New York International Latino Film Festival 2009

A retired New York City dancer has two dreams about present-day dangers that include terrorism, war, torture, the skyrocketing cost of living in New York -- and a dog. Fortunately, he brings dancing into the mix.

After the death of her mother, 12 year-old Emily would rather be left alone. When her father enlists Emily's Argentinian grandfather, Alberto, to watch over her, Emily is not shy about her displeasure with the arrangement, or her contempt for the man who "doesn't even speak English." A journey through her Los Angeles neighborhood with her grandfather, however, proves to be a delight, as Emily witnesses the foreign world of cigars, civility, conversation, Tango music and dance. Later on that night, in the warm glow of the kitchen, Alberto understands what Emily cannot express in words and Alberto offers his granddaughter her first tango lesson on the kitchen linoleum. Emily and Alberto dance a simple tango and discover a language they can share.

A woman guards a junkyard trailer loaded with medical supplies. A young boy, begging for food, breaks into her encampment, but she forces him back out into the terrifying world beyond. Then she realizes the mistake she's made.

Antonia Pantoja: Presente! tells the story of educator/organizer Antonia Pantoja, founder of the New York-based advocacy organization, Aspira. A passionate, indomitable leader, Pantoja worked with Puerto Rican "immigrant-citizens" to fight against second-class citizenship and to secure a bilingual voice. Through passionate personal testimony, never-before-seen home movies, archival footage, and the work of visual artist Juan Sanchez, the feisty Antonia Pantoja guides us through the Puerto Rican community's struggles and triumphs.

"Anytown" follows the lives of seven teenagers during the span of one highly charged day during which everything spins out of control. The day begins innocently enough until a high school prank has repercussions beyond anyone's wildest imagination. Bristling with a malevolent energy and nihilistic rage, with characters bereft of a moral compass and whose actions are stoked by a jingoistic post-9/11 media, "Anytown" is a haunting and relevant film that forces us to confront the harrowing and potent menace that lurks just underneath the surface of every town.

An HBO Sports Presentation. For the first time ever, the HBO Sports®/Live Star Entertainment Production Documentary “Assault in the Ring” reveals the real story behind the infamous 1983 Luis Resto-Billy Collins Jr. fight at Madison Square Garden -- a boxing match turned thirty-minute criminal assault. On June 16, 1983, in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden, the lives of two young men were forever changed during a controversial boxing match. For ten grueling rounds, a tough club fighter from Puerto Rico named Luis Resto fought Billy Collins Jr., an Irish golden boy. Resto was declared the winner, but within minutes, he and his trainer, Panama Lewis, were accused of tampering with the padding in his gloves -- in effect brutalizing Collins Jr. with his bare fists for thirty minutes. More than two decades later, Luis Resto is still a broken man, shouldering the burden of his opponent's death, a prison sentence and a lifetime ban from boxing. Resto relives that infamous night in New York City and exposes the long hidden details on what happened that night. The film confronts the realities of corruption, racism and class struggle that plague not just the sport of boxing, but America as a whole.

A shrewd female attorney with a grudge against a system that “screwed” her in more ways than one schemes to produce and distribute a wicked new designer drug based on an opium derivative to earn a fortune—and a measure of respect. To achieve her ends she teams up with three ex-clients who she got off for the sundry crimes they committed, each with a particular expertise that she will need to bring her plan to fruition.

Rafael, a conga player with a wounded heart and a chip on his shoulder, meets Melinda, an undocumented immigrant, who everyday deals with the very real prospect of deportation and of not seeing her daughter again. After these two suffering souls meet at a 'Baile,' they fall hard for one another, finding comfort in each other's troubled life and uncertain future. With his delicate fingers and quick hands, Rafael elevates the human spirit by playing the congas with indomitable passion, sparking the embers of love as only a true artist can.