Vancouver's Latin American Film Festival to spotlight Chile

From September 10th - 20th, the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF) will present its seventh edition with a selection of 29 full-length features and 33 short-films with Chile’s young film industry on the spotlight. In addition the films will include those from other Latin America countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Paraguay.

The VLAFF opens on Thursday, September 10th with the screening of the Mexican award-winning film Arráncame La Vida (Tear This Heart Out), by director Roberto Sneider. A love story set during Mexico’s post-revolutionary period of the 1930s and 40s, Arráncame La Vida is considered one of the most widely acclaimed and expensive films in the history of Mexican cinema.

On September 20th, the festival will host its closing night with the screening of La Buena Vida (The Good Life). Directed Andrés Wood, one of the most creative directors in Latin America, the film discusses the struggles that four young Chileans face while pursuing their dreams. La Buena Vida won Best Latin American Film at both the Spanish Goya Awards and the 2009 Huelva Latin American Film Festival. Wood's previous work, Machuca, won Most Popular Film at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival.

With spotlight on Chile this year, the VLAFF will present a selection of films that shows the rich diversity of Chilean cinema ranging from the very political Tony Manero and El Diario de Agustín (Agustín´s Newspaper), to the unique female perspective showcased in the special screening Reel Journeys: Shorts by Chilean Women. The 7th VLAFF hopes this spotlight series will give Vancouver cinephiles a better idea of why Chilean cinema has been leaving a mark in film festivals around the world.

Simon Fraser University’s Latin American Studies program will also host nine free screenings in its Harbour Centre campus. This admission-free portion of the festival includes documentaries, full-length features and two special screenings dedicated exclusively to short films.

Vancouver Latin America Film Festival
10 - 20 September 2009
Pacific Cinémathèque, Granville 7 and Vancity Theatre

For more information about the festival program, schedule and film synopsis, visit http://www.vlaff.org. For other inquiries, call 604.708.5657 or email info@vlaff.org.