Video Clip From Film Festival Next Week!

I have a long history with filmmaker/photographer Cristina Soto. I didn’t know it when we interviewed her for BFC but she was one of the significant women in my brother’s life (RIP Rick Aviles) I remember hanging out at her house in Washington Heights and feeling so at home…Anypues, Cristina’s film MUNECA is screening on Saturday May 30, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at the Luckman Theatre in LA at the Reel Rasquache film festival. Rico and I will be there and hope to see many of you there as well. Don’t forget to stop by and say “hi.” I really enjoy meeting people from the virtual space in real life.

Mexican Movie Review

Finally had a chance to see Lucía, Lucía; the Mexican/Spanish film based on the book La hija del Caníbal and directed by Antonio Serrano. Actress Cecilia Roth does a fabulous job as a writer thrust into chaos when her husband disappears. Feeling past her prime, she becomes involved in a love triangle (of sorts) with the neighbors who offer to help find the husband she doesn’t really know.

This movie was not as commercially successful as Serrano's first film Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas (a movie I describe as a funnier, sexier, Mexican version of “FRIENDS”). I can sort of understand why. I LOVED Roth in All About My Mother, and because I am a huge Pedro Almodóvar fan and found myself unfairly comparing the films. Mexican actor Kuno Becker is almost as adorable as Gael (García Bernal…in my mind we are on a first name basis :-) but falls a bit short. Serrano fans expecting the sequel to “Sexo” will be disappointed.

Although this review slants towards the negative, I DO still recommend Lucía, Lucía. I caught it on IFC and you can probably catch it on DVD.

MUST SEE Movies On DVD

Just saw the Puerto Rican drama "Ladrones & Mentirosos" on DVD. I admit to being completely biased in favor of pretty much anything that is imported from this island...so sue me! Ladrones & Mentirosos wasn't shot with a particularly original style but the story was tight. It stars Steven Bauer (best known as the hottie from Scarface) who does solid work but unfortunately does not always choose great films. Fortunately this film was good. The supporting cast (while virtually unknown by US standards except for Lymari Nadal of American Gangster) held up really well. Magda Rivera's performance as the obsessed business owner was great. My favorite part of the entire movie was the authenticity. I love hearing Puerto Ricans chit chatting in that fast slangy Spanish. It's funny; the things you miss when you're far away from something that was once so familiar.

Also out on DVD this week is Bella Produced and starring the horribly deformed (LOL) Eduardo Verástegui. I saw this movie in the theater and loved it. Bella has been endorsed by many Christian organizations but it's not a religious film. I found it to be a provocative movie about LOVE, choices and second chances. Realistic? No but full of hope. I loved the portrayal of the multi-culturally mixed Latino family. I haven't often seen middle class Latinos portrayed in American cinema, so I found it refreshing. Bella is worth checking out. Even my husband, "Manly Man McClinton," took me to see this as a "date" movie and found it quite compelling.

Human Trafficking: Sold in America Filmmaker Interview

Chelo Alvarez is an award winning documentary filmmaker. Her work on the documentary “Tin Girls,” compelled her not only to produce another film about human sex trafficking, but also to make a difference in the lives of her protagonists. Her film SOLD in AMERICA observes the lives of girls sold into slavery, not in Asia like her previous movie but in Los Angeles!
Read her article at http://www.bullfighterscafe.com

If your skin crawls at the thought of children being sold and used as sex slaves please visit the Women's Transitional Living Center website.
The WTLC is the only domestic violence Emergency Shelter Program in Orange County that provides shelter for clients with substance abuse problems, mental illnesses, and human trafficking victims. I will be the MC at a Fiesta on May 18th helping to raise funds and awareness for this cause. http://www.wtlc.org/upcoming_events.htm

Luz y paz,
Angel