NYILFF Programming Announcement!

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL LATINO FILM FESTIVAL (NYILFF) ANNOUNCES ITS OPENING NIGHT FILM “THE DRY LAND” STARRING AMERICA FERRERA AND WILMER VALDERRAMA AND “LA SOGA” STARRING MANNY PEREZ AND DENISE QUIÑONES AS ITS CLOSING NIGHT FILM

“TRÓPICO DE SANGRE” (“TROPIC OF BLOOD”) STARRING MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ IS PRESENTED ON DOMINICAN NIGHT

New York, N.Y. May 31, 2010 – The New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) announces THE DRY LAND as its Opening Night and LA SOGA as its Closing Night films unspooling in New York City from Tuesday, July 27 to Sunday, August 1, 2010 at the Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 9 (260 West 23rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues) and the School of Visual Arts Theater (333 West 23rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues). Additionally, the gripping TRÓPICO DE SANGRE will headline Dominican Night on Thursday, July 29 at Columbia University Alumni Auditorium (168^th Street at Fort Washington). Tickets are available beginning June 25 at the festival’s box office at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 9 and the festival's web site: www.NYLatinoFilm.com. NYILFF is presented by HBO™.

“NYILFF is very excited to be presenting these outstanding films,” says Calixto Chinchilla, Executive Director NYILFF. “Each year we bring audiences better and more varied Latino content starring some of the biggest stars from Hollywood and Latin America and throughout the world. Our Opening, Closing and Dominican Night films really exemplify the wide range of Latino cinema today.”

OPENING NIGHT, Presented by Johnnie Walker

“THE DRY LAND” - Starring America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama.

Tuesday, July 27 @ 7 PM @ School of Visual Arts Theatre – 333 W. 23^rd St. (bet. 8 & 9)

James (Ryan O'Nan) returns from Iraq to face a new battle -- reintegrating into his small-town life in Texas. His young wife (America Ferrera), his mother (Melissa Leo) and his best friend (Jason Ritter), provide support but they can't fully comprehend the pain and suffering he feels since his tour of duty ended. Lonely, James reconnects with an Army buddy (Wilmer Valderrama), who provides him the compassion and camaraderie he desperately needs. A taut, moving story of redemption and reconstruction, "The Dry Land" is about one soldier's war to reconnect with his own soul.

CLOSING NIGHT, Co-Presented by Heineken

“LA SOGA” – Starring Manny Perez (WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, EL CANTANTE) and Denise Quiñones (Miss Universe 2001, SMALLVILLE on the WB)

Saturday, July 31 @ 7 PM @ School of Visual Arts Theatre – 333 W. 23^rd St. (bet. 8 & 9)

In a poor, corrupt neighborhood in the Dominican Republic, 10-year-old Luisito witnesses his father’s vicious murder. Preying upon Luisito’s desire for revenge, General Colon (Juan Fernandez), the head of the secret police, takes Luisito under his wing and transforms him into a heartless killer. Twenty years later, Luisito (Manny Perez) is Colon’s top assassin, driven by the promise to face his father's killer. Into Luisito's world comes Jenny, whose tenderness rekindles his long-dormant conscience. As his eyes open to the corruption around him, Luisito realizes the price for altering his life's path may be his life itself. LA SOGA is a searing portrayal of one man’s quest for redemption. LA SOGA is an action-packed thriller set in the Dominican Republic and New York City and is inspired by true events. The film is being released through 7-57 Releasing on August 13 in NYC and the top 10 U.S. Markets.

DOMINICAN NIGHT, Presented by Heineken

“TRÓPICO DE SANGRE” (Tropic of Blood) – Starring Michelle Rodriguez, Cesar Évora

Thursday, July 29 @ 7 PM @ Columbia University Alumni Auditorium (168^th at Fort Washington)

By the late 1950’s, Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo's reign of terror over the Dominican Republic had lasted nearly thirty years, and yet the Mirabel sisters, led by feisty, passionate Minerva, would come to represent the greatest threat to his regime. Daring to stand up against him, they soon became folk heroes to the oppressed Dominican people. Their cold-blooded murder at the hands of Trujillo's thugs would prove to be the fearsome dictator's ultimate undoing.