Greeting I What is a Film Festival? | About the Festival | Objectives I Categories I Acknowledgements I Press
	Thank you and congratulations! The fifth annual Boston Latino International Film Festival was a success once again, and we couldn't have done it without your participation. With almost 300 submissions this year, we narrowed the selection to 83 finalists. Our audience increased by another 14%, and in the first weekend alone, we had three sold-out screenings! Aside from expressing our gratitude, we would like to announce this year’s Festival winners. “Al Otro Lado” by Mexican director Gustavo Loza, garnered the prize for Best Narrative Feature. Best Documentary Feature went to “Souvenir Kids” a Canadian production, directed by Diego Briceño-Orduz. Finally, “California” directed by Spanish filmmaker Irene Borrego, won in the Best Short category. Congratulations to all the filmmakers. So another year has come to a close, and again we extend our thanks, especially for the generosity of all our sponsors, the dedication and commitment of our volunteers, and the support of you, our audience. As we continue to grow, please know that our relationship with all of you – sponsors, volunteers, audience – are vital to the success of the festival. You are truly appreciated. Please visit our website for updates and events in the upcoming year. 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 narrative film
• Best Documentary
• Best Short

The Boston Latino International Film Festival harvests congratulations for its hard work and success!
Letter of congratulations from the City of Boston. 2004 Festival Edition. 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. Click on the images to read the entire letters.		Letter from the Boston Public Libary expressing its gratitude to the Festival. 2004 Festival Edition. 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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The Boston Latino International Film Festival in the Press. Click on newspaper names to read entire articles. GENERAL MARKET MEDIA: LATINO MEDIA: Past Editions of the Festival in the Press. Formerly known as the Cambridge Latino Film Festival, the following articles were published about the festival. Click on headlines to read entire articles.
Click here for further information about past editions. Top