Opens with FILLY BROWN, with Filmmakers Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos in Attendance. Twenty-third Edition of Festival Runs September 20-October 10 with. More Than 50 Films Representing 20 Countries
Silver Spring, MD, September 13, 2012 – AFI Silver has announced the complete slate of films for the 2012 edition of its AFI Latin American Film Festival, taking place September 20-October 10 at the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. A program of the American Film Institute, the festival, now in its 23rd year, showcases the best in filmmaking from Latin America and, with the inclusion of films from Spain and Portugal, celebrates Ibero-American cultural connections.
This year’s selection of more than 50 films is the largest ever and ranges from international festival favorites and award-winners, to local box-office hits and debut works by gifted new talents.
The Opening Night selection, FILLY BROWN, directed by Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos, is a rousing Los Angeles-set hip hop drama, starring Gina Rodriguez as a charismatic rapper hoping to make it big. Delara and Olmos will introduce their film, followed by a discussion with the audience and a post-reception screening.
Additional Special Festival Presentations include Mexico’s A SECRET WORLD, Gabriel Mariño’s uncommonly assured narrative debut about a troubled Mexico City teen whose oddly placid demeanor conceals a roiling emotional interior; Álex de Iglesia’s lunatic media satire AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, starring Mexico’s Salma Hayek; the U.S. premiere of Argentina’s CLANDESTINE CHILDHOOD, writer-director Benjamín Ávila’s semi-autobiographical account of childhood during the Argentine junta of the late 1970s; HERE AND THERE, a lyrical debut about the life of a migrant worker who struggles on both sides of the border and winner of the top prize in Critic’s Week at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (with director/screenwriter/producer Antonio Méndez Esparza in attendance); and David Riker’s Mexico-U.S. immigration drama, THE GIRL, starring Abbie Cornish as a struggling small-town Texas mother (with director/screenwriter David Riker in attendance).
All films are in Spanish with English subtitles unless otherwise noted.
A complete schedule of all festival screenings is attached. For photos, contact Susan Bluttman at [email protected]. For updated information and to purchase tickets, go to AFI.com/Silver.
About AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
A program of the American Film Institute, AFI Silver is among the nation’s premier film theaters, building an appreciation of the art and artists through exploring and celebrating new and classic films and filmmakers from around the globe. AFI Silver offers a year-round program of the best in American and international cinema, featuring a dynamic mix of retrospectives, special events, tributes, on-stage guest appearances, specialty first-run movies, festivals, premieres and education and community-based programs in a theatrical setting of the highest standards. Anchored by the stunningly restored 1938 Silver Theatre, the three-screen AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a state-of-the-art film and digital media exhibition venue that serves as a national model for preserving and honoring our shared film and film-going heritage.
The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of the Business & Economic Development, MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities.
For further information, visit AFI.com/Silver.
About the American Film Institute
AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.
AFI preserves the legacy of America’s film heritage for future generations through the AFI Archive, comprised of rare footage from across the history of the moving image and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present.
AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of annual programs and special events, including the AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards. Celebrating its 41st year in 2013, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the Institute’s almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year.
AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers. And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the Institute’s annual year-end celebration of artistic excellence in cinema; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the U.S.; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington, DC area.
AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its AFI Conservatory, which has been consistently recognized as one of the world’s top film schools, boasting alumni including Darren Aronofsky, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Heidi Levitt, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Wally Pfister, Robert Richardson, Ed Zwick and so many more.
AFI Conservatory offers a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. Aspiring artists learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on storytelling.
For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.
