Award season has begun and the best movies of the year are now vying for top honors at film festivals around the world. Award season culminates as the best in the business gather for an evening at the glamorous Oscars.
I love movies. My love of movies came from my father who watched movies like Scarface and Saturday Night Fever in his hometown of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Growing up, we would watch the Oscars together and try to guess who would win “Best Picture” and we would then pick out our favorite actors of the year. We automatically rooted for any Latino film director, writer, film or actor. This tradition continued into my adulthood and although I live in New York and he lives in Colorado, we still call each other during “Oscar week” to talk about our top movies and actors.
Film festivals are the breeding grounds for fun, innovative and breathtaking movie projects from around the world. This year, I was fortunate enough to attend the HBO New York International Latino Film Festival, where I was blown away by documentaries like the Rubble Kings. I enjoy supporting independent Latino films, and the festivals they appear in, but it’s a bit tedious to stay on top of them all. Lucky for me, my life got a little simpler when I found out about an amazing Latina who has created an app to help keep track of film festivals around the world!
Naomi Torres is the innovative mind behind Film Festival App. Torres lived in Los Angeles for seven years and realized that, as an actress, it was very important to network at film festivals. “I found that film festivals were a great way to meet directors, screenwriters, peers, etc. Since I’m quite familiar with the film festivals in Los Angeles, it’s nice to have information about dates and submission deadlines online. However, I could not find an app that offered such services,” Torres said.
Her staff collaborates with all the film festivals, so that the app has the accurate information and search capabilities. With this app you can easily add any festival to your iPhone calendar. Soon the app will be able to provide video streaming and the capabilities to buy tickets within the app itself.
Another great feature is that it provides deadlines for submissions and contact information. This feature alone can help independent filmmakers create their production schedules so that they can submit their films on time. Some of the festivals that are currently on the app are Cannes, Los Angeles Film Festival, Sundance and Tribeca.
All I know is that this app – and all it’s features – have definitely simplified my life, and now my father and I are going high tech and will be picking our winners and our favorites from each festival. Here’s the best part: this app is free, yes I said it, absolutely free. So check out their site or connect with them on Twitter and let award season begin!
To learn more about guest contributor, Jazmin Chavez, visit JusticiaHoy.org.
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