It's always with a little sadness and satisfied tiredness that we bid farewell to film festivals. San Diego being the place with perfect weather, we play host to various interesting events during the year. So it was with the 14th Annual San Diego Latino Film festival. The last weekend was a continuation of the days past. By Sunday, the energy has usually fizzled and people are thinking of next year -- not this time... The crowds held steady on Saturday and Sunday. In fact, the Closing Party held at Sin (night club in the Gaslamp Quarter) coincided with St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Though the area was cordoned off, for the people who braved the trek in order to dance it certainly paid off.

But a film festival is first and foremost about the films. SE ARRIENDA (Chile 2006), still a part of the Chilean showcase, is an excellent film. It is the life of Gaston Fernandez as he turns 34. This film starts off slow -- there is a temptation to leave. But, if you stay, you are rewarded by the story of a talented musician. Unfortunately, life has a way of forcing us to make choices. The transition to a modern market economy in Chile forces Gaston to become a real estate agent. The conflict between art and business -- the old and the new -- is what makes this movie worth watching. For the showing of ALAMBRISTA (USA 1977), the director, Robert Young, was in attendance personally. Last year, Young came with CAUGHT and Maria Conchita Alonso. He is the kind of man that readily deals with the marginalized people on our culture. The immigrant coming in from Mexico -- the story hasn't changed in the 30 years that this film has been around. Young talked about what made him made this film initially. Sadly, nothing has changed.

On a totally different front, GISAKU (Spain 2006) was part of the animation showcase. The film held such potential but, it could not rise from an what looked lik an attempt from the Spanish Tourist Board to make a commercial about Spain. Too bad, a good film would have said volumes more about the "New Spain." Technically, it was great anime material.

Far from the seriousness of the day, LOS 2 LADOS DE LA CAMA (Spain Video 2006) was a comedy of Shapesperian proportions. Whether you agree with the morality of the situation or not, this sexual farce was wicked in its humor. The boisterous crowd was well entertained (and it was another of those full houses...). The singing and dancing a la Bollywood was hilarious. Ultimately, however, the story went beyond moral sexuality into areas of friendship.

MAGMA, ENERGY & THE LAST PAGE (Video Shorts Spain) is what we were expecting from Spanish cinema. ENERGY (Tina Olivares 2006) is the story of an aspiring female writer -- yet it could have been any artist really. She is trying to make it, to succeed. Along the way, we get to think about success, the craft of writing, making it.

LA ULTIMA PAGINA (Cesar Rodrguez-Moroy2006 BetaSP) tells the story of a couple breaking up in a novel way. The techniques used were incredibly adept. Likewise, the powerful forces of sexual attraction are shown in a great novel way in MAGMA (Vicente Navarro 2006 35mm). This film shows what filmmaking is all about. Words were not needed to convey a visual sense of the story. EL PRESTIDIGITADOR (Ugo Sanz 2006 35mm) is a funny take on what we all must have felt as children when forced by the pressures of tests and good grades.

Another film that played to a full house and had a wicked sense of humor was SEXO, AMOR Y OTRAS PERVERSIONES (Mexico 2006). This film shows, in short vignettes, what Mexican Cinema is capable of presenting since it came of age. This film was not only about sex and porn stars -- it was about the humanness of relationships. It dealt with love and sex as much as it did with body parts (and those were visually well shown too). High production values make this film a must see. Obviously, word got around. People came to see various Mexican stars such as Tiare Scanda, Claudia Ramirez, Fernando Carrillo, and many more. It was the perfect ending to a highly charged 11 days of films of all stripes. All that we are left with is the wish for yet another 185 films like this next year.