The Man Behind the Camera

Most Chicagoans know Joe Miñoso as the dependable firefighter Joe Cruz on NBC’s hit drama “Chicago Fire,” where he’s been winning viewers’ hearts since 2012. But this latest achievement proves Miñoso’s talents extend well beyond acting, showcasing his profound storytelling abilities and vision as a director.

Born to Dominican parents, Miñoso has long been a respected figure in Chicago’s entertainment scene. His move behind the camera represents not just a career evolution but a deeper dive into storytelling that resonates with his cultural roots and the immigrant experience in America.

“Paper Flower”: A Story That Matters

“Paper Flower” tells the poignant story of a 10-year-old Latino “DREAMer” who must care for his seven-year-old sister while their family navigates the complex and often heartbreaking challenges of immigration. What makes this short film particularly special is how it illustrates the way imagination becomes a survival tool for children facing harsh realities beyond their control.

In just a few minutes of screen time, Miñoso manages to capture the innocence, resilience, and hope that define many young lives caught in the immigration system. The film avoids heavy-handed political messaging, instead focusing on the human element that transcends policy debates.

“I wanted to show how children process trauma through creativity,” Miñoso explained in a brief statement. “Sometimes imagination is the only safe space available to kids going through impossible situations.”

Festival Triumph

The film’s victory at the 41st Chicago Latino Film Festival carries special significance, as the festival has grown into one of the most important showcases for Latino filmmakers in North America. The Audience Choice Award specifically reflects how deeply the film connected with viewers from diverse backgrounds.

Festival Director Pepe Vargas praised “Paper Flower” for its “authentic voice and visual poetry,” noting that “Joe brings the sensitivity of an actor who understands emotional truth to his directorial work.”

The win places Miñoso in distinguished company among previous award recipients who have gone on to significant careers in filmmaking, both in Hollywood and in international cinema.

What’s Next

For those eager to see “Paper Flower,” the International Latino Cultural Center will be presenting the film along with other festival shorts favorites at their Reel Film Club showcase on Tuesday, May 27th at Facets Film Forum in Chicago. During this special event, Miñoso will be presented with the Audience Choice Award statuette designed by Mexican sculptor David Camorlinga Tagle. In addition to this prestigious recognition Joe will be presented with a Studio Version of Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve video editing software.

As for Miñoso himself, sources close to the actor-turned-director suggest this may be just the beginning of his filmmaking journey. While he continues his role on “Chicago Fire,” he’s reportedly developing several new projects that explore themes of identity, family, and cultural heritage.

A Chicago Story

What makes Miñoso’s achievement particularly meaningful is how it represents Chicago’s vibrant intersection of television production, independent filmmaking, and cultural diversity. As one of the city’s most recognizable Latino actors, his move into directing signals new opportunities for authentic representation both in front of and behind the camera.

“Paper Flower” arrives at a crucial time when stories about immigration and childhood are often politicized and dehumanized. Through the universal language of visual storytelling, Miñoso reminds us that behind every policy debate are real children using every tool at their disposal—including their boundless imagination—to make sense of a complex world.

For a city that prides itself on both artistic excellence and cultural diversity, Joe Miñoso’s directorial debut stands as a testament to Chicago’s continuing importance as an incubator for meaningful, socially relevant cinema.

The Reel Film Club will showcase “Paper Flower” along with other Film Festival Favorite shorts on Tuesday, May 27th at 7 PM (reception at 6 PM) at Facets Film Forum, 1517 West Fullerton Ave. Tickets are $25 ($20 for ILCC & Facets members) and include a reception with appetizers and cash bar (21+)<.

The Audience Choice Award for Best Fiction Feature went to Dear Gentlemen, actor and novelist Patricia Castañeda’s directorial debut about the women’s suffrage movement in 1950s Colombia led by lawyer Esmeralda Arboleda starring Julieth Restrepo (Neftlix’s Griselda and The Residence). The Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary went to Norita, Jayson McNamara and Andrea Tortonese’s documentary about Norita Cortiña, co-founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and her lifelong struggle for human rights in Argentina. The documentary was co-produced by Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein and Gustavo Santaolalla, who also provided the score.

Finally, Chicago Fire’s Joe Miñoso’s auspicious and touching directorial debut, Paper Flower, the story of two young children trying to make sense of their parents’ immigration struggles through their own imagination, won the Audience Choice Award for Best Short.

Even though CLFF is a non-competitive festival, since 1993 the public has had the opportunity to vote for their favorite film in several categories for the Audience Choice Award. 

In addition to the Audience Choice Award statuette designed by Mexican sculptor David Camorlinga Tagle, the winners will receive Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Studio post production software valued at $295. The software combines editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics and audio post production into one tool, allowing filmmakers to work with camera original quality images throughout the entire process. With worldwide offices across the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia, Blackmagic Design is one of the world’s leading innovators and manufacturers of creative video technology. With its long history in post-production editing and engineering, Blackmagic has created some of the most talked about products in the industry, including affordable high-end quality editing workstations. 

