HBO and the New York International Latino Film Festival Announce Winner of Latino Filmmaker Competition

    NEW YORK, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- HBO and the New York International
 Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) announced the recipient of the 2nd Annual Latino
 Filmmaker Competition.  The winner, writer/director Aurora Guerrero, received
 a $15,000 grant from HBO to produce and direct a short film based on her
 original script "Viernes Girl" ("Friday Girl"), the story of how sibling
 rivalry takes a turn when a brother and sister discover they have more in
 common than they think.  Guerrero completed the 6-minute film in time for it
 to premiere during the NYILFF's 2005 festivities, July 26 to July 31.
     "When I found out I had won the NYILFF/HBO short script competition I was
 both honored and super excited.  I immediately saw this as an opportunity for
 myself and my creative team to continue to grow as artists," Guerrero states.
 "I must admit, making a film from beginning to end in just over a month has
 definitely better prepared us for when we are ready to shoot our first feature
 film.  I'm grateful to the NYILFF and HBO for supporting filmmaking that dares
 to be truthful and original."
     A San Francisco native, Aurora was raised by Mexican immigrant parents and
 received her BA in Psychology and Chicano Studies from UC Berkeley, later
 obtaining an MFA in film directing at Cal Arts.  Since then, Aurora has
 directed short films that have traveled the film festival circuit, most
 notably her recent short, "Pura Lengua," which was accepted into the 2005
 Sundance Film Festival.  Based on the strength of her first feature length
 script, "Mosquita Y Mari," Aurora was awarded the 2005 Sundance Ford
 Fellowship and selected to participate in the Hedgebrook Writers-in-Residency
 program.  Her accomplishments as an emerging writer/director also gained her
 admission into the IFP/LA Project: Involve program.  Aurora assisted director
 Patricia Cardoso on her debut feature, HBO Films' "Real Women Have Curves,"
 which won the Audience Award at Sundance in 2002.  She co-founded the Los
 Angeles-based Womyn Image Makers (WIM) and is a filmmaking member of Chica
 Luna Productions, Inc.
     "In our 6th year, we are excited to feature our 2nd HBO/NYILFF Short Film
 Competition," said Calixto Chinchilla, Executive Director, NYILFF.  "We
 continue to look for ways to provide opportunities that further foster and
 support emerging directors and writers such as Aurora Guerrero."
     The New York International Latino Film Festival is the first festival in
 New York City to showcase the works of national Latino filmmakers alongside
 international Latin American films, while offering expansive images of the
 Latino experience.  The festival presents works in the categories of Feature
 Film (in Spanish and English) and Vanguard Cinema, which includes experimental
 works, documentaries, student works and short films.  The 6-day festival also
 includes panel discussions, educational forums and special events.  A full
 roster of festival films, special activities and tickets can be obtained on
 the festival's website, http://www.nylatinofilm.com, or by calling the
 festival hotline at 212-726-2358.
     The festival is presented by HBO.
 
 

SOURCE  HBO