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LALIFF 2008 guide web

THE FESTIVAL

The Festival will take place in the heart of Hollywood, California at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Egyptian Theater and Chinese 6 Mann Cinemas on Hollywood Blvd.

The Festival this year will enjoy a much more accessible public atmosphere with an inviting set-up that includes the Filmmaker’s Café, Panels, Industry Office, an outside stage for musical and live performances, and other mini-events that will stimulate the constant traffic at each and all of our venues.
The festivities typically kick off on a Friday with the premiere presentation of an award-winning film, followed by a gala where attendees feast and dance into the night to the rhythm of a live band.

From this day forward, the Festival is in full force as it presents feature films, documentaries, shorts, special screenings and retrospectives. The films showcase a wide variety of themes by Latino filmmakers, producers, writers and actors, as well as movies that depict Latino culture by non-Latinos/a. It is a competitive festival with prizes and a venue where filmmakers come together with buyers and distributors.  The public has an opportunity to interact with filmmakers in Q&A sessions after screenings. The multicultural audience young and old from many ethnic and social backgrounds. Many celebrities and industry professionals also attend screenings on a regular basis.

The Festival becomes a hub of activity with an inviting ambiance. The Filmmakers Café, live musical performances and other events stimulate constant traffic at the Festival venue, and cater to as many facets of society as possible.  Our Industry Office facilitates meetings and keeps a video library for Hollywood executives.  LALIFF also offers industry workshops, panels, labs, networking receptions, educational programs, and hosts some of the best Galas in Tinseltown.  In addition, the Festival has a website with last minute news and information.

HISTORY

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival began in 1996 when the City of Los Angeles explored the concept of an official Latino film festival to serve the cultural needs of its rapidly growing Latino community. The Festival was created by a group of visionaries led by Marlene Dermer, an experienced independent producer with a vast knowledge of Latin films and programming; George Hernández, an independent film and music producer; and actor, director, producer and activist Edward James Olmos.

The Festival started small, as part of the 1997 Latino Heritage Month, showing 42 films in 5 days. It soon developed its own identity, and with the constant support of film studios and sponsors, quickly grew into a high-profile event with a strong presence in the Hollywood community.

In 2003, the Seventh Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival showcased a total of 147 features, documentaries and short films representing 14 countries.  This year we screened 36 films more than last year. The films were in English, Spanish and Portuguese.  All foreign language films were subtitled in English.  The Festival offered lectures, panel workshops, including the second Writers Workshop for 26 participants who were selected from more than 300 applications from all over the United States, and the first Latino Script Lab. 2,500 students from elementary schools, high schools, and junior colleges attended the Youth Program.  We are proud of the fact that many screenings in the 16-day period sold out. In 2003 we had a 15% increase in attendance from the previous year, while the Festival's overall attendance exceeded 27,000 people. We were the longest running International Film Festival in the world. Since then LALIFF has continue to grow and diversify by bringing a diversity of films reaching across the world highlighting Latino/a artistry working around the world.

2006 LALIFF DATA PROFILE

• 150 accredited journalists participated
• 145 films, documentaries, & shorts screened
• 100 filmmakers from all over Ibero America participated
• Festival attendance exceeding 15,000
• 70% of our audience were Latinos
• Films were sold for distribution & other talents were signed

MISSION STATEMENT

Our vision is to help foster a world that celebrates and embraces the richness and diversity of all heritages. In that spirit, it is our mission to bring our Latin cultures to the public's awareness through film, the most influential audiovisual medium of our time, and to showcase and nurture existing and emerging creative talent while serving as a springboard and catalyst for the promotion of Latin films and filmmakers.