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Press Release
Contact: Valerie Menard
press@cinelasamericas.org
512-926-1369

CINE LAS AMERICAS ANNOUNCES INITIAL SELECTION

AUSTIN, Texas (April 13, 2017) – Cine Las Americas (CLA) is pleased to announce a preliminary list of its 2017 program for the twentieth Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF20), May 3-7, 2017, in Austin, Texas, including opening night features and what has become a signature of the festival lineup, the Hecho en Tejas film program.

On opening night, 7 p.m., May 3, CLAIFF will feature, Me estás matando Susana (You’re Killing Me Susana), from Mexican director Roberto Sneider and featuring Gael Garcia Bernal and Veronica Echegui. Bernal plays Eligio, a fun-loving, charismatic actor who wakes up one morning to realize that his wife Susana (Echegui) has left him without a word or warning. On May 7, 7 p.m., the closing night feature is Sueño en otro idioma (I Dream in Another Language), also from Mexico. A 2017 Sundance Audience Award winner, the film is directed by Ernesto Contreras and tells the story of a young linguist who travels to the Mexican jungle to research a language on the verge of extinction. Both opening and closing night screenings and red carpet events will take place at the Blanton Museum of Art.

Featured guests during the festival include Ambulante Más Allá director of training and production, María Inés Roqué, who will be a Feature Film juror and will introduce each Ambulante program, taking place at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC).

All films are presented in English or with English subtitles (if English is not the original language). New elements this year include screening the Emergencia Youth Film Festival’s Competition in two programs-one for all ages and one for ages 14 or older. CLA also partnered with two different youth juries to curate this year’s competition, Latinitas and Pflugerville High School (PHS) Productions. Other juried categories include Narrative Feature, Narrative Short Film, Documentary Feature, and Documentary Short Film.

“We are really pleased with how this year’s program is coming together, offering an impressive lineup of films from both established directors and new filmmakers,” said festival director Jean Lauer. “The selections are diverse as usual, but audience members may notice that we have included more films produced and co-produced by Mexican filmmakers than in previous years. We felt it was especially important this year to showcase work from Texas’s neighboring country, as part of our mission of promoting cross-national understanding.”

A perennial favorite, the Hecho en Tejas program features films and videos shot and/or produced in Texas, showcasing the wide variety of work by filmmakers with varied backgrounds and experience. These selections complement the festival’s national and international lineup, and include films from both up-and-coming talent and veteran filmmakers. For the eighth consecutive year, Cine Las Americas is partnering with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI), to present a jury award to the best “Hecho en Tejas” film. This year’s Hecho en Tejas jury member is one of the founders of Cine Las Americas: Celeste Quesada.

The full festival lineup will include feature films, including new releases that are new to the Austin market, short films, documentaries, and music videos. Together, they highlight a diversity of themes, genres and styles characteristic of contemporary national and international cinema trends. Films will be presented at the following partnership venues: the Blanton Museum of Art (200 E. MLK Blvd, Austin, TX, 78712), the Santa Cruz Theater (1805 E. Seventh Street, Austin, TX 78702), and the Mexican American Cultural Center (600 River St, Austin, TX 78701).

CLAIFF20 Lineup-Initial List

New Releases
OPENING NIGHT: Me estás matando Susana (You’re Killing Me Susana), Dir. Roberto Sneider, Mexico/Canada
CLOSING NIGHT: Sueño en otro idioma (I Dream in Another Language), Dir. Ernesto Contreras, Mexico/Netherlands

* A Cidade onde Envelheço (Where I Grow Old), Dir. Marília Rocha, Brazil/Portugal
* Alba, Dir. Ana Cristina Barragán, Ecuador/Greece/Mexico
* De chica en chica (Girl Gets Girl), Dir. Sonia Sebastián, Spain
* Dolores, Dir. Peter Bratt, USA
* El ciudadano ilustre (The Distinguished Citizen), Dirs. Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Argentina/Spain
* La habitación (Tales of Mexico), Dirs. Carlos Carrera, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Carlos Bolado, Ernesto Contreras, Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, Alejandro Valle, Iván Ávila Dueñas, Natalia Beristáin, Mexico/Poland
* La peor de mis bodas (My Soap Opera Wedding), Dir. Adolfo Aguilar, Peru
* La reina de los jueves (Queen of Thursdays), Dir. Orlando Rojas, USA/Cuba
* La Soledad, Dir. Jorge Thielen Armand, Venezuela
* La tierra y la sombra (Land and Shade), Dir. César Augusto Acevedo, Colombia/France/Netherlands/Chile/Brazil
* Mala junta (Bad Influence), Dir. Claudia Huaiquimilla, Chile
* Maliglutit (Searchers), Dir. Zacharias Kunuk, Canada
* O Ornitólogo (The Ornithologist), Dir. João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal/France/Brazil
* X500, Dir. Juan Andrés Arango Garcia, Canada/Colombia/Mexico

