Cronica de una Fuga (Argentina), playing as part of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival

I owe it all to that little hottie Gael García Bernal. Not even halfway through the chaos of Amores Perros, I craved more. And I wasn't alone. With the international release of Nueve Reinas and Y Tu Mamá También, Hollywood Reporter types were forced to pay attention, shifting their eyes south for a little more cinematic spice and inspiration.

Held a couple weeks before the VIFF, the Latin American Film Festival whets filmgoer appetites and caters to the growing Latin American community and the rest of us who love 'em. It's a week-long bash of features, documentaries, and shorts, combined with additional FREE (!!) feature screenings held at SFU Harbour Centre, courtesy of the Latin American Studies Program. That there's my week planned.

Festival offerings range from O Cheiro Do Ralo, a comedy set in a pawnshop, to En El Hoyo, a documentary featuring workers on a Mexico City freeway construction project, which reaped a Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Jury Prize Winner nod in 2006.

If you're aching to track the success of the next Pan's Labyrinth (er... El Laberinto del Fauno), you'll have a week to strike gold. ¡Arriba!

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival runs straight through to September 11, 2007. For movie show times, tickets, and full program details, visit www.vlaff.org or call (778) 883 8040.

When: September 5 - 12, 2007

Where:
Vancouver International Film Centre | VIFC
1181 Seymour Street @ Davie

Pacific Cinémathèque
1131 Howe Street @ Helmcken

SFU Downtown Campus Harbour Centre
515 West Hastings @ Richards

Festival Info-line: (778) 883 8040