Accent on Latino Films

Judging by the number of Latino-made films that get the wide exposure in America that only Hollywood can provide, you’d think it was 1897 instead of 1997, says actor Edward James Olmos.

“Cinema is the strongest medium in the world and there’s not a Latino presence in [Hollywood],” he says.

It’s not that there aren’t plenty of quality Latino films. The problem, according to Olmos, is they rarely get the kind of exposure that leads to distribution by Hollywood.

But Olmos, a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor, plans to change that with a new event that will help publicize Latino films.

He is playing host to the first Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival, at the Universal CityWalk Cinemas and at the Hitchcock Theatre in adjacent Universal Studios through Sunday.

Olmos, best known for his Academy Award-nominated role in “Stand and Deliver,” is the event’s producer and artistic director.

“We’re long overdue for something like this,” he says. “This isn’t for profit. It’s to bring the culture to light and we plan to be here 100 more years.”

The festival is part of a series of events sponsored by the city of L.A. during Latino Heritage Month. Films from the United States, Latin America and Spain will be featured, and organizers hope potential distributors will view them.

“It’s very small this year, but we hope it will become a world-class festival,” said Gabriel Reyes, one of the festival’s organizers. “Already we’ve had a great response to the idea.”

Olmos, who is Mexican-American, helped pick the films. He watched hundreds sent from all over the world before selecting the 50 that will be screened at the festival. It was a difficult process, he says, because many of them were very good.

“They’re all gorgeous films,” he says. “We put the word out and had loads of them shipped in to us.”

That’s because it marks a rare opportunity for most of these Latino filmmakers to get their work seen in Hollywood. “This is the only way some of these films can get distribution,” Olmos says. “More than 80% of the films are L.A. premieres. Many have never been seen in the U.S.”

Among the movies scheduled to be featured are “Profundo Carmesi” from Mexico, “Flores Amarillas en la Ventana” from Argentina, “Mi Ultimo Hombre” from Chile and “Edipo Alcalde,” written by Colombian Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

All of the films will have English subtitles.

“Quien Diablos es Juliette,” a true story about a Cuban teenager and a Mexican model in search of their unknown fathers, launched the festival Wednesday night following an opening night reception and ribbon-cutting at Universal CityWalk.

Films screen all day today at the CityWalk theaters, then move to the Hitchcock Theatre complex on the Universal Studios lot Friday through Sunday.

On Saturday night, a reception will be held that will include a tribute to late Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, whose widow will accept his posthumous lifetime achievement award.

Figueroa, who died in May, worked with the great performers and directors of Mexico’s Golden Age of film and with U.S. directors John Huston and John Ford. He made more than 200 films and won numerous international awards. Among his top achievements was an Academy Award nomination for his work in Huston’s “Night of the Iguana” in 1964.

“Many people don’t know that Figueroa worked with many of the top filmmakers in America,” Reyes said. “He was a very talented and well-known cinematographer, even in this country.”

Olmos hopes this festival will turn the spotlight on the many other talented Latino cinematographers and filmmakers working in this country and around the world.

BE THERE

Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival at Universal CityWalk and the Hitchcock Theatre in Universal Studios, Hollywood Freeway at Lankershim Boulevard. Movies are featured all day today through Sunday. Admission is $5. For a schedule and information, call (213) 960-2419.

* HIGHLIGHTS: Kevin Thomas previews some of the festival’s films in Screening Room. Page 15.