Friday, January 8, 2010

UTEP Hosts 10th Annual International Film Festival that Honors Director

Writer-Director Luis Valdez will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th annual Binational International Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 8 at The University of Texas at El Paso’s Union Cinema.

Valdez, writer and director of the 1981 film Zoot Suit, is regarded as the father of Chicano theater in the United States. The film that enabled Valdez to break into mainstream American cinema was La Bamba, which debuted in 1987. The film, about popular Chicano 1950s rock and roller Ritchie Valens, was a box office success.
For the second year in a row, the festival exclusive to El Paso will run Jan. 8-16 at UTEP's Union Cinema.

Valdez will be honored at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 before the screening of Zoot Suit, starring Edward James Olmos. Zoot Suit is one of 17 feature-length documentary and short films planned for the festival, which honors independent movies from around the world.

Admission is free for screenings of the 4 p.m. documentaries; tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students, seniors and military for all 7 p.m. features.
For more information, please call 491-3185 or visit www.binationalfilmfestival.org.

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