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'The Cine Las Americas International Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Austin, TX featuring Latin American and indigenous films from the Americas. ==History== The Cine Las Americas International Film festival began in 1997 as a Cuban film retrospective sponsored by the [[Mexic-Arte Museum]] in Austin, Texas. While programming the initial event, the organizers realized that although Austin was building its reputation as an important city for producing and showcasing independent film, films made by and about Latinos were largely absent from the community's cultural landscape. In 2001, Cine Las Americas became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Soon after gaining its non-profit status, Cine Las Americas partnered with the [[Austin Independent School District]] (AISD) and moved its offices to Johnston High School in East Austin, where it established a Media Arts Center, implementing educational and mentoring programs to support the District's Dropout Prevention Campaign. During this time Cine Las Americas offered [[Johnston High School]] students hands-on bilingual opportunities in multimedia production, event production, and non-profit organization management. This training culminated in students producing Emergencia, the youth component of the film festival, in which they received entries from around the country, previewed them in order to curate a program, granted awards for the best work and produced a day of free screenings within the frame of the international film festival. In 2003, professional musician Brian Ramos approached the organization with a proposal to include a bilingual Digital Music Production curriculum in its after-school programs. This curriculum later received support from the Webber Family Foundation and the City of Austin’s GTOP’S grants, allowing Mr. Ramos and other guest artists to instruct and mentor dozens of students at a recording studio inside Cine Las Americas’ classroom at Johnston High School, where students were able to write and record music and lyrics in a professional studio environment. From 2002 to 2005, the film festival was also produced from Johnston High School under the direction of Eugenio del Bosque. In 2003, the festival extended its program to include indigenous work from the Americas, established competitive sections granting juried and audience awards. In 2005, Cine Las Americas’s contract with Johnston High School came to an end, opening a new development cycle for the organization. Cine Las Americas found a larger home for its staff in the heart of East Austin, previous Film Festival Director Eugenio del Bosque became the new Executive Director. Both the relocation and leadership transition have expanded Cine Las Americas's vision by providing the necessary tools to further its mission. Under this new cycle, Cine Las Americas has expanded its bilingual Digital Music Production (BeatLab) program to under-served student populations around Austin, engaging over 120 Hispanic and African American students at over eight AISD schools. By 2005, Cine Las Americas had presented more than 300 films at its annual film festival and at various screenings across the state of Texas, collaborating with institutions such as The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) and the South By South West Film Festival (SXSW). ==Awards Winners from 2009== Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature: El truco del manco (The Handless Trick) Director: [[Santiago Zannou]], [[Spain]], 2008 Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature: Intimidades de Shakespeare y Víctor Hugo (Shakespeare and Victor Hugo’s Intimacies) Director: Yulene Olaizola, [[Mexico]], 2008 Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature: Unidad 25 (Unit 25) Director: Alejo Hoijman, [[Argentina]] / [[Spain]], 2008 Jury Award for Best Narrative Short Film: Danzak Director: Gabriela Yepes, [[Peru]] / USA, 2008 Special Jury Award for Narrative Short Film: Saliva Director: Esmir Filho, [[Brazil]], 2007 Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film: Conversations II Director: Marianela Vega Oroza, Peru / USA, 2007 Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: Cinco días sin Nora (Nora's Will) Director: [[Mariana Chenillo]], Mexico, 2008 Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: El General Director: Natalia Almada, Mexico, 2009 Emergencia Youth Competition, Jury Award for Best Film: Journeys Through the Red, White and Blue: Brian's Journey Andrea Williams, USA, 2008 ==External links== * [http://www.cinelasamericas.org Cine Las Americas] [[Category:Film festivals in the United States]] [[Category:Festivals in Texas]] [[Category:Culture of Austin, Texas]] [[Category:International film festivals]]'