24th-annual Chicago Latino Film Festival to run from April 4 to 16, 2008; winners announced on April 23

With so many choices at the 2008 Chicago Latino Film Festival, “El Senor Presidente” stands out to us as a headliner. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Nobel laureate Miguel Angel Asturias.

He penned the book during his stay in Paris from 1923 to 1933. Asturias wanted to expose the social evil and cancerous corruption a callous dictator uses to shackle his people. The film follows suit as a tragic and impossible love story about being lost between ruin and fear.

Cost: $10
Street Address: Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio St., Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 312-409-1757

I just received the following press release announcing the winners of the 2008 Chicago Latino Film Festival. The production still below is from “Pretendiendo”.

Chilean Film “Pretendiendo” (Ugly Me) Wins the Popular Vote at the 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival

Mexican film “Morirse está en hebreo” (My Mexican Shivah) and American film “August Evening” were second and third place, respectively.

CHICAGO (April 22, 2008) - The 24th Chicago Latino Film Festival closed with a series of awards to films chosen by the popular vote from a selection of more than 120 films. Presented by the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), this year the festival presented the Gloria Lifetime Achievement Award to Puerto Rican filmmaker, Jacobo Morales. In addition to the Gloria award, the festival is also proud to announce the winners of the Audience Choice Award listed below:

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

FEATURE FICTION
FIRST: “Pretendiendo” (Ugly Me), Chile, directed by Claudio Dabed.
SECOND: “Morirse está en hebreo” (My Mexican Shivah), directed by Alejandro Springall.
THIRD: “August Evening”, US, directed by Chris Eska.

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
FIRST: “Dream Havana” (Sueña La Habana), Cuba-US, directed by Gary Marks.
SECOND: “Tarjeta roja”, (Red Card), Ecuador, directed by Rodolfo Muñoz.
THIRD: “Tal como somos” (Just as we are), US, directed by Judith McCray.

SHORT FILMS
FIRST: “Flags of Steel” (Banderas de acero), US, directed by Mildred Amador.
SECOND: “Adán y Eva” (Adam and Eve), Venezuela, directed by Laura Muñoz.
THIRD: “Antes y después de besar a María” (Before and After Kissing Maria), Spain, directed by Ramón Alos.

About the Chicago Latino Film Festival:
The Chicago Latino Film Festival attracts more than 30,000 moviegoers and dozens of international filmmakers, actors and journalists and continues to grow with every passing year. The Festival began with a budget of $10,000 and 14 films projected on a concrete wall to an audience of merely 500. The two week-long Festival included educational forums and special events. For more information on the above films, please visit www.latinoculturalcenter.org.