AWARDS

Best Narrative Feature

QUEMAR LAS NAVES
USA 2008
Director: Francisco Franco
Synopsis:  Responsibility and desire strain the boundaries of a familial relationship in this drama from first-time director Francisco Franco. Helena (Irene Azuela) and Sebastian (Angel Onesimo Nevarez) are a teenaged brother and sister who have been reunited at their home while looking after their ailing mother, Eugenia (Claudette Maille).
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Best Documentary Feature

THE LONGING: THE FORGOTTEN JEWS OF SOUTH AMERICA
Ecuador 2007
Director/Producer/Co-Editor/Researcher:  Gabriela Böhm
Synopsis:  A small group of South Americans long to affirm their faith.  Their ancestors - European Jews - were forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition.  Isolated in Catholic countries, rejected by local Jewish communities, they battle to become Jews regardless of the consequences.
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Best Narrative Short

SHOPPING TO BELONG
USA 2007
Director: Irene Sosa
Synopsis:  Why do we shop? Why do Latinos shop? Shopping to belong, answers these questions in an engaging documentary that touches on issues of identity, citizenship, and the loss of homeland faced by the Latino immigrant.
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Best Director Feature

QUEMAR LAS NAVES
USA 2008
Director: Francisco Franco
Synopsis:  Responsibility and desire strain the boundaries of a familial relationship in this drama from first-time director Francisco Franco. Helena (Irene Azuela) and Sebastian (Angel Onesimo Nevarez) are a teenaged brother and sister who have been reunited at their home while looking after their ailing mother, Eugenia (Claudette Maille).
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Best Narrative Short

SUPARITA
Short Film / 15min / English subtitles / USA 2008
Director: David Rodriguez Estrada
Producer: David Rodriguez/ Edward E. Cohen

Tomas, a young hopeful immigrant comes to Los Angeles in search of Ramona, the woman who abandoned him as a child in Mexico. He then discovers that his mother is a bitter prostitute, who doesn't recognized him. He now has to find a new meaning for his American dream.
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Best Director Short

REPENTANCE
USA 2007, 13 minutes
Director: by Julio Antonio Toro
Synopsis: Repentance is a mystery story of a mysterious wanderer who seeks the confession of an old priest, whose ultimate secret turns out to be his greatest sin.

Julio Antonio Toro wrote, directed and edited Repentance. He is the recipient 2007 Brio award for screenwriting. He attended the school of Visual Arts as a student in the Illustration/ Cartooning program.
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Honorable Mention

.		 BENDITO EL FRUTO DE TU VIENTRE
East Coast Premier
USA 2007
Director: Sara Seligman
Synopsis: Ester and Teresa run a secluded Bed and Breakfast on the countryside of Pennsylvania. As beautiful as it may seem, they have become prisoners of their own home. As Ester struggles to get her mother’s attention, Teresa seems too busy praying for a miracle. Immersed in their own problems, mother and daughter realize the horrible secret of their last guest when it’s too late to change faith.
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Honorable Mention

PRIMERA COMUNION
USA 2006
Director: Daniel Eduvijes Carrera
Synopsis: A young outsider is confronted with the harsh rituals of a rustic Mexican pueblo where cruelty underlies street life and Catholicism alike.
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