19th November, 2008
Welcome to the 4th DLA Film Festival, making the spirit of Latin America available to all through film. This is the raison-d'etre of our festival: we use film as a powerful means to show Latin America to the world. Not only do we believe in the cultural richness and potential of this region, we also believe in its cinematographic talent and want to show it to the world. What a better place to start than London through an annual film festival.
The DLA Film Festival has grown enormously in the four years I have been involved with it. There are many reasons why this has been the case, but the secret of its success relies on one thing: the quality of latin cinema. Film has been present in Latin America since the late 19th century and has a rich history of its own, with ups and downs just like all other film industries elsewhere. The sections of our festival aim to capture both the old and the new, the history and the new tendencies, the realities and different political points of view. Our programme is divided into Features & Short films, Documentaries and Film & Cultural events, creating diversity and balance. In all of them we show as many sides as possible, with no constraints, all with a common ground: it’s Latin and it’s good.
The audience remains the main barometer of our success so I hope you enjoy the show. Unlike other festivals, we channel all excess proceeds to a charity every year. This year this is a children charity in Lima (through Project Peru, a UK registered charity). Of course we remain indebted to our sponsors and supporters, and above all... to you, the audience. Lights out. Let the festival begin.
Jorge Garayo
Festival Director
DLA Film Festival