"…If there is something good about our young cinema it is that it does not know how to lie: as you see us on the screen, that is how we are: passionate, fun and imperfect…"

Gabriel García Márquez

New Latin American Cinema, Tokyo, 1988

    The words of the writer Gabriel García Márquez reflect the spirit of the Latin American Film Festival in Washington, to which we offer you a warm welcome. This year you will have the opportunity to appreciate a broad gamut of productions from more than a dozen Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries – films that give shape to the history, life, dreams and problems of Latin America. The cinema opens up an ideal window through which the public can observe the idiosyncracies as well as the cultural and artistic values of the people of Latin America.

    This year’s festival has been organized by the Cultural Foundation of the Americas, the Association of Ibero-American Cultural Attachés and the American Film Institute. During the festival we will present not only full-length feature films, but a small sampling of short subjects, which have been included to enable more countries to participate. With this important addition and with others we expect to make in the coming years, we are working toward making the Latin American Film Festival an increasingly effective means for bringing people together.

    This event would not have been possible without the generosity of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and American Airlines, whose sponsorship has helped bring these works to the AFI screen. We also appreciate the support of such entities as PromPerú (Peru), the New Latin American Cinema Foundation (Cuba), the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Mexico), the National Autonomous Center of Cinematography (Venezuela), the Latin American diplomatic missions in this city, and all those who joined our cause and gave us their time, advice and assistance in obataining some of the films. Our thanks to all of them.