©2012 Angela María Ortíz S.
In front and behind the camera, Latinos are an enthusiastic part of the year’s best film festival-party
SXSW (pronounced “South by Southwest”) is a gleeful and high-energy collision of movies, music and popular culture, and Latino actors, writers, directors and auteurs have been part of it since its earliest days. Maybe it’s the festival’s ‘street’ roots; maybe it’s the Texas location, but every year there are films and people well worth watching.
This year, you’ll find Latinos scattered throughout the multi-venue festivities from March 8 all the way through the 15, from Latino legends like Edward James Olmos to successful young stars like Selena Gomez and hot new up-and-comers like Genesis Rodriguez. You’ll also see the newest film from the team that brought us Filly Brown, and–of course–Big Ass Spider. What more could you want?
Among the Latinocentric highlights:
Fede Alvarez’ The Evil Dead remake. Alvarez himself is getting a big break, hand-picked by the original Evil Deaders to mount this highly buzzed remake, premiering at SXSW. Latino screenwriter Rodo Sayagues is along for the ride, too.
Selena Gomez is front and center in Harmony Korine’s much-anticipated comedy Spring Breakers, in its U.S. premiere at SXSW.
Edward James Olmos headlines John Sayles’ new film, Go For Sitters.
Young sensation Kevin Hernandez (The Sitter, Get the Gringo) is in Short Term 12, the full-length feature based on Destin Daniel Cretton’s own short film.
Marcus DeAnda who is part of Yen Tan’s drama about being gay in a small town, Pit Stop.
Mexican actor Francisco Barreiro, in his first English-language role, is part of Loves Her Gun.
Genesis Rodriguez in Eric Heisserer’s Hurricane Katrina drama, Hours.
Spanish/Iranian Youssef Delara and Victor Teran, a U.S. Latino of Nicaraguan descent, were the writer/director team that brought us Filly Brown a couple of years ago. Now they’re back with a psychological thrillers that’s part dubstep and part psychopathology: Snap. Well-known actors like Scott Bakula and Jason Priestly are part of the case; Filly Brown’s own Gina Rodriguez has a supporting role, too.
Carlos Puga directs Burma, a drama about that most dramatic of all things: a family reunion.
Mia Maestro is part of the ensemble in Daisy Von Scherler Mayer’s wedding cometragedy, Some Girl(s).
And of course there’s Big Ass Spider, the wild and crazy modern monster movie from director Mike Mendez (The Gravedancers, The Convent) and screenwriter Greg Gieras (Dark Asylum, Centipede!) that we’ve talked about before, right here.
There are documentaries with Latino themes and directors as well, not to mention films from Mexico, Brazil, and elsewhere in the mix as well. And we haven’t even mentioned the crazy crossovers and music acts.
Great fun all around, for Latinos and everybody else. We just wish we were there…
