By Andrea Sciamanna
The ninth season of the Grand Rapids Latin American Film Festival returns April 5-7 at Wealthy Theatre, located at 1130 Wealthy St. SE.
GRLAFF will showcase eight feature-length films that organizers have selected from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, plus “Una mujer fantástica” (A Fantastic Woman), a 2018 Oscar winning film from Chile. Along with the eight feature films, the festival will also be featuring previous GRLAFF award winning short films throughout the years on Saturday, April 7.
There will be an opportunity to meet and interact with film directors Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, director of featured film “Cocote” held on Friday evening, and Daresha Kyi, co-director of “Chavela,” held on Saturday evening. Also, there will be a panel discussion with several local experts after each feature is presented on all the themes that have been highlighted throughout the films.
The festival will also offer family friendly options by presenting an animated film from Columbia, “El Libro De Lila” (Lila’s Book) on Saturday morning and will host a series of puppet shows. Latin American style refreshments and food will be served each day provided by local Grand Rapids restaurants.
The Grand Rapids Latin American Film Festival will be free and open to the public starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 5, 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. For further information on showtimes of the featured films, visit the Grand Rapids Latin American Film Festival’s website. Though entry to the festival is free, organizers will be accepting donations.
