by Luis Reyes
The ninth annual FICG in Los Angeles (Guadalajara Film Festival) begins Friday through Monday, September 20th – 23rd with its inaugural screening of more than 20 Mexican and Ibero-American feature films takes place at the Egyptian Theatre and The Chinese Theater complex in Hollywood.
The films that will have their festival US premieres include Midnight Family a US/ Mexico co-production, The Rodriguez Family and The Far Side a Sci-Fi comedy, The Wall Of Mexico starring Esai Morales, One Taxi Ride, and Intolerance, No More in which local media artists Yennifer Behrens, Mauricio Mendoza, and Dewayne Cox served as producers.
These films are rarely seen theatrically outside of Mexico and represent the best of contemporary Mexican and Ibero-American cinema. It is an extension of the Guadalajara film festival made possible by the Fundacion de la Universidad de Guadalajara en Estados Unidos y el Consulado General de Mexico en Los Angeles.
It makes perfect sense to bring the film festival to Los Angeles, a city where Latinos make up the majority of the population in the center of the entertainment industry.
As part of the Festival, a program of selected short films will screen at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles
FICG will give a posthumous tribute to the late Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), a friend of the festival who had traveled to Guadalajara and presented various seminars. Also set to receive a Tree of Life award is US-born filmmaker Gregory Nava who will be given an in-person tribute for his film work that spans more than three decades that includes such classics as El Norte, Mi Familia, and Selena. Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera will also receive an in-person tribute.
The poster for this year’s festival features a symbolic image of legendary Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernandez who posed for the Oscar statuette in its formative design stage in 1927 when he worked as an extra player in Hollywood.
For more information on films, schedules, and ticket information visit www.ficginla.com.