Tickets ($12-$16) are live on the festival website.
Out of the 81 films on the bill, 13 are making their world premieres, while 20 are North American premieres and five are U.S. premieres. There are also 17 films by first-time filmmakers, including documentarians, who are making their feature fiction debuts.
The festival will host opening and closing nights galas at the Davis Theater and is expected to bring about 50 filmmakers from around the world for Q&A sessions across its nine-day run.
For Pepe Vargas, Chicago Latino Film Fest’s founder and executive director, reaching the 41st edition comes with a sense of accomplishment.
“We are doing something that I truly believe is necessary from any way … you look at it,” said Vargas, who’s also behind Chicago’s International Latino Cultural Center. “From our community point of view, it’s something that unites us all because it gives us the opportunity have film from virtually every one of our countries … and share that with people.”
People are able to “start traveling throughout the Latino universe without leaving Chicago,” Vargas said. The lineup’s genres, themes and cinematic approaches reflect the diversity of each country represented, including Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico.
The Chicago Latino Film Fest kicks off April 3 with the North American premiere of “Dear Gentleman,” actress and novelist Patricia Castañeda’s feature debut about Colombian women’s fight for the right to vote.
For its closing night April 14, the festival will screen Peruvian-Swiss director Klaudia Reynicke’s “Reinas,” or “Queens.” It’s a “poignant tale about a father trying to earn his daughters’ love back after being absent from their lives for too long,” according to a fest press release.
For both galas, Davis Theater’s doors will open 5 p.m. and events will start 6 p.m. There will be post-screening parties at DANK Haus German American Cultural Center, 4740 N. Western Ave. Tickets to the galas are $65-$75 online.
Building on the success of last year’s screening of “The Wingwalker,” written by and starring Chicago actor Max Arciniega, the fest is once again uplifting local talent. This year, viewers can catch the premiere of José Pérez’s feature film “What Rhymes with Magdalena?”
There are also shorts, like “Hair” by Teatro Vista artistic directors Lorena Díaz and Wendy Mateo, featuring a cast of Chicago Latina actresses; “Dirty Business” by Jorge Arana, which was shot and edited in 48 hours; and “Paper Flowers” by Joe Miñoso, his directorial debut telling the story of a 10-year-old dreamer taking care of his sister through immigration struggles.
Other films in the festival include the “theatrical” Chicago premiere of Jayro Bustamante’s latest horror film, “Rita,” based on a Guatemalan orphanage fire in which 41 girls died. The movie follows a 13-year-old girl at a government-run orphanage after escaping an abusive household, per the festival’s press release.
There’s also a Jane Fonda, Naomi Kelin and Gustavo Santaolalla-produced documentary, “Norita.” It’s a journey through 1970s Argentina and tells the story of Nora Cortiña, a social psychologist, human rights activist and co-founder of Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
In Celina Murga’s “Freshly Cut Grass,” executive produced by Martin Scorcese and co-starring Mexican actress Marina de Ravira, two 40-something university professors engage in extramarital affairs with students.
Browse the full 81-film schedule here.
Since it first kicked off in the ’80s, the Chicago Latino Film Festival has gone from having 500 attendees to serving some 30,000 people, Vargas said. Through the International Latino Cultural Center, he’s been able to organize a variety of other programs year-round, like the Chicago Latino Dance Festival, Chicago Film Reel Club and Latino Music Series.
While the organization has grown, its core mission has remained the same, Vargas said.
“It is paramount to us to really use the power of cinema to share out life experiences and embrace the idea of pan-Latino,” he said. “We are a family of many countries, more than 20, and we celebrate the differences among ourselves. That’s what we wanted to share, to give people the opportunity look at us through the films.”
Artists — be they filmmakers, poets, painters, musicians or playwrights — have an ability to “capture the spirit and experiences of each country’s life,” Vargas said. These films, whether they’re comedies, dramas or documentaries, can help educate people about Latino culture and break down stereotypes, he said.
“What we do is package and show them and invite people to come and enjoy it, and to see and learn and really enlighten people,” Vargas said. The goal is “to build awareness [and] reclaim a space in society by showing people who we are. And we do that peacefully, sharing our culture.
“When people are coming out of the theaters, this little piece that we put into their soul and mind, that is what drives us and keep us going after all of these … years again, because we know that we are doing something that is important, that is relevant. … What are we doing is soothing their spirit, giving them some food for thought.”
Learn more about the Chicago Latino Film Festival and buy tickets here.
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