Father Geek here with a great way to spend the coming weekend, and beyond ... The CineSol 2003 Latino Film Festival showcases the best of Latino Film and Video in a traveling four week festival that literally snakes its way through South Texas.

For a complete list of Films, Parties and Other Events along with showtimes and participating theaters visit the Fest website By Clicking Right Here Now

CineSol is held every year in the Magic Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and this year's CineSol Fest begins with a Premiere Weekend Splash (June 27-29th) on beautiful South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico, where filmmakers converge, and interact with the audience members. The Highlights of the Fest will be screened throughout the Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, San Benito, Harlingen, Weslaco, McAllen, Mission, Rio Grande City...and more through the end of July 2003... soooooooo if you can't make the opening weekend coming up in a few days don't despair there's plenty of time to catch most of these great flicks in a nearby town... Don't miss this if you're going to be in Texas during the next few weeks... Its easily worth the drive from anywhere in the state...

Here's just a few of the films they will be showcasing in the coming weeks that caught ol'Father Geek's eye...

Los Ultimos Zapatistas

Producer/Director: Francesco Taboado, (Mexico, 2001, Doocumentary, Spanish/English Subtitles, Color/B&W, Beta, 70 min.)

The chilling testimony of the soldiers who fought beside Emiliano Zapata in the 1910 Mexican Revolution. Almost one hundred years later, these survivors of the legendary Liberation Army of the South reveal truths never before told. Includes the historic encounter between the members of the modern Zapatistas and the Zapatista veterans. Since the release of the film, eight of the veterans have died.

White Like the Moon

Producer: Richard Pierce; Director: Marina Gonzaez Palmier, (USA, 2002, English, Short Narrative, 35mm, 22:32 min)

A young Latina girl, struggles to come to grips with her identity in middle-class 1950’s San Antonio. The true story of a dark-skinned Mexican-American girl whose overbearing, light-skinned mother forces her to bleach her skin white in order to fit into the “Anglo” society. Because Nita wants to be a professional ballet dancer—and her only role models are fair Caucasians—she succumbs to the pressure and must face the unforeseen, lifelong consequences.

Premio Mesquite Award: Best Short Film at CineFestival, Winner: Best Short: New York International Film Festival

Hecho a Mano: Tres Historias de Guatemala

Producer: Ryan Polomski, Directors: Ryan Polomski, Saul Roblero and Frank Bustoz (Guatemala, 2002, Documentary, DV, Color, Spanish/Ixil with English Subtitles, 27 min)

Follows a young aspiring Guatemalan journalist through the mythical highlands of Guatemala. This shoe-string budget, independent documentary goes where few have gone before, and accomplishes what few films have by allowing the Maya people of this rich country to tell their stories in their own words.

Voices From Texas

Director/Producer: Ray Santisteban (USA, 2002, Documentary, Color/B&W, Digital Video, 56:40 min)

The rich tradition of poetry in the Texas Mexican-American community comes alive in Voices From Texas. This hour program meshes dynamic readings in bustling poetry spaces with in-depth interviews and rare historical material to tell the story of the grand literary tradition of Texas-based Chicano writers.The program features readings by Sandra Cisneros, Jesse Cardona, Tonantzin-Canestaro Garcia, Tammy Gomez, Carmen Tafolla, Pat Mora, and Raul R. Salinas.

Painkiller

Director/Producer: Rodrigo Oviedo (Mexico, 2002, DVD, 9 min)

A university student, sharing his dorm with a roommate, wakes up with strange pains for several days. When the morning of his volleyball tournament approaches, he is unable to play and is forced to see a doctor where he learns of his terrible diagnosis.....

Justice For My People

Producer/Director: Jeff Felts (USA, 2002, documentary, English, color, b&w, 90 min.)

Traces the rise of the Mexican American civil rights movement from the 1920s to the 1980s through the ideals, choices and actions of Dr. Hector P. Garcia. Although he is not widely known by the general public, Dr. Garcia’s work produced profound change in the treatment of Mexican Americans and earned him a place among the most important leaders in American civil rights history.

Murder in Hardback

(USA, Narrative Short, 16mm, 26 min.)

A group of book store employees spend the graveyard shift stocking books and fooling around. It’s fun and games till they find the murdered body of their boss. With the doors locked, they are stuck there till morning, with only each other to suspect.

Never Trust a Serial Killer

Producer/Director: Juan Garza (USA, 2002,narrative feature, English, 84 min.)

Straight-laced Latino yuppie, Bobby, has his whole world turned upside-down when an old college buddy, Leroy, (his total opposite) turns up on his doorstep with a wild mission to capture Satan’s Hand, a notorious serial killer who is terrorizing Southern California. Leroy knows a whole lot more than he lets on about the serial killer...

A Donde Fue Juan Jose

Director: Kenny Koenig, Producers: Lucy R. Hiberd, Stuart M. Jensen (USA, 2003, Narrative Feature, English/Spanish with Subtitles, Beta SP, 90 min.)

Two young Mexican brothers are determined to find work and a better life, and the only thing that stands in their way is la frontera--the U.S. Border.

Speeder Kills

Producer/Director: Jimmy Mendiola (USA, 2003, narrative, color / b&w, 83 min.)

On the run from a $45,000 debt, Texas-born, San Francisco-based video artist Amalia has returned home to San Antonio. When selling folk art door-to-door doesn’t work out, she turns her artistic sights on the Chicano punk band rehearsing across the street. She wants to make a documentary about them; they just want a music video. What follows is a delectable blend of indie rock, Mexican American culture, and kidnapping plots.