CAA, EGEDA and ALTAMED confirmed as sponsors
LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2019 –Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), the premiere international event dedicated to showcasing the entirety of human experience from the Latinx perspective, today announced it is set to return July 31-August 4 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Co-founded by Academy Award® nominee, Golden Globe® and Emmy® winner Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Stand and Deliver”) and run by Executive Director Rafael Agustin (“Jane The Virgin”), the platform agnostic festival which showcases film, television, digital, music and art – will this year put a major emphasis on U.S. Latinx talent. CAA, Egeda and AltaMed return this year as sponsors.
“LALIFF has become the preeminent destination for Latinx storytellers and this year we want to spotlight our homegrown U.S. community of filmmakers, musicians, students, TV writers, visual artists, digital producers and podcasters,” said festival co-founder Edward James Olmos.
LALIFF is programmed by two leading women with distinct pedigrees: Artistic Director Diana Sanchez (who is an International Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival®) and Director of Programming Dilcia Barrera (who is a Programmer, Feature Films at the Sundance Film Festival). Submissions are now open at www.latinofilm.org.
LALIFF returned in 2018 after a five year hiatus, during which the organizers invested efforts in the Youth Cinema Project (YCP), which evolved from the festival’s youth program. YCP produces competent, resilient, and real world problem-solvers and bridges the achievement and opportunity gaps by creating lifelong learners and the entertainment industry’s multicultural future. This year YCP established its first-ever scholarship, which comes with a paid LALIFF internship, for a high school student who has shown great academic improvement and displayed extraordinary filmmaking excellence. This year it will go to a Santa Ana High School student from the Santa Ana Unified School District.
LALIFF and YCP are programs of the Latino Film Institute (LFI), which this year added Dr. Ana-Christina Ramon (co-author of the highly influential Hollywood Diversity Report) to its Board of Directors. She said: “As the largest minority group in the U.S. and one whose buying power outpaces other groups, Latinos are still severely underrepresented in film and TV. My goal is to provide the data necessary to enact meaningful change and motivate those in the industry to make content that is authentic and representative of how the majority of Latinos and other people of color live and work in America.”
To further expand efforts to be in the forefront of our industry, LFI this year has added LatinX In Animation as one of its signature programs. Championing the growth of diversity in animation, the LatinX in Animation team will continue monthly networking events as well as take on developing an Animation curriculum for YCP and building out LALIFF Animation at this year’s festival.
About LALIFF
The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) was founded in 1997 by producer, director, actor and activist Edward James Olmos and independent producers, Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez, and Kirk Whisler. LALIFF is a non-profit 501c (3) organization with the mission to support the development and exhibition of diverse visions by Latinx creators. LALIFF brings awareness to the richness and diversity of Latin cultures, artistry and countries through film and other mediums. The festival brings together filmmakers, buyers and distributors serving as a springboard and catalyst for the promotion locally, nationally and internationally. LALIFF also offers industry workshops, panels, labs, networking receptions, educational programs, and hosts some of the best Galas in tinsel town.
For more information and updates on LALIFF visit https://latinofilm.org
For more information on the Youth Cinema Project visit https://youthcinemaproject.org