- Featuring In-Person and Virtual Programs and Events November 4-6
- Actor Danny Trejo will receive the GLAFF Árbol de la Vida Recognition for his Trajectory in Film and Activism Against Drug Use Among Young People
LOS ANGELES, CA — The GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF) announces its 11th annual event will take place in Downtown Los Angeles from November 4-6, 2021. The festival will feature in-person and virtual programs including galas, feature films, short films, and master classes celebrating the best of Latin American cinema and showcasing emerging BIPOC and Latinx talent and creators.
Program venues in Downtown Los Angeles include the ACE Theatre, Alamo Downtown Draft House, The Secret Movie Club, and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) among others.
GuadaLAjara Film Festival is honored to announce that in its 11th edition, the Árbol de la Vida recognition will be presented to actor and producer Danny Trejo, for his long cinematographic career; in addition to recognizing the actor’s activism in the fight against drug addiction among young people on November 4th during the festival’s inauguration at the ACE theatre at 8pm.
GLAFF aims to show the best of Latin American cinema, as well as serve as a bridge that unifies and connects diverse stories and experiences with the intention of fostering a borderless film industry. GLAFF also engages second and third generations of Latin filmmakers whose stories are fundamental to understanding one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States, thus continuing to preserve their roots and language.
Its goal is to profile the experiences of those who have lived on both sides of the border and to share, conserve and entertain the different ethnicities in Los Angeles – reinforcing the festival’s mission of advancing greater inclusivity.
The GuadaLAjara Film Festival opens with the film “Poderoso Victoria,” by director Raúl Ramón, a film that won the Audience Award at the 36th edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Partial list of films includes, La Llevada y la Traída by director and actress Ofelia Medina, El Rey de Todo el Mundo by the great Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, Bob Spit by César Cabral, Finlandia by director Horacio Alcalá, who portrays the Muxe indigenous community and their struggle for the recognition of their genre as one more in society.
The festival will close with the film LA Queenciañera by Pedro Peira, featuring the life of Bamby Salcedo. While reflecting on her life as she turns 50, the film shows how she became one of the most recognized trans activists in the Southern California.
LA Queenciañera is an adaptation of the traditional quinceañera ritual, in which the father of a 15-year-old girl “presents” her as a woman to society.
A GuadaLAjara Film Festival objective is to pay tribute to the leaders and organizations that help pave the way towards a better future for all Latinx. This year it will recognize the work of the Get Lit Foundation, who through poetry increases literacy, empowers young people, and inspires the communities.
GLAFF is a Festival with a Cause, it continues to donate all box office proceeds to a non-profit organization. Get Lit will receive this year’s donation, and will mentor two young people from the organization to collaborate directly in the operation and logistics of the festival so that they can learn stories through cinema and share their experiences with their peers.
The GuadaLAjara Film Festival continues its work in supporting emerging talent by collaborating with Work In Progress (WIP Latino) program, to help with narrative and documentary feature films in post-production. This year, four films developed by Latin Americans and two made by Latinx will compete for the first time.
For more information, complete line up and tickets, please visit www.glaff.org
About GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF)
GuadaLAjara Film Festival (GLAFF) is an homage to the two cities that saw its inception and growth -Guadalajara, Mexico, and Los Angeles. GLAFF aims to show the best of Latin American cinema and open doors to emerging Latinx creators with the intention of advancing a borderless film industry. It is presented by the University of Guadalajara Foundation USA, the Grodman Foundation, and the Festival Internacional de Guadalajara.