Sin for Free!– Albuquerque’s Sin Fronteras Film Festival (taking place April 20, 21 and 28) is gearing up with a series of free previews. On Monday, April 2, the festival will screen an English-subtitled print of the Argentine documentary Hotel Gondolin . Director Fernando Lopez Escriva’s film examines a group of transgender women who are squatting in a hotel in Buenos Aires and follows their efforts to organize as sex workers. The screening, organized by UNM Students of Latin American Studies, will take place from 8 to 10 p.m. at the UNM SUB theater. Following the 52-minute film, transgender community activists will be on hand to speak and lead a discussion. This event is free and open to the public.
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Showcase Your Skills– The 3 rd Annual New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase, sponsored by the State Film Office and Gov. Bill Richardson, will take place starting May 17 at the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill. A call for entries has gone out, looking for films of all lengths, styles and subjects. The Showcase is a non-juried, noncompetitive series of open screenings designed to expose and celebrate the work of New Mexico filmmakers. This four-day event offers local directors a chance to have their short and feature-length work shown publicly on the big screen. All screenings will be free to attend and there is no entry fee to submit a film. This year, as a special bonus, favorite films selected by the audience will also be shown in three New Mexico cities around the state (venues to be announced). Narrative, documentary, animated and experimental films are welcome. The Guild will accept a total of 30 hours of films on a first-come, first-served basis. Deadline for entries is April 25. Entry forms are available at the Guild (3405 Central NE) or online at www.nmfilm.com.
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We Want You– The 5 th Annual Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is less than six months away, and planning has already begun on the week-long, two-city event. Organizers are currently looking for volunteers to help plan some events prior to and during the film festival. Volunteers are needed in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. If you are interested in climbing on board, please take a look at the festival’s website (www.closetcinema.org) and look under “volunteer positions” to see which jobs might work best for you. At this time, the festival is looking for screening committee members, a planning committee in Santa Fe, a fundraising committee and volunteers for the first fundraiser coming this May. If any of this sounds up your alley, contact organizers at volunteer@closetcinema.org.
