By Barbara McGuire
Daily Bruin Contributor
Although a Latino explosion of sorts set the music industry on
fire last year, a similar outbreak has yet to take the film world
by storm.
Besides an absence on screen, Latina/os and Chicana/os are not
always portrayed in the most realistic light in the cinema. But
while movies often represent them as either gang-bangers or
uneducated illegal immigrants, many contemporary films have
attempted to break these myths.
The UCLA Chicano/Latino Film & TV Association, which exists
within the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, embodies
this idea in its 8th Annual Film Festival.
Ahora Con Mas Sabor, which means “now with more
flavor,” will be held this Friday in the James Bridges
Theater. Twelve short films by several Chicana/o and Latina/o
students will be screened for fellow students, industry insiders
and the community at large.
Live entertainment will also be on hand after the screenings in
the form of the salsa band Orchestra La Palabra, and Mexican food
will be provided. Here, guests can interact with the filmmakers and
learn more about their movies.
For its organizers, Ahora Con Mas Sabor is an important cultural
festival in many ways. It not only provides a medium for Chicana/o
and Latina/o filmmakers to exhibit their films, but acts as a
cultural ambassador by focusing on nuances of the Chicana/o and
Latina/o culture that others may not even be aware of.
Manuel Huerta, a fourth-year student in the School of Theater,
Film and Television, will be showing, “The Bean
Shooter.” His two-minute film highlights a little boy’s
antics, as he ambles around his neighborhood with a sling shot made
from the cap of a gallon bottle and a balloon. Huerta likes the
idea of the festival because it brings well-deserved recognition of
the Chicana/o and Latina/o community.
“The film festival is really important because it gives
filmmakers a venue where they can really feel comfortable showing a
film to an audience that will understand them,” Huerta said.
“The festival draws all kinds of people. It’s been so
successful in the past year.
“Primarily the Latino community comes out and supports
(the festival) and they’re able to see what we’re doing
out there,” he continued. “If I could point to the one
most important thing, it is that Latinos can see themselves on
screen, which is a bit of a rarity in this day and time.”
The three-hour festival will begin with an appearance by UCLA
alumnus David Valdes, a veteran movie producer of critical hits
such as “The Green Mile,” “In the Line of
Fire” and “Unforgiven.” As a Latino role model
who has found success in mainstream Hollywood, Valdes will receive
an award from the Association.
Alberto Barboza, is one of the filmmakers who will be at the
after-party. A third-year master and fine arts student, Barboza
will be screening his film which documents protests that occurred
during Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo’s controversial
visits to Los Angeles. For Barboza, seeing Valdes at the film
festival creates more optimism about the show biz prospects for
Latina/os and Chicana/os.
“The festival gives us the opportunity to honor a Latino
filmmaker that works in the industry, … to create a dialogue
between professionals and student filmmakers, and to solidify the
filmmaking community,” he said.
A.P. Gonzales, the faculty advisor of the Chicano/Latino Film
and TV Association, who works closely with the students who have
coordinated everything themselves, also believes in the
festival’s informative and useful spirit.
“It creates an awareness, for both the larger community of
filmmakers and the community of Latino filmmakers, of the presence
of a large number of Latino film students who are now making films
from their own perspectives,” he said.
Gonzales also added that the stories in these student films are
especially unique because they are not stereotypical of what
industry people assume Latina/os are.
Huerta and Barboza hope to continue incorporating Chicana/o and
Latina/o viewpoints in their work. At the same time, that
won’t mean giving up their dreams to one day become involved
in major film productions. Huerta is confident that the festival
will help to fuse the different cultures.
“We’re trying to bring in a certain kind of flavor
to the film school and through our film festival we’re trying
to really bring in a different perspective,” Huerta said.
Based on the past success of the Chicano/Latino Film Festival,
Barboza remains positive that films students can help make a
difference for years to come.
“The past three years it has completely sold out; people
have been turned away,” he said. “We have students,
faculty, people in the industry and just people from the community
in general. We’ve actually developed a very good reputation,
not just in the department, but in the community. I mean people
look forward to our festivals.”
FILM: Ahora Con Mas Sabor will take place this Friday at 7:30
p.m. at the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall. Admission is
free. For more information, call the Chicano/Latino Film & TV
Association at 310-836-7747.