The Chicago Latino Film Festival had its best post-pandemic run this year. Out of 100 screenings, 32 were sold out or almost sold out. The Festival saw an increase of 44% in sales and attendance over last year. 2,000 students attended the Student Outreach Screenings, three days of free morning screenings held at the Landmark Century Center that provide students from across the Chicago Metro area the opportunity to learn about the diversity of other cultures, the possibility to connect with their cultural heritage, and the prospect of meeting film directors/actors/producers to discuss viable career options in the arts. 

“Audience attendance and response went above and beyond our wildest dreams and goals. We implemented a number of new initiatives and mechanisms to drive audiences to our theaters, and educate them on our diverse slate of films; the results speak for themselves. Moviegoers are still looking for that unique connection to other cultures and experiences that only the movies can provide, especially in these challenging times. This 41st festival reenergized us; we are now looking forward to the countless possibilities the 42nd has to offer,” said Pepe Vargas, executive director and founder of the International Latino Cultural Center and the Chicago Latino Film Festival.

The Chicago Latino Film Festival, held April 3rd-April 14th, presented 51 features and 30 shorts from Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States in three venues throughout the city: Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave.; Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio St.; and the Landmark Century Center Theatres, 2828 N. Clark St. 

The ILCC is now looking ahead to the 42nd Chicago Latino Film Festival, April 16-27, 2026. Submissions for the 42nd edition of the Festival open September 2nd, 2025.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

The winners and runner-ups of the 41st Chicago Latino Film Festival Audience Choice Awards are:

• Feature/Winner: Dear Gentlemen/Estimados señores (Colombia; Director: Patricia Castañeda): In 1954, a group of women led by lawyer Esmeralda Arboleda (Julieth Restrepo) embarked on a battle to bring women’s suffrage to the National Constituent Assembly of Colombia. They endured personal attacks from their opponents, but their resilience proved decisive. In her feature film debut, actress, novelist and screenwriter Patricia Castañeda portrays with empathy and courage the uphill battle Arboleda and her peers faced in their struggle against a patriarchal regime.
  • Second Place: Underdog/Correr para vivir (Mexico; Director: Gerardo Dorantes): In his feature film debut, Gerardo Dorantes explores how organized crime has penetrated the heart of the Tarahumara community in the state of Chihuahua through the story of two highly competitive brothers who want to become the best runners in the world. 
  • Third Place: What Rhymes with Magdalena (United States; Director: José Pérez): Chicago filmmaker José Pérez’s feature debut centers on​​ Magdalena, a poet whose relationships have only ever ended in painful heartbreak. The night before a major decision, Magdalena is determined to break the pattern and tracks down her eight exes, desperate for closure. But reconnecting with them proves difficult as, one by one, they challenge Magdalena’s views in unexpected ways. 

• Documentary/Winner: Norita (Argentina/USA; Directors: Jayson McNamara, Andrea Tortonese): Executive produced by Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein, and Gustavo Santaolalla (who also provides the score), Norita follows Nora Cortiña, co-founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, as she seeks justice for her disappeared son during the dark days of Argentina’s dictatorship. Norita is a tribute to a heroic, complicated woman who passed away last year at the age of 94
  • Second Place: The Most Beautiful Deaths in the World/Las muertes más bellas del mundo (El Salvador/USA; Directors: Quique Avilés, Ellie Walton): Five artists whose families escaped to Washington, DC from El Salvador’s violent civil war during the 80s come to terms with its legacy. Avilés and Walton’s documentary follows a poet, a dancer and several musicians; their work, personal archives and stories offer an intimate account of a community in search of its own identity, salvation and happiness.
  • Third Place: I Am My Grandma’s Granddaughter/Nieta de mi abuela (Dominican Republic; Director: Tatiana Fernández Geara): “Don’t end up alone like I did.” This plea from her grandmother Teresa before she passed away haunts Tatiana Fernández Geara. Filled with questions about what it means to “not end up alone,” the 40-year-old documentary filmmaker embarks on a journey through family archives, old films and hundreds of letters, constructing —or trying to— a story about love, expectations and solitude.

