The 9th International Latino Film Festival, one of the largest and most prestigious international organizations of its kind was attended by movie fans that filled theaters seats, cultural centers and university halls to capacity throughout the Bay Area with full houses At the Castro Theater in San Francisco and CineArts at Santana Row with the screening of Tapas, Spain 2005, US Premiere the winning film of the Malaga film festival was Sueños, the most recent film of actor/comedian John Leguizamo was screened as part of a lifetime tribute to John Leguizamo who graciously accepted the Mocte de Oro Award, presented by internationally renowned producer himself, Moctezuma Esparza.

During the 16 day festival, dozens of producers, directors, festival directors, actors and actresses made their way through the red carpet throughout the Bay Area. Among this elite group of distinguished guests were Solomon Castiel, executive director of the Malaga Film Festival in Spain, Gianni Mina, director for “Traveling with Che,” Silvio Caiozzi, director for “Cachimba,” Moctesuma Esparza, producer and presenter of the Mocte de Oro/Life Time Achievement Award to John Leguizamo, Rene Chabria, director for “Sueños,” Diego Rafecas, director for “Un Buda,” Martita Roca, supporting actress for “Love for Rent,” Richard Speight Jr., supporting actor for “Love for Rent” and recipient of the “Amigo of the Festival Award” Monika Wagenberg, distributor, and last but not least Matias Desiderio and Brian Maya, lead actors for “Palermo Hollywoo,” among others.

The festival is also proud to announce the winners of the 9th edition of the ILFF, who were selected by a group of international and local filmmakers, producers, scholars and film related professionals. The jury awarded the following films with the “Best of Show” in the following categories:

AUDIENCE AWARD : Tapas - José Corbacho & Juan Cruz, Spain Sponsored by SUBARU
HUMAN RIGHTS: Mojado, El documental indocumentado / Wetback: The Undocumented documentary— Arturo Perez Torres, Canada/Honduras/Guatemala/Nicaragua/Mexico SPONSORED BY DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
FEATURE DOC: Tijuana Jews - Isaac Artenstein, USA
SHORT: I Need My Moca - Anthony Lucero, USA
SPECIAL TECH: De Raiz - Carlos Carrera, Mexico
STUDENT: El Castillo/Fireworks - Uri Espinosa Cueto, Mexico –ERIKA HILLS AWARD
WOMEN & FILM: Mirror Dance/ La danza del espejo - Frances McElroy & Maria Teresa Rodriguez, Cuba/USA

The Festival, which started in 1997 in Marin County with 8 films in one location, has grown to as many as 73 films in fourteen venues in seven cities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

The International Latino Film Festival- San Francisco Bay Area is committed to featuring Latino films of significant artistic merit for the benefit of the Bay Area community. Through films that express the cultural diversity of our many countries and roots, our purpose is to inspire, educate and empower our Latino population, and to share our rich cultural heritage with the public at large.