New York International Latino Film Festival 2011

On January 19, 2000, Seton Hall University was thrust into the national news when a fire set by arsonists raced through a freshman dorm, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Two of the most critically burned survivors were roommates Shawn Simmons and Alvaro Llanos. Juxtaposed against their incredible struggle to recover is the story of the hunt for, and eventual prosecution of, the arsonists. A true story of unimaginable suffering and unbelievable courage; a gripping tale of heroes and cowards

CAPTIVE BEAUTY is a documentary about four female inmates in Medellín, Colombia’s all-female prison. Jailed for murder, kidnapping, revolution, and con-artistry, these women are brought together by a beauty pageant inside the prison walls. Combining intimate pageant footage, with home videos, family photos, and provocative interviews with their friends, families, and victims, CAPTIVE BEAUTY brings these women’s stories to life. It is a tale both universal and surreal, sexy and brutal, where themes of innocence and femininity are turned on their heads and the criminal, for a day, becomes queen.

A meditation on the immigrant experience through the life and poetry of Doroteo Garcia, a Mexican immigrant, father, union activist and poet. Coming to the U.S. to make a better life for his family back home, Doroteo turned to poetry to express himself and dispel his loneliness.

At the end of the 1970’s, the militants of MIR, exiled in Europe, decided to return to Chile in order to support the fight against the Pinochet dictatorship. Many had children they were forced to leave behind. It was then that the idea of a community center to shelter these children was born. Project Home gathered 60 kids who were left in the care of people who assumed the responsibility of their upbringing for years to come. This is their remarkable story.

An intimate portrait of two young rappers from Santiago de Cuba, struggling to survive as musicians in today’s Cuba. They are neither blood brothers, nor the best of friends. What they have in common is a passion for an expressive urban culture that gives voice to their most powerful impulses. Going beyond issues of politics and revolution, the artists share with us their passion and the roots of their musical inspiration. Their spiritual strength as well as fierce convictions drive them to pursue their odyssey despite the tensions and personal struggles they are forced to confront.

A riveting tale of genocide and justice that spans four decades, two films, and in many ways, director Yates’ own career. Embedded in Granito is Yates’ seminal 1982 film, When the Mountains Tremble, which introduced the world to the tragedy of the Mayan genocide carried out by the Guatemalan government. Twenty-five years later that film becomes evidence in an international war-crimes trial and Yates reunites with Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchú and others who continue to contribute their granito (tiny grain of sand) in a quest for the truth.

Irma is an intimate musical portrait of Irma Gonzalez, the former world champion of women's professional wrestling. Filmed in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl - a notorious district of Mexico City - Irma contradicts everything we have come to expect from stories reported from Mexico. Featuring music written and performed by Ms. Gonzalez, Irma's story surges with love and deceit, masculine strength, feminine charms, and an extraordinary sense of humor.

Raising a baby on the streets can be a blessing. A young girl's negative sense of self-worth might prevent her from saving herself, but once she has chosen to become a mother, she will resolve to leave the streets for the love of her child. The documentary film Karla's Arrival follows 19-year old mother Sujeylin Aguilar and baby Karla, who live as part of a group of kids in a small park in Managua (Nicaragua), as they struggle through the first year of the child's life. The story starts three months before Karla's birth and ends around its first birthday. For eight years now, Sujeylin has been living off the generosity of her wheeling-and-dealing boyfriend and the NGO's peppering the city. She doesn't expect the arrival of her baby to change much in her own life, planning to raise her in the park where she forms part of a group of colorful characters she considers her only family. Yet she never imagined the scope of the immediate challenges and dangers facing her young daughter. Karla's Arrival takes its audience on the intense personal journey of a young woman's venture into motherhood under extreme circumstances. Narrated by the protagonist herself and told with gracious intimacy, the film offers a story full of hope, covering a universal issue we have not before been exposed to.

In Mexico, children as young as eight are trained to kill bulls ten times their weight. Michelito is ten and already a star, having killed over two hundred bulls. “Picasso was born to paint, Mozart to make music - and Michelito to be a matador,” boasts his father. Abandoned by his dad and neglected by his mother, 9-year old Joel has found a surrogate father in Matador instructor Ismael. And 12-year-old Andrea started bullfighting when her beloved father moved to America. Now she is determined to choose her own destiny.