Press Release
Contact: Valerie Menard
press@cinelasamericas.org
512-926-1369
CLAIFF20 PRESENTS CUBAN VIDEO SHOWCASE
AUSTIN, TX (May 1, 2017) – This year the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF) celebrates its 20th year, but in 1997, the year before the festival began, Lara Coger–who would go on to be a co-founder of CLAIFF–spearheaded a selection of screenings of Cuban films at MexicArte Museum. In the spirit of those first screenings, CLAIFF20, May 3-7, 2017, presents a selection of contemporary Cuban video art, Mover las cosas: la videocreación en Cuba (Move Things: Videocreation in Cuba) in partnership with Experimental Response Cinema, at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC), 600 River Street, Austin, TX, Sunday, May 7, in two programs, 2 p.m and 4 p.m.
Special guests at the screenings include Caridad Blanco de la Cruz, art critic and curator of the first program, “Video Creation: Animated Forms,” with 32 short videos (ranging from under a minute to a few minutes each), and Nestor Siré, visual artist, curatorial assistant, who produced three of the featured videos in Mover las cosas. The second program, comprised of “Vol. 1 Video Artist as Cultural Producer” curated by María Magaly Espinosa Delgado and “Vol. 2 Expanding Video” curated by Yainet Rodríguez, includes 22 short videos in total (also ranging from under a minute to ten minutes each).
Blanco and Siré will be present for discussions following the screenings. Both programs are free and open to the public.
To purchase a membership and a badge, go to www.cinelasamericas.org/membership. For more information about the festival and to review a full listing of all CLAIFF20 screenings go to www.cinelasamericas.org/film-festival.
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EXPERIMENTAL RESPONSE CINEMA is an Austin-based collective of artists, devoted to bringing moving-image art to screens throughout our city. Their screenings feature historical and contemporary artist-focused works that span a number of histories, genres, and cultures, including experimental film and video, artists film, underground film, video art, installation art, the poetic film, the essay film, avant-garde cinema, and many others. Visit www.ercatx.org to see upcoming screenings and events.
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.