Mission Park – World Premiere
(2012, 90 min) Directed by Bryan Ramirez
FILMMAKER PRESENT AT SCREENING

Opening Night Party
Featuring live performances by Bugsy and Amanda Rubio Ramirez, both featured in the Mission Park soundtrack.

Escaramuza: Riding From the Heart
(2012, 88 min) Directed by Bill Yahraus
Las Azaleas are the gutsy team of women rodeo riders vying to represent the U.S. at the National Charro Championships in Mexico, where “to be Charro is to be Mexican.” Escaramuza, or skirmish, describes both their daredevil horseback ballets, ridden sidesaddle at top speed, and the intensity of their competition season.

Mariachi High
(2012, 60 min) Directed by Ilana Trachtman
A year in the life of the champion mariachi ensemble at Zapata High School on the Rio Grande in South Texas. The documentary follows the mariachi as they compete in the state championship.

The Unique Ladies
(2012, 30 min) Directed by Gloria Moran
Outrightly denied club membership on the basis of gender, Sherry and Pat founded and maintain San Diego’s first all-women’s lowrider car club. The competition is fierce, and the ladies hold their own. Although their club is only a few members strong in a field dominated by men, they cruise through a full season taking home a trophy at the end of the show. A ‘unique’ view on the Mexican American cultural phenomenon of lowriding, the ladies use their vehicles as art filled expressions of working class feminism to build their immediate community as well as their club.

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
(2012, 60 min) Directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
This riveting documentary traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, WONDER WOMEN! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation. WONDER WOMEN! goes behind the scenes with Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, comic writers and artists, and real-life superheroines such as Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna and others, who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male-dominated superhero genre.

Children of Memory
(2012, 60 min) Directed by Maria Teresa Rodriguez
The story of the search for hundreds of children who disappeared during the Salvadoran Civil War. Many were survivors of massacres carried out by the U.S.-trained Salvadoran army. Taken away from the massacre sites by soldiers, some grew up in orphanages or were adopted abroad, losing their history and identity.  Niños de la Memoria weaves together three separate yet intertwined journeys in the search for family, identity and justice in El Salvador, and asks the larger question: How can a post-war society right the wrongs of the past?

YOUTH SCREENING
A special film program of works created over the years by the student filmmakers at Say Si, a San Antonio non-profit multidisciplinary arts program. In collaboration with Say Si and an audience of students from the San Antonio Independent School District’s Middle School Partner’s Program.

Reception
Meet and greet reception for all area High School video makers.

YOUTH PROGRAM Screening
FREE PROGRAM.The best video pieces from area High School film programs.

Filmer

(2012, 9 min) Directed by Brittany Ingram
Written by Enrique Gutierrez
A skateboarding filmmaker on the cusp of his college career, faces a moral dilemma when a cop threatens his camera and his friend. Created by the film class at the University of Texas at Arlington, a student-created project taught by award-winning filmmaker Ya’ke Smith.

The Crumbles
(2012, 75 min) Directed by Akira Boch
An indie rock slice-of life tragicomedy about the rise and fall of an all-girl rock band in hipster Echo Park, Los Angeles. But when the band gets rolling, obsession, heartache, insecurity, and oversized egos all work against them. While they all share dreams of rocking the globe, it becomes a monumental struggle getting their new band out of the garage. Featuring original music by Grammy award nominated recording artist Quetzal.
FILMMAKER PRESENT AT SCREENING

El Cocodrilo

(2012, 15 min) Directed by Steve Acevedo
A Mexican journalist and a cartel assassin collide in a diner, with tragic consequences for both. Starring Jacob Vargas. 
HONORABLE MENTION SHORT FILM

Reportero
(2012, 71 min) Directed by Bernardo Ruiz
This compelling and timely documentary follows a veteran reporter and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana-based independent newsweekly, as they stubbornly ply their trade and report on the drug violence in one of the deadliest places in the world for members of the media.

Short Film Program

Q
(2012, 8 min) Directed by Felipe Vara de Rey

Flutter
(2012, 8 min) Directed by Sam Lerma

Ernie Takes the Long Way Home Through the Southside
(2012, 5 min) Directed by Robert B. Gonzales

GASP
(2012, 16 min) Directed by Thiago da Costa

Incommunicado
(2012, 8 min) Directed by P. Alberto Sanchez

Pop Pistol: No New Years Know
(2012, 4 min) Directed by Daniela Riojas

The Rookie and the Runner 
(2012, 10 min) Directed by Augie Robles

Detras del espejo
(2012, 12 min) Directed by Julio O. Ramos

Narcocorrido
(2012, 23 min) Directed by Ryan Prows

Kiss Me
(2012, 11 min) Directed by Jules Nurrish
Kid Vargas is forced to face up to some devastating truths after he kills his opponent in the ring. Kiss Me is a gritty, contemporary, neo-noir drama set in the often-clandestine world of Latino boxing in East Los Angeles.

Wildness
(2012, 74 min) Directed by Wu Tsang
Rooted in the tropical underground of Los Angeles nightlife, Wildness is a documentary portrait of the Silver Platter, a historic bar in the MacArthur Park area that has been home for Latin/LBGT immigrant communities since 1963. With a magical-realist flourish, the bar itself becomes a character, narrating what happens when a group of young artists create a weekly performance art/dance party (organized by director Wu Tsang and DJs NGUZUNGUZU & Total Freedom) called Wildness, which explodes into creativity and conflict.

