London film festival aims to celebrate British-Latino identity
A film festival billed as London’s only competitive Latino film festival is now under way, with 60 films from 27 countries showing over five days at venues including the Barbican, the ICA, Cinรฉ Lumiรจre and BFI Stephen Street.
Guests include Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, a former principal at the Royal Ballet, Argentine actor รscar Martรญnez, Cuban actor Jorge Perugorrรญa and Oscar-winning Chilean screenwriter Gonzalo Maza.
It is running until Tuesday and will screen 60 films from 27 countries over five days.
The event was founded by Cuban actress Ketty Rodriguez who, when she moved to London, was struck by the lack of Latin representation in a city famous for its multiculturalism, film and history.
Rodriguez says it is the first competitive Latino film festival of this size in London.
“We have received hundreds of entries from all over Latin America, and can’t wait to support and showcase features, documentaries, animation, and shorts from these incredible filmmakers,” she said.
She told BBC London: “Everything here is about community, is about connection, and the idea started because I couldn’t find my people, I didn’t know where they were, so I decided to do this festival and it’s very successful, I’m very happy.”
Cuban Dancer Javier Torres, who developed the festival idea with Rodriguez, said: “This is just the start of something great. We found a gap in the market, we found a necessity of the Latino community to come together and to give voice and narrative voices to Latin American film makers.
“This is a platform for diplomacy, for culture, to get together and this is what we are building here.”
Alongside entries from Latin America are stories made in London for Londoners.
Victor Rios, a British-Bolivian filmmaker said the event was a chance “not just to celebrate people of Latin roots but also to celebrate British-Latino identity”.
He moved to the UK at 16, and has two short films in the selection.
He said: “It’s very crucial for people to understand that we are not just here passing by. We are part of society, and this festival is establishing that too.
“We’re very proud to be Colombians, Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Chileans, but we are also British.
“So we have a place, we have a say, and we want to be heard.”
The festival is backed by the BFI through National Lottery funding and by the City of London Corporation.
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