The fifth annual Chicago Latino Film Festival includes 40 films, practically all of them subtitled, from Latin America, Spain, and the U.S. (some of which are independent works from Chicago). Film screenings will be held at the Three Penny Cinema, 2424 N. Lincoln, and at Facets Multimedia Center, 1517 W. Fullerton (except for opening night, which will be at the First Chicago Center Theatre, First National Bank of Chicago, 20 S. Dearborn). Video screenings will be held at the Hokin Center, Columbia College, 623 S. Wabash. The festival will run from Friday, September 22, through Sunday, October 1. Ticket prices per program are $6 for adults, $4 for students, senior citizens, and handicapped persons, and $3 for members of Facets–except for opening night, which costs $25, and video screenings, which cost $2. A festival pass is $60. For information call 944-4411 or 431-1330.
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BREAK OF DAWN A docudrama about Pedro J. Gonzalez (Oscar Chavez), the first Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S. and a former revolutionary who defended his fellow Mexicans from racial attacks during the depression and who was eventually sent to prison on trumped-up rape charges as a means of silencing him politically. Written and directed by Isaac Artenstein, the film, which is largely in English, benefits from its careful attention to period detail (including an interesting use of color archival footage). There’s some awkwardness in the two-dimensionality and declamatory acting style of the gringo villains–an unsavory bunch headed by LA district attorney Kyle Mitchell (Peter Henry Schroeder), who bears a striking resemblance to George Bush–but the interest of the story keeps the film watchable. With Maria Rojo, Tony Plana, and Pepe Serna (1988). This opening night screening will include a live musical performance by Oscar Chavez; director Isaac Artenstein and producer Jude Pauline Eberhard will also be present. (First Center Theater, 5:30)
THE TABLES TURNED Rolando Diaz’s Cuban comedy, Los pajaros tirandole a la escopeta (which literally means, “The Birds Are Shooting at the Guns”), describes the complications that ensue when a sexually liberated couple learn that the man’s mother and the woman’s father are having an affair. With Reynaldo Miravalles, Consuelo Vidal, Beatriz Valdes, and Silvia Planas (1984). (Three Penny, 2:00)
TATA MARIA Jose Luis Borau’s Spanish film concerns a nun leaving her convent after 17 years and finding a number of surprises: a different Spain from what she remembers, a conniving brother, and a reawakening of her sexuality. With Carmen Maura and Imperio Argentina (1987). (Three Penny, 6:00)
THE ABSENT Rafael Filippelli’s Argentine film is about a woman filmmaker who investigates the turmoil created by the workers’ movement in Cordoba, the country’s second largest city, in the early 70s. Cowritten by Filippelli and Carlos Damaso Martinez; with Omar Rezek and Ana Maria Mazza (1987). (Three Penny, 6:30)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
