Red Carpet Rundown

Okay, in just 2 days, I've met all sorts of great (and great looking!) celebs.

Opening Night, 07/28
Benjamin Bratt is gorgeous and fabulously wonderful. He is charming, eloquent, thoughtful, sincere and just lovely. I was incredibly impressed.

Taliso Soto Bratt - also unbelievably sweet and genuine... and spectacular looking. I've decided Benjamin and Talisa give Brangelina a run for their money.

Whoopie Goldberg - Hilarious! PLUS - she chatted about us on today's The View. Can you believe it???? Total insanity.

Jill Hennessey - Again, a total doll. And, she's very beautiful. She and my mom bonded at the after-party. So cute, right?

Erika Alexander - super beautiful, super funny and super down-to-earth. Big fan.

Wednesday, 07/29
Calle 13 - I didn't really get to chat with them for very long, but they seem super nice and, well, you know, they're rock stars. Kinda cool! Plus, I just saw them perform @ Summerstage a few weeks ago so that's very groovy.

Vin Diesel - I also didn't get to chat with him for very long, but he was very gracious and generous. His girlfriend is a stunner and I felt like a dwarf next to her. These are the times you realize why some people are models and others aren't. ;)

John Leguizamo - As always, he is such a doll. I H-E-A-R-T John Leguizamo. He's just the best. Plus, he gave a great acceptance speech for the Tres Generaciones Tequila COA Award.

More updates to come...!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

REGISTRATON IS OPEN!!

Photos from our awesome staff and volunteers on Saturday for our day of pre-production!




















Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Media Blitz!

Holy cow...so much great media activity going on for the NY In'tl Latino Film Festival, NEXT WEEK! Check us out:

Today's NY Times Arts Section - The Listings
This weeks' Village Voice "Voice Choice"
Daily News: BIG piece this Sunday
Yesterday, Juan Caceres (programming director) was on Univision's morning show
Calixto was on the radio today chatting with none other than The Reverend Al Sharpton (check out Al's film, Trek to the Holy Land) and he also chatted with WBAI and HITN
We've had ads all week in Time Out NY, AM NY, Daily News and El Diario
Radio ads are running on WKTU and Amor
TV ads are running on WNBC and Telemundo

TOMORROW, Calixto and I will be on WNBC's Visiones (b/w 9:15-9:30AM) - we shot it yesterday with Lynda Baquero, who's a total doll

AND, this Monday, 07/27, Calixto and I are going to be LIVE on WNBC NY Nightly News with Chuck Scarborough sometime between 7-8:00PM (I'm crazy nervous but excited! Wish me luck - I've never done a live interview before...)

Have you seen us? More importantly, have you bought tickets? So many films, parties and celebs you don't want to miss. See ya on the red carpet on Tuesday!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Oh boy...getting close!

We are really down to the nitty-gritty details at this point. I had a great theater walk-through with the great clients at DIRECTV Mas. They're presenting our Closing Night film, The Line, and it's gonna be great. Plus, we locked in live music performances for the after-party at Prime and Ray Liotta is coming. I repeat - hot.

Tonight, our stylist, Oscar Montes de Oca (love him!), and I selected all of my NYILFF red carpet outfits for next week. We're all set and I'm so relieved. It's just one less thing to worry about.

Tomorrow AM, Calixto and I have an interview with Lynda Baquero from NBC's Visiones. Actually, I'm wearing an outfit Oscar and I picked out tonight!

Other news... Oh, we put the catalog to bed and I'm almost done with all event invites. Signage and step-and-repeats will be ready on Friday and, on Saturday, we're all going to the hotel to go through signage, and put together the registration bags and badges. Busy, busy...

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Cinedulce DVD Pre-Sales!

We just completed Cinedulce's very first shorts compilation and it's now available for pre-sales. Shorts on the DVD include:

The Tree, dir. Paul Starkman
Viernes Girl, dir. Aurora Guerrero
Chronicles of a Hitman, dir. Yuri Alves
By Standing, dir. Karen Lin
Lola, dir. Betty Garcia


We're so excited! Check it out!

Liz.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Is It Hot In Here or Is It Just The NYILFF?? (I know, doy...)

Of course, in this sweltering heat, I had several out-of-the-office meetings, which led me to the schvitzy subway one time too many. But, of course, I survived and managed to bust out a bunch of work. I had a great (2nd) walk-through at both of our theaters and a good meeting with our new hotel partner, The Roosevelt, which is s-w-a-n-k-y. Plus, the folks there are awesome. They're all so darn nice! If you're coming from out of state, you should definitely stay at The Roosevelt b/c 1. it's beautiful; and, 2. they are providing our guests special deals. Check it out:

To reserve rooms for the upcoming New York International Latino Film Festival, please contact Freedom Hospitality at: 1-888-447-5605 ext. 701 or via e-mail: Info@fh-corp.com and ask for the NYILFF rates. There are hotels ranging from ($179.00 for single or double rooms) around the festival venues. Special NYILFF rates are based on availability. Please book early.

All guests are subject to the hotel's check-in/check-out policy. All individual reservations must be cancelled 72 hours prior to arrival to avoid paying one night's lodging. The hotel will not be taking any direct reservation calls.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR THE 2009 NYILFF!! Confirmed celebs include John Leguizamo, Ray Liotta, Benjamin Bratt, Christina Milian, Calle 13, Ana de la Reguera, Jim Jones, Armand Assante, and that's just the beginning!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com

Gettin' It Done

We sold out our first film: "King of Paper Chasin'". How awesome is that?? So exciting! There's so much demand for those tickets that we're adding a second screening. Yep, you heard me - 2nd screening of "King of Paper Chasin'". Talk to me.

Did you see Aneudy in today's NYILFF ad in AM New York? The guy was flooded with calls. His star is rising so fast, we may have to let him walk the red carpet! ;-)

So, have I mentioned how busy I am during this final countdown to the festival? Riiight.

A snapshot of today: I...

...approved line signage and sent the 4 designs to the printer; reviewed step and repeats - made some changes and asked Michele to send them to the appropriate sponsors for review and approval; had a press conference call; had a Cafe Bustelo conference call; finished and submitted catalog credits; finished and submitted catalog thank you's; paid some pressing bills; discussed venue details for various after-parties; had customized Internet banners made for our friends at Remezcla and nocheLatina.com; planned tomorrow's NYLatinoFilm.com homepage redesign; reviewed with the relevant coordinator the processes for registration and volunteer meetings; chatted with Dennis about various HBO-related details; locked in the T-shirt design and approved the vendor; and, of course, answered about 75 emails and 25 phonecalls.

Now, that's called gettin' it done!

Liz.
p.l.h.h.
Cinedulce.com
NYLatinoFilm.com