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.
