Last night, Cinefest Latino kicked off its 4th year as Boston’s only Latinx film festival at Coolidge Corner Theatre with a showing of American Pachuca, the Audience Award winner and Festival Favorite Award winner at Sundance Film Festival this year. 

The festival, running from Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, features a diverse lineup of documentary, narrative, and short features, with filmmaker Q&As, workshops, and panels centered around the Latinx experience in America, as well as stories from Latin America and Spain. The festival aims for the power of film to dispel stereotypes and shine a light on issues affecting these communities. Festival founder and executive director, Sabrina Aviles, believes that “a good film can expose the truth, whether it's a narrative or a documentary - I always say that a good film is sort of a springboard to a larger conversation.”

Cinefest Latino opened this year with American Pachuca, a documentary about Luis Valdez, playwright, director, actor, and pioneer of the Chicano Movement in California in the late 1960s. Narrated by Valdez, this documentary celebrates his contribution of Chicano stories to mainstream media, with works like Zoot Suit, based on the Zoot Suit Riots, and La Bamba, the Ritchie Valens biopic. 

”I think what Luis is trying to do is bring attention to these things, and that's what art does.” Aviles shares, “Art challenges, and art hopefully also inspires.”

Director and Chicano filmmaker David Alvarado explained during his Q&A session that he “felt as if [he had] struck gold”, realizing no one else had made a documentary about Valdez. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not believe somebody hadn't made this film"

Cinefest Latino’s closing film this year, La Bola Negra, will premiere at Coolidge Corner Theatre on Sunday, October 4th, making it this festival’s biggest film yet. “[Netflix has] an initiative to reach out to more diverse audiences.” Aviles explains, “And I know they wanted to show it in Boston, but I think by showing it at the festival has drawn so much attention not only to the festival, [but to] the film.” 

While La Bola Negra is currently sold out, there are many incredible narratives, documentaries, and short features all around Boston, showing at the MFA, Emerson Paramount Theatre, and The Brattle Theatre. For more information and tickets, you can visit https://www.cinefestlatino.com/

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