Five days of Mexican movies in Los Angeles at Guadalajara International Film Festival features Spanish voices with English subtitles

Los Angeles hosts 2011 festival favorites from the annual Guadalajara International Film Festival from September 8 - 11, 2011 at the Egyptian Theatre. The American Cinematheque presents five days of Mexican movies featuring English subtitles for the Spanish films THE PRIZE, JEAN GENTIL, NACO ES CHIDO, TEQUILA: A HISTORY OF PASSION and the comedy BETWEEN US.

American Cinematheque notes the last 10 years have seen rapid growth in Mexican cinema and a panel discussion with Mexican and Spanish film industry professionals will shed expert takes on the relationship between the Mexican and U.S. film industries. Los Angeles is a city with a large number of International actors, with 1200 lending their voice at JBI Studios, a Los Angeles voice over agency specializing on Spanish voice over for both Spain and Latin America. The fall International films lineup at American Cinematheque has gotten us excited at JBI Studios and are sharing it with other Angelinos.

Mexican Filmmakers Working in L.A. and Mexico Panel

This 2 hours panel discussion will be moderated by Alejandro Pelayo, Mexican Consul for Cultural Affairs in Los Angeles  is co-presented by American Cinematheque, Festival International de Cine en Guadalajara, University de Guadalajara Los Angeles, University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA, Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles. and will feature actor Demian Bichir (A BETTER LIFE, "Weeds," CHE), director and producer Roberto Sneider (TEAR THIS HEART OUT, BETWEEN US).

Cine Mexicano / FICG 2011 Guadalajara International Film Festival Highlights 

THE PRIZE

EL PREMIO
2011, Mexico, Dir: Paula Markovitch
Seven-year-old Ceci (Paola Galinelli Hertzog) has to keep a huge secret - the life of her family depends on her silence - but she doesn't completely understand what the secret is about. Living under military repression in 1970s Argentina, Ceci must figure out what she can safely say at school and what she must do to keep her mother happy. This intense drama won several awards at the 2011 Guadalajara Film Festival, including Best Picture and Best Actress, and took home Silver Bears at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival for cinematography and production design. In Spanish with English subtitles. The Prize (El Premio), promo on Vimeo.

JEAN GENTIL
2010, Canana Films, Mexico, Dir: Israel Cardenas, Laura Amelia Guzman
Multilingual Haitian accountant Jean is relegated to a poverty-stricken, ghostly existence when he immigrates to the nearby Dominican Republic. Composed with impeccable visuals by co-directors Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman, this documentary-like portrayal of one individual's struggle for identity captures the plight of the masses of Haitian immigrant workers forced to lead invisible lives on the fringes of society. Winner of the Jury Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and recipient of the Horizons special mention at the Venice Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.

TEQUILA: THE STORY OF A PASSION
TEQUILA: HISTORIA DE UNA PASION
2011, Quality Films, Mexico, Dir: Sergio Sanchez Suarez
In the Mexican town of Tequila in 1942, honor is paramount. Problems begin when Antonio (Unax Ugalde) falls in love with Lola (Daniela Schmidt), the wife of his uncle Vicente (Salvador Sanchez), one of the town’s local heroes. As the web of lies protecting their forbidden affair grows tighter, Antonio wants to escape Tequila to a new life with Lola, but will he leave his honor behind too? With Angélica Aragon and Edward Furlong. In Spanish with English subtitles.

NACO ES CHIDO
2010, Art Naco Films, Mexico, Dir: Sergio Arau
In this inventive mockumentary, director Sergio Arau (A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN) revisits his old musical group Botellita de Jerez, pioneers of “guacarock” in the 1980s. The band’s blend of blues, cumbia, punk and performance art has proven highly influential (Botellita’s disciples include La Maldita Vecindad and Café Tacuba), and their sharp sense of humor is put to fine use here. A crazy quilt of music, comedy and Mexican culture, NACO ES CHIDO stitches together actual footage from the band’s heyday and interviews with other music stars with a fictitious storyline about a rediscovered recording that sparks a reunion of the now down-on-their-luck group members. In Spanish with English subtitles.