The University of Guadalajara Foundation in the United States of America, Inc. (UDG Foundation-USA) and the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), as part of the activities organized by University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA), are supporting the Mexican film industry at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF). This festival, which runs October 11-16 at the Mann Chinese 6 Cinemas in Hollywood, California, showcases the best in Latino film productions.

On October 12, a gala reception was held at Level 3 Nightclub, where the following figures were present: Edward James Olmos, Eva Longoria, Kate del Castillo, Patricia Riggen, Lupe Ontiveros, Beto Cuevas, Fernando Lebrija, Demián Bichir, René Pérez (known as “Residente,” of the band Calle 13), Sergio Arau, Yareli Arizmendi and César “Vampiro” López. Also present were officials from the University of Guadalajara and a number of special guests, who together celebrated the screening of five Mexican films that are competing in different categories of LALIFF.

Participating films include three Mexican productions which are competing in the Best First Work category: Morenita, directed by Alan Jonsson Gavica, winner of the Best Director award at the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival; Cinco días sin Nora (Nora’s Will), a comedy written and directed by Mariana Chenillo; and the feature film Amar a morir, a Mexico-Colombia co-production directed by Fernando Lebrija, which is making its Los Angeles debut after enjoying box-office success in Mexico and winning the Best Film award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Jalisco at the Guadalajara International Film Festival 2009.

In the documentary category, LALIFF has a number of social, political and personal stories lined up. One of them is El árbol olvidado (The Forgotten Tree), a film which marks the debut of director Luis Rincón.

Among the films being shown for the first time in the United States at LALIFF is Amar, directed by Jorge Ramírez Suárez and starring María Aura, Bruno Bichir, Tony Dalton, Pedro Damián, Luis Ernesto Franco, Diana García, Javier López “Chabelo” and Adal Ramones.

The 13th Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival will include several full-length feature films, documentaries and short films by directors who have received a number of awards and recognitions from countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the US, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

LALIFF was co-founded by the director and activist Edward James Olmos, producer Marlene Dermer and music and cinema producer George Hernández † in 1997. The mission of the festival is to support and promote the production and distribution of different kinds of Latino cinema.

Support for Mexican film productions has been an integral part of the University of Guadalajara at Los Angeles (UDGLA) cultural program since 2008.

Further information: http://www.latinofilm.org/festival/