New FACLA NEws
Ocotber 18, 2014

Historic Filipinotown Indie Film Festival Launching, A Resounding Success

Los Angeles—“They came, they watched, they enjoyed.”

Scores of Filipino American film aficionados, media people, film critics, academics, artists, directors and actors as well as ordinary film goers composed the crowd that attended the soft-launching of the Historic Filipinotown Independent Film Festival last Wednesday,October 15, 2014 at the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA)

Ms. Aleli Abrigo Neal, producer of the HIFI LLC hailed the soft launching of the Historic Filipinotown Indie Film Festival.She said , “ today we launch the first step and an added milestone towards the cultural and political empowerment of the Filipino-American community in the United States.

FilAm artist Art Garcia said, ” This is our own very own Indie film festival. Many film festival have featured the Filipino films but usually these are subsumed or incorporated with API or Asian Film Festivals.

For too long, we have been riding on some API festivals and do not have our own. Times are a changing. We thank you for coming to this launching of our festival. ”

Press Con and Program

Ms Neal who also opened the press conference after a sit-down dinner also said, ” “ we hail this auspicious event because it is not only ambitious but also a step toward patronizing and a showcase the Filipino and Filipino-American Indie films produced in the Philippines.

Especially at the time that the Philippine based Film Industry have faltered during the last twenty years. The Philippines was one has a thriving film industry that produces 200 films a year and have a lot of studios.”

FilAm artist Arturo Garcia, HIFIIFF EO Sid Balatan and Ms. Neal composed the panel that conducted and answered the questions from the press and the audience.

On the question if the HFIFF will show classic Filipino pictures, Ms. Neal answered, “Sure, we will.”

Meanwhile HFIFF CEO Balatan also said, “ We are starting to accept entries to our Indie Film Festival this coming December 1-15, 2014 and hope to showcase Filipino and FilAm Indie Films”

For more information please call Art Garcia at (213)241-0995 or Claire Julian at (213)484-1527 . You can also email us at [email protected]

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