• Shorts/Winner: Paper Flower (USA; Director: Joe Miñoso): Chicago Fire’s Joe Miñoso tells the story of a 10-year-old Latino “DREAMer” who has to care for his seven-year-old sister through their family’s immigration struggle by using the power of his imagination.
  • Second Place: Arranca (Puerto Rico/USA; Director: Lilliana M. Molina): Carmen is a 75-year-old woman in the early stages of dementia. Laura, the eldest out of her four children, lives a hectic life but she always makes time to take care of her mother. Things get out of control for Laura when Carmen can’t find her precious emerald ring, a gift from her beloved husband Sebastian.
  • Third Place: Unless We Dance/A menos que bailemos (Colombia; Directors: Hanz Rippe Gabriel, Fernanda Pineda Palencia): Dance teacher Jonathan undertakes an initiative to rescue young people from the crime that stalks Quibdó, a city with the highest homicide rates in Colombia. This is how Black Boys Chocó emerged, a dance company where hundreds of young people try to overcome difficult social situations through dance. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL LATINO CULTURAL CENTER

With the Festival behind them, the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago is ready to continue its year-round program of cultural events including concerts, dance presentations, plays, culinary experiences…and film, among so many other disciplines.

The Center’s Chicago Latino Music Series returns in May and June with a Latin Jazz double whammy at Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave: legendary Cuban saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Paquito D’Rivera, in his first Chicago-area performance of the year, alongside guitarist Fareed Haque and multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy (Wednesday, May 14), and Latin Grammy award winning Puerto Rican trumpetist Charlie Sepulveda and his group The Turnaround (Friday, June 6). This summer, the ILCC will present the second annual Levitt VIBE Chicago Music Series in several city parks including Riis Park, 6100 W. Fullerton Ave. Sponsored by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, this groundbreaking series of free concerts will be presented every Saturday for 10 consecutive weeks from June 14-August 16. Details about this festival and other concerts will be announced soon.

The International Latino Cultural Center’s film programming continues with their monthly Reel Film Club at Facets, 1517 West Fullerton Avenue. Held on the last Tuesday of each month (except March, April and December), the Reel Film Club celebrates a theme night with a reception and screening showcasing films and filmmakers from Latin America, Spain and Portugal followed by a post-screening discussion. Then, during the summer and in collaboration with the Chicago Parks District, the Center will present four family-friendly films every Wednesday from July 6-30 in different parks throughout the city as part of their 19th annual Films in the Park program. Films for both series will also be announced soon. For more information on this and other events, visit latinoculturalcenter.org.

Adriana is the queen bee and general of a tightly run household of four that includes  husband Alfredo, and their children, Lucia and Felipe. Everything must be perfectly structured: the family unit should consist of only four people; her furniture, decoration, even the way dinner is served on individual platters follow rigid geometrical patterns. Those strict parameters are jeopardized by the birth of her third child, Tomás. She solves it by locking him in a closet a la Harry Potter and forcing him to hide in the bushes outdoors. But Tomás turns the tables on the entire family when he discovers the books of one Ann Land in his sister’s bedroom, and the battle for control of this household and a new alpha begins.

A former Economics student turned entrepreneur and even University Dean, Daniel Rodríguez Risco started making short films in 1998 releasing one per year until 2005. His first short film, El colchón (1998), received the award for Best Short Film at Conacine (Peru). His next short, Triunfador (2019), was selected at the Festival du Court Métrages at Clermont-Ferrand and was distributed internationally by Canal-Plus. Thanks to these two shorts, he received a scholarship to study a Master of Fine Arts in Film at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. 

Three of Daniel’s six features which were selected by the Chicago Latino Film Festival: El acuarelista (The Watercolorist, 2008, 25th edition of the Festival); El vientre (The Womb, 2014, 31st edition), and Siete Semillas (Seven Seeds, 2016, 35th edition), starring Javier Cámara and Federico Luppi in his last on-screen appearance. 

We spoke to Daniel about the film’s visual design, Ayn Rand and who in their right mind would marry Adriana:

How was the idea for Cuadrilátero born and how does the film fit in your filmography in terms of styles, themes and even personal obsessions?

The trigger for the story was a commentary I overheard, by coincidence, from my wife who was talking on the phone to a friend who was about to give birth to her third child. When my wife hung up, she confirmed that they were talking about how this boy would change her friend’s family routine and dynamic. If it is true that the birth of a child can bring about a beautiful change, at the same time it provokes a series of complications—instability. This coincided with the release of my short Cuellos Almidonados [shown at the 39th CLFF] where I explored the dynamics of a family with three children where the mother is “the steward of order” and the younger son an “agent of disruption,” so the anecdote fit like a glove and allowed me to further explore this idea. When it comes to my filmography, Cuadrilátero follows the same line of my shorts which are these atemporal, non-geographical, slightly autobiographical short fables.

You present a very precise, geometrically perfect household and world where everything, from the furniture to the hill that leads the family to the car garage follow a specific rigid stricture. It’s also rather monochromatic and austere. Can you talk a bit about the film’s production design?

