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queer cinema 

The first annual Latino/a Queer Arts & Film Festival debuts this month in Los Angeles. This four-day celebration of art and film will include an art installation, series of solo performances, feature films, documentaries, short films, food, music, networking opportunities, and more. LQAFF showcases the stories of queer, trans, two-spirited, Latino/a Chicano/a, and brown identities through film and visual arts in a space that builds on rich and diverse cultural history.

The films screening at LQAFF cover a wide range of topics with something for everyone. This year’s featured documentary is the powerful TRANSVISIBLE: THE BAMBY SALCEDO STORY.  This film by Dante Alencastre is an inspirational story about Bamby Salcedo, a trans Latina woman who is now a renowned international leader and trans community advocate. At an early age, Bamby confronted entire systems of oppression that resulted in family rejection, police brutality, religious prejudice, and prison violence in Mexico and the U.S.

The festival’s closing night feature is a tale of young love against all odds. LA PARTIDA (The Last Match) is the story of Yosvani, a wealthy enforcer for his girlfriend’s loan shark father, and Reinier, a rent boy who happens to be married to a woman. Set in the mean streets of Havana, Cuba, these two teenagers fall passionately in love and struggle to keep their affair secret.

In addition to full-length features LQAFF spotlights several award-winning short films. Stories of young gay Latinos include EL ACOMPANANTE (The Companion) by Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio. This film takes us to the outskirts of Lima, Peru where a young prostitute tends to his father, a fallen-from-grace artisan. However, he feels that his efforts are never enough. The young man tries to break free but his dependence is stronger. SCAFFOLDING is a short film about Eduardo, a snob and grumpy journalist, and David, a shy literature student, long time neighbors who never speak until their building undergoes construction. Also screening is WANDERING CLOUDS, the new erotic short from award-winning Mexican filmmaker Julián Hernández.

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Young lesbians are showcased as well in the shorts selection. THE GOOD KIND, written & directed by Ofelia Yánez and making its world premiere, explores young love in a repressed southern town between Natalia and Bianca. OJOS QUE NO VEN (Eyes That Do Not See) introduces us to a 15-year-old first-generation Salvadoran girl and her mother as they struggle to plan a Quinceañera.

Real life stories are also addressed in unique documentary shorts including LOVING THE BONY LADY about a transsexual Mexican immigrant living in Queens, NY and her passion for a little known occult saint, and BEFORE GOD: WE ARE ALL FAMILY tells the story of five religious Latino families living with the sting of repressive church teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Latino/a Queer Arts & Film Festival will take place April 10th to the 13th at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza in Los Angeles. For more information go to www.lqaff.com.

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