LOS ANGELES, CA - On Tuesday, May 11, 2010 The 7th Annual Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival officially kicked-off this year’s event with a special screening of Peter Bratt’s “La Mission” starring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez. The official launch took place at the Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, CA. In attendance at the special screening were Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez who participated in a Q&A following the screening. Immediately after the Q&A all guest were invited to attend a private reception which was held atEl Portal Restaurant.
Held in prior years on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, this year’s 7th Annual Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival will be held at the Regency Academy 6 Cinemas in Pasadena from June 4th – 6th. This new venue provides multiple screens allowing the festival to accommodate a larger audience. Reel Rasquache Festival Director, John Ramirez states, “While this festival has been reputable and successful in its own right, bringing it into the community, to a bona fide movie house raises its profile and provides it the opportunity to begin joining the constellation of film festivals that make Los Angeles a unique destination for appreciating and celebrating cinema.”
Also added this year is the art component expanding the festival’s focus to incorporate Latino art into the program. Featured artist, Eloy Torres will showcase his art work throughout the festival at the theatre and receptions. Best known for his mural “The Pope of Broadway” depicting the legendary Anthony Quinn at the Victor Clothing Company building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Torres represents true Chicano Art at its finest.
Reel Rasquache provides a forum to acknowledge the contributions of U.S. Latinos in the entertainment industry and the Arts. The Festival will showcase some 20 recent Latino-produced and/or themed films produced nationally and internationally, most of them Los Angeles premieres. Together with guest filmmaker presentations, panels and workshops, the Festival provides a unique local celebration of films by and about U.S. Latino communities and experiences. Emphasizing a range of media, from feature-length films and documentaries, to short subjects, and animations, the Festival’s program will cover a number of themes that focus on the rich diversity of U.S. Latino culture and history. The Festival annually brings a broad base of grassroots and professional community members together with U.S. Latino film and video independents and entertainment industry representatives.
As much as film and television have been powerful tools for perpetuating the negative stereotypes of what Latinos are not, so too do film and television provide effective tools and weapons for breaking those stereotypes and representing the many real and rich dimensions of the U.S. Latina/o experience. It is in this empowering sense of the word “rasquache” that the films in the Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival weave through their characters, stories, themes, and styles a cross section of the dynamic fabric of U.S. Latino identities.
For Festival program information visit www.reelrasquache.org or call 323.343.4207.
Media Contact: Herrera Communications
Brenda Herrera – Brenda@Herrera-communications.com
Madeline Padilla – Madeline@Herrera-communications.com