Aquí y allá
(2012, 110 min) Directed by Antonio Méndez Esparza
Pedro returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero, Mexico after years of working in the US.  He finds his daughters older, and more distant than he imagined.  His wife still has the same smile.  Having saved some earnings from two trips to the US, he hopes to now finally make a better life with his family, and even to pursue his dreams on the side by starting a band: Copa Kings.  He cherishes the everyday moments with his family. Winner of the Critics Week Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Canto de Familia
(2012, 19 min) Directed by Lindsey Villarreal
A lyrical journey into the lives of a young Mariachi Family in East Los Angeles, whose dream of keeping Mariachi music alive goes beyond their family and into their community.

Stable Life
(2012, 60 min) Directed by Sarah MacPherson
Stable Life explores the hidden world of racetrack workers, a group comprised largely of undocumented migrants who live and work in the stable areas of tracks around the country. The story follows a family of Mexican horse trainers as they face the prospect of a crackdown on immigrants and the impending closure of the racetrack. 
WINNER SPECIAL JURY AWARD

Senior Cinema
El Rey del Barrio
(1949, 101 min) Directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares
Famed Mexican comedian Tin Tan stars as a poor railroad employee by day and a modern day Robin Hood by night. A classic of Golden Age Mexican Cinema.

Vincent Valdez: Excerpts for John
(2012, 10 min) Directed by Mark and Angela Walley
Two years in the making, this beautifully shot and perfectly paced short documentary captures the creative process of painter Vincent Valdez, as the artist works on a series of pieces dedicated to a childhood friend, recently lost to war.
HONORABLE MENTION DOCUMENTARY

Tales of Masked Men
(2012, 60 min) Directed by Carlos Avila
Thought you knew everything about Lucha Libre? Think again. This dynamic and informative history of Mexican Wrestling goes beyond the kitsch and reveals the countless and meaningful ways in which the sport represents the essence of Mexican culture. Through interviews with wresters, fans, journalists, and hard-core aficionados, as well as amazing footage of colorful fights from Mexico City to Los Angeles, Tales of Masked Men constantly delights as it informs and entertains. From the award-winning director of the acclaimed PBS series “Foto-Novelas.”
WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY
FILMMAKER PRESENT AT SCREENING

Para vivir 
(2012, 10 min) Directed by Juan Izaguirre
A moving first-person account by an undocumented worker, sick with blood cancer, as he struggles to stay healthy and find work in the United States.

The Girl
(2012, 90 min) Directed by David Riker
Emotionally distraught from losing custody of her son Georgie and running out of options to earn a living to win him back, single mother Ashley (Abbie Cornish) becomes desperate when she loses her job at a local Austin megastore. So when the risky opportunity arises to become a coyote—smuggling illegal immigrants over the Texas border—she takes it. The harrowing experience results in unforeseen rewards and consequences, as Ashley forges an intense bond with a young Mexican girl who forces her to confront her past, accept the mistakes she’s made, and look to the future.
WINNER BEST FEATURE FILM
FILMMAKER PRESENT AT SCREENING

Sundance Panel
Ilyse McKimmie from the Sundance Institute leads a panel of filmmakers, producers, and writers into a discussion on the latest trends of American independent film.

The Recantation
Directed by Deborah S. Esquinazi
Work in Progress Screening and Panel
In 1998 four Latina lesbians from San Antonio, Texas, were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 37 and 15 years of prison for allegedly sexually assaulting two young girls. There was no evidence against them. Recent revelations in the case may finally prove them innocent. Along with the work-in-progress screening, the filmmaker will lead a panel of journalists and civil rights advocates in a discussion of the case and the making of the movie that may help set them free.

Narco Cultura
(2012, 103 min) Directed by Shaul Schwartz
Four years in the making, this harrowing and compelling documentary details not only the violence of the Mexican drug war but its effects on Mexican culture itself: particularly in narcocorridos, and the subsequent permeation of the “glamourous” drug lifestyle in all forms of the country’s media. Shot in a dynamic you-are-there cinema-verite, Schwartz’ camera captures    crime scenes, sold-out concerts and other gripping images from both sides on the border, as the glorifying embracement of Mexican drug culture seeps north. A sobering and bleak portrait.

Have You Seen Marie?
(2012, 6 min) Directed by Ray Santisteban
In this moving short documentary, author Sandra Cisneros gives a preview of her upcoming book, “Have You Seen Marie?” And while on the surface the acclaimed writer tells a simple story of a lost cat, this tender and poignant video portrait explores with a delicate touch issues of loss, nostalgia, friendships, and a place to call home. 

WINNER BEST SHORT FILM

Filly Brown
(2012, 100 min) Directed by Youssef Delara and Michael Olmos
FILLY BROWN is an inspiring and gritty portrait of a young artist striving to find her voice and seize her dreams without compromise. Majo Tonorio, aka, “Filly Brown” is a young, raw hip-hop artist from Los Angeles who spits rhymes from the heart. With a mother in prison and a father struggling to provide for his daughters, Majo knows that a record contract could be her family’s ticket out. But when a record producer offers her a shot at stardom, she is suddenly faced with the prospect of losing who she is as an artist, as well as the friends who helped her reach the cusp of success. Featuring Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos, and the legendary Jenni Rivera in her final on-screen appearance. Starring newcomer Gina Rodriguez in what many are calling a star-making performance.
STARS LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS & GINA RODRIGUEZ PRESENT AT SCREENING