Greeting I What is a Film Festival? | About the Festival | Objectives I Categories I Acknowledgements I Press
	Estimados amigos, We’re proud to present the third annual Latino International Film Festival, this year making its debut in Boston! Though Cambridge has been our home for the last two years, we’ve decided to expand our audience by bringing the festival to Boston. As a result, we’ve added over 80 films from over 16 countries including the United States, Argentina, Cuba, Spain and Mexico, among others. For many of these films, it will be their Boston premiere. To support us in achieving this new venture, we added three new venues including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Center for Latino Arts and the Boston Public Library. Cambridge still continues to be a strong presence in the festival through support from the Cambridge Arts Council, Harvard University and the Harvard Film Archives. Harvard Film Archives still serves as a key venue for a third consecutive year. I want to thank our sponsors for their generous support and our volunteers for their immense dedication and hard work. Without their help, all our accomplishments would not have been possible. Despite all of this, we still need the financial support of those who believe in the mission of our festival and the power of film to tear down stereotypes and “bridge communities through movies.” Your generous support is greatly appreciated. I invite you to the screenings and experience the enchantment of our culture through film. Gracias! Jose Augusto Barriga Festival Director Boston Latino International Film Festival

What is a Film Festival?

There has been some confusion about what we are doing here at the BLIFF and how it is different from a film series or simple public screening. The film festival community is a very tight international network. Our festival director, Jose Barriga, has worked for 11 years as a network television producer with Fox and Telemundo in Los Angeles, developing the skills and connections to make this festival possible.

Film festivals comprise the axis around which the film world revolves. Establishing a strong reputation with both filmmakers and film distributors is essential in order to receive movies at no cost from the filmmakers and attract distributors to the festival. The film festival is not only a place for audiences to view the latest independent films, it is the gateway into the film world for filmmakers and audiences alike. Here filmmakers have a venue to market their films, and distributors have the opportunity to acquire some of the best films in one of the leading film markets in the country. At the festival, prizes are awarded for Best Feature, Short and Documentary. In 2002, our festival winner for Best Documentary, The Maria Guardado Story, gained distribution through the festival.

As you can see, the Boston Latino international Film Festival is much more than just a screening of Latino films. We are honored to bring this prestigious event to the Greater Boston area and with your help we hope to establish this festival as one of the best international Latino film festivals in the world.

The Boston Latino International Film Festival (BLIFF) aims to present the latest films produced by Latinos and the latest films dealing pertaining to social issues of Latino communities in the US and Latin America. The festival also focuses on alternative films with social content from Latin America in addition to films addressing with Latino issues in the United States.

• The magic of film transports us through time and place. The Boston Latino International Film Festival uses this magic to bring its audience on a journey through the stories and places depicted in the films. Along this journey, the films offer viewers information about Latino subcultures, in this way breaking through stereotypes and strengthening intercultural relations between the Latino community and other ethnic and cultural groups.
• To provide an outlet for new Latino producers and directors
• To provide Boston and surrounding communities with access to films that portray Latino and Latin American communities
• To contribute to the multicultural environment of the city of Boston

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Categories

The Boston Latino International Film Festival will have prizes in the following categories:

• Best Feature
• Best Documentary
• Best Short
• Best Local Production (East Coast)

The Boston Latino International Film Festival harvests congratulations for its hard work and a successful film festival.
Letter of congratulations from the City of Cambridge. 2003 Festival Edition. Letter of congratulations from the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. Letter of congratulations from the City of Cambridge. Click on the images to read the entire letters.		Letter of congratulations from the City of Cambridge. 2002 Festival Edition. Letter of congratulations from the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce.
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For Immediate Release: October 15, 2004 The Third Annual Boston Latino International Film Festival October 29 through November 7, 2004 Opening Reception: Friday, October 29 at 6:00 PM Harvard Film Archives, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Opening Film: “A Silent Love” at 7:15 PM Boston, MA – Only America’s biggest and greatest cities host Latino film festivals; Boston is one of such cities. This year the Boston Latino International Film Festival will host its third annual festival which will be filled with nine days of film, panel discussions and special events. Films will be screened at different venues including the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), the Harvard Film Archives (HFA), The Center for Latino Arts (CLA) and the Boston Public Library (BPL). Prices range from $8 to $12, though screenings at the library will be free. All Spanish-language films will be subtitled in English. The opening reception will take place on Friday, October 29th at the Harvard Film Archives at 6:00 PM. “Four years ago we had an idea to provide the greater Boston community with a high-quality film festival that would capture and highlight the diverse experiences of Latinos in the United States and abroad. Since then, the festival has grown immensely, and support from the community has been phenomenal,” said Jose Barriga, founder and director of the festival. The Boston Latino International Film Festival is committed to breaking stereotypes and building communities by using the medium of film to strengthen inter-cultural understanding and promote work of independent filmmakers. Over 80 films from over 14 countries will be featured, including the United States, Argentina, Cuba, Spain and Mexico, among others. For many of these films, it will be their Boston premiere. The Boston Latino International Film Festival is sponsored in part by Delta Airlines, Telemundo, Masachussetts Cultural Council, Cambridge Arts Council, MBTA, The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, Cultural Agents, Viceversa Communications, El Mundo Newspaper, Studio Arango, the Center for Latino Arts, Jose's Mexican Restaurant and Picante Mexican Restaurant. The Festival in the Press. Formerly known as the Cambridge Latino Film Festival, the following articles were published about the festival's past editions. Click on headlines to read entire articles.
Click here for further information about past editions.