Cannes Film Festival showcases Latino Talent

It’s official, Latinos will get their own little nook at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. 

According to Variety, on May 21 the French festival will be highlighting six young Latin American directors in a showcase titled Bal Goes to Cannes: Bafici Work in Progress which focuses on yet-to-be-completed movies.

The event was organized by Cannes’ Film Market and the Buenos Aires Lab, organization that supports the development and production of Latin American cinema and is in charge of the Buenos Aires Film Festival of Independent Cinema known as Bafici.  

The talent includes: Argentinian Santiago Palavecino with his film “Some Girls,” Brazilians Claudio Marques and Marilia Hughes with “After the Rain” a story set in 1984 about the movement that demanded direct presidential elections for Brazil after 20 years of military regime and Caio, a 16-year-old boy who finds his first love; Costa Rican Neto Villalobos with “Por Las Plumas” about a security guard who after acquiring his first fighting cock rediscovers the meaning of friendship; Chilean Maite Alberdi with “Las Once” about a group of friends that have gathered once a month for 60 years to drink tea; and Argentinian Rodrigo Moreno with “Reimon” about a young cleaning lady who works in family homes during the day and at night, at the city’s business district where she meets a watchman.

Although these directors and films represent only a sliver of the whole picture it definitely represents a step in the growth of Latinos in the general film industry. The year is not done and we have already had three successful films by Latino directors: “Mama” by the Argentine Andy Muschietti, “Evil Dead” by the Uruguayan Fede Alvarez and “Filly Brown,” which just came out this past Friday, co-directed by the Mexican Michael D. Olmos, we have also had countless other films starring Latino actors.

Like we’ve said many times before, 2013 is our year and from here on out it is all about growth not only for Latinos in the United States but worldwide, as we can see from Cannes. I think the main thing that can accelerate the growth would be collaborations between Latino directors and actors because besides “Filly Brown,” I don’t remember seeing Latinos actors and directors working on the same film. It is disappointing when big name Latino directors don’t want to cast Latino actors and would rather work with the same elite Hollywood group.

I think Gina Rodriguez was right, when she told us during a recent interview that we need to start seeing new faces, tell new stories on the big screen and so I hope her story, that of Fede Alvarez and of many other Hispanic talent helps as motivation for many aspiring to make it in the film industry.