the Fall, Spain (2008)
The world learns that a planet killing meteorite will arrive in 72 hours.
La Cosa Humana (The Human Thing), Cuba (2015)
A young thief steals the masterpiece script from a renowned writer, changes it and sends it to a contest.
Spanish Cinema Short Films
A program of recent short films from Spain.
Los Caminos de Aissa (The Pathways of Aissa), Cuba (2013)
A heart-breaking story in its simplicity, that faces the problem of the immigration from an intimate point of view, exploring the pain and emotional schism that, in any culture, means broken apart families, separation and and loss of identity.
Los Angeles: Sept. 21 - 28. Full lineup and details here.