Building on last year’s success, the “Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America” film festival drew record crowds during the four day event that showcased nine films and two panel discussions

Sponsored by Ternium and Tenaris and co-organized by Fundación PROA and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the film festival was held April 26th – April 29th.

The festival was extremely well received leaving standing room only at many of the film screenings. Nearly 800 people attended the public kick-off event on Friday, April 27th held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and nearly 200 clients attended the private screening and cocktail reception held exclusively for Ternium and Tenaris on Saturday evening.

Showcased were nine films from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela with topics ranging from teenage boredom to the construction of Mexico City’s freeway. Several of the filmmakers such as Alexis Dos Santos (“Glue”, Argentina), Felipe Martínez (“Bluff”, Colombia), Francisco Vargas (“El Violín”, México), Chico Teixeira (“A Casa de Alice”, Brasil) y Alberto Arvelo (“Tocar y Luchar”, Venezuela) were on hand at the screenings to introduce their films, respond to questions from the audience and participate in the panel discussions which were moderated by Richard Pena, Program Director for the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Director of the New York Film Festival and Marc Zimmermann, Chair of Modern and Classical Languages at the University of Houston.

“For seven of the directors whose works are featured, this is their first full-length film,” said Peter Marzio, MFAH Director. “That is exactly what Paolo Rocca, Chairmain of Ternium, had in mind when he came to us with the idea for this festival. He was enthusiastic about visionary young directors and the images they capture.”

Arvelo’s “Tocar y Luchar” (To Play and to Fight), a heartwarming documentary about the children who perform with the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System, was screened at a private reception for customers hosted by Ternium and Tenaris on Saturday, April 28. Before the screening, Arvelo spoke about his motivation for producing the film. He confessed that the inspiration for the film was drawn from his own experience as a boy playing the cello for one of these orchestras. He wanted people around the world to know about Venezuela’s life-changing program.

“The film is essentially about hope—rebuilding children’s spirit through the weapons of art,” explained Arvelo. “I started playing cello when I was 9 years old in this program—so somehow it is also a film about myself.”

The private film screening was followed by a reception at the museum.

“Ternium has deep roots in Latin American with a physical presence in Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico. It is important for us to share the richness of our culture and support the communities in which we operate through an endeavor such as this film festival. We are honored to sponsor the Latin Wave and bring to Houston these films from six Latin American countries,” expressed Regulo Salinas, General Director for the Northern Area.