Hecho en Tejas Feature
* After Fire, Dir. Brittany Huckabee, USA

Hecho en Tejas Shorts
* After the Crossfire: Memories of Violence and Displacement, Dir. Ricardo Velasco, USA/Colombia
* Contigo, Dirs. Dan Boord, Luis Valdovino, USA
* El tucán, Dir. Cameron G. Quevedo, USA/Mexico
* Mosca (Fly), Dir. Lizette Barrera, USA
* Pen, Dir. Carlos Corral, USA
* La sobreviviente (Salvation), Dir. Jason Outenreath, USA
* The History of Magic: Ensueño, Dir. Jose Luis Gonzalez, USA
* This Is What We Do, Dir. Juan A. Izaguirre, USA

Hecho en Tejas Music Videos
* Drift, Dir. Beca Rodriguez, USA
* Huerta de San Vicente, Dir. Patricia Vonne, USA

Ambulante Showcase, Feature Documentaries
* Somos Lengua (Speaking Tongues), Dir. Kyzza Terrazas, Mexico/Dominican Republic
* Tempestad, Dir. Tatiana Huezo, Mexico

Ambulante Showcase, Ambulate Más Allá Shorts
* El valor de la tierra (The Value of the Land), Dir. Adriana Otero Puerto, Mexico
* Gente de mar y viento (People of the Sea and the Wind), Dir. Ingrid Eunice Fabián González, Mexico
* Kutääy (Ingenious), Dir. Isis Violeta Contreras Pastrana, Mexico
* Ligeramente tóxico (Slightly Toxic), Dir. Sara Oliveros López, Mexico

Emergencia Youth Film Festival, Competition Lineup (Audience: All Ages)
* 20th Century Fight, Dirs. Chris, Gisell, Austin, TX, USA
* A Teenage Survival Guide, Dir. Adrianna Marquez, Lynn, MA, USA
* A Very Mousy Adventure: The Awakening, Dir. Victor Silva, Dallas, TX, USA
* Crack’d, Dir. Willy Rivera, Lynn, MA, USA
* Goldenbloom ‘Searching for Sunlight’, Dirs. Rebecca Kirby, Marylys Merida, Alyssa Peguero, Lynn, MA, USA
* Home Is Never Where I Sleep, Dirs. Armani Avalo, Linh Chit, Jasmin De La Cruz, Kevin Gutierrez, Kaleb Habtegebriel, Kaylyn Sverker, Jenavier Tesada, Andry Vasquez, Hunter Wanger, Lynn, MA, USA
* Misunderstanding, Dirs. Lorianny Guzman, Louise Silva, Julianna Gallant, Destiny Fernandez, James Sowinski, Lynn, MA, USA
* Mujeres Fuertes (Strong Women), Dir. Angela Benavides, Lynn, MA, USA
* OBEDJIWAN 5-0, Dir. Fyanna Boivin, Opitciwan, QC, Canada
* The Fruit Leather Gang & The Case of the Haunted Doughnut, Dirs. Zinnia, Ramon, Alina, Javier, Austin, TX, USA
* The Zone, Dir. Emily Silva, Lynn, MA, USA

Emergencia Youth Film Festival, Competition Lineup (Recommended Audience: Ages 14+)
* Concrete Canvas, Dirs. Gema Ceron, Nicole Rivera, CA, USA
* EPTA, Dir. Nicole Verissimo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
* Hinowu (Hand Games), Dir. Danny DeLeon, Forestvill, CA, USA
* Jouska, Dir. Wynter Rhys, North Bend, WA, USA
* Our Jewels, Dir. Nicole Rivera, CA, USA
* Palehound ‘Cushioned Caging’, Dir. Badger Antoniou, Lynn, MA, USA
* Processing, Dir. Felipe Vargas, Weston, FL, USA
* Sovereign’s Water, Dir. Verel Moon, Forestvill, CA, USA
* The Seated Siren, Dir. Sylvia Colt-Lacayo, CA, USA

The full lineup for the 2017 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival will be released online and more details announced in upcoming releases. For more information and to check for screening schedules go to www.cinelasamericas.org.

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ABOUT CINE LAS AMERICAS: Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Austin Texas, offering theatrical screenings of films made by or about Latinos or indigenous peoples of the Americas. Films from Spain and Portugal are also included, enhancing a truly Pan-American cinematic experience. The mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging the diverse Central Texas community through film and media arts.