I had a lot of fun creating this quadrilateral, monochromatic world with my production designer Edi Mérida and my director of photography Miguel Valencia. We all collaborated on Cuellos Almidonados. To visually show the lack of communication [in this family], we decided to place each character at the border of the frame and add weight over them (beams, rafters) so that they would feel as if they were being crushed. Once you define how your film is going to look, which is like the rules of a game, it is key that you do not steer away from it to maintain the film’s unity and cohesion. One of our rules was: less is more.

We see Lucía read a book written by one Ann Land, and in fact, nothing but books by this author on her shelves. This author, in fact, inspires Tomás to take matters into his own hand. Is Ann Land a wink to Ayn Rand? And why?

Funny that you noticed that. My dad was a huge fan of Ayn Rand so I grew up reading her books: The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Night of October 16th, The Virtue of Selfishness (Gordon Gekko’s speech in Wall Street is taken from that book). I must have read everything she wrote. I believe something as radical, or even more so, than Rand’s “Objectivism” —[in defense] of an exacerbated individualism— most have stuck in Adriana’s, the mother’s, mind for her to behave the way she does. And I imagine she must have passed Land’s almost Darwinian ideology to her husband and children, except for Tomás who injects himself with it, encouraging him to rebel.

One of the most troubling aspects of your film is that we never know what social, political or even family-driven factors drove Adriana to be so severe, so authoritarian. What was her environment growing up like? And who in their right mind would marry her?

The answer to these two questions are tied to your previous one. Adriana must have grown up in an environment where that culture of egoism, in contrast to an altruistic one that defends the common good, was the norm. We never know the reasons why Alfredo, her husband, submits to Adriana the way he does. I didn’t find it pertinent to go into his backstory but in my mind, he must have some sort of moral debt with her: he must have been unfaithful to her at some point and in order not to lose his family, he took on a passive role.

In the end, this is a movie about the use and abuse of power and the cruelty it inspires. And we live in a world where cruelty for the mere sake of being cruel seems to be the norm for many governments. In what ways does this family represent a microcosm of the world we currently live in?

Your question reminds me of that memorable verse from John Donne’s poem: “No man is an island”. To tell you the truth, some of my movies, the most personal ones, are an artistic recreation of past events that could have become either painful or traumatic. Treating them artistically, so to say, allows me to distance myself from them, to look at them from the other side and even laugh at them. Cuadrilátero is one of those cases of artistic expression as therapy. Which is why it’s been a pleasant surprise to discover how the public goes beyond this family microcosm to themes like the ones you mention. I didn’t think I was making a political movie but I know I did thanks to the audience.

Cuadrilátero will screen on Saturday, April 12th at 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 13, 8 p.m. at the Landmark Century Center Theatres.

One of those friends is Ecuadorian filmmaker Sebastián Cordero. Born in Ecuador, Sebastián spent his childhood in Quito and his teenage years in Paris where he fell in love with the movies. He studied screenwriting at the University of South California in Los Angeles and returned to Ecuador in 1995 with the idea of making a feature film in a country with an almost non-existent film industry. His first film, Ratas, ratones, rateros was an Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival in 1999 where it started its worldwide tour of over 50 festivals. His next film, Crónicas, starring John Leguizamo, won the NHK International Filmmakers Award at Sundance and premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2004. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, Sebastián’s next film, Rabia, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in late 2009 and won for Best Film, Photography and Supporting Actor at Malaga Film Festival. He made his English-language debut with the science-fiction film Europa Report (2013) which was released in the United States by Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures. 

Sebastián makes his debut as a documentary filmmaker with Al otro lado de la niebla (Behind the Mist). In it, he is invited by Iván Vallejo, the first Ecuadorian to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in 1999, to make a film that would commemorate his trajectory. Together, they travel to Nepal, where Iván shares his own life experiences and Sebastián begins to come to terms with his own legacy and future. Stunningly shot by Sebastián himself, Al otro lado de la niebla is a film that invites us to look within ourselves and to take a deep breath and appreciate our surroundings.

We spoke to Sebastián about his move to documentary filmmaking:

We’ve featured a good number of your films at the Festival. How would you describe your relationship to it?

I have a lot of love and respect for the Chicago Latino Film Festival. I presented my first feature, Ratas ratones rateros, there 25 years ago and I was taken by surprise by the great work Pepe Vargas and his team did in reaching out to Chicago’s Latino audiences, creating, truly, a parallel cultural space where our identity could be shared with my fellow Ecuadorians (or anyone from any Latin American country really), with a surprising reach to the public of migrant origin. I’ve attended many festivals that aspire to reach a specific niche and are not successful. The Chicago Latino Film Festival has a surprising reach, thanks to its grassroots efforts, and is able to connect Latin American cinema to the Spanish-speaking communities. This may seem obvious but it is still one of the greatest and most difficult challenges in the United States.

Except for Europa Report, your one and only science-fiction film, the thriller has dominated your filmography. With Al otro lado de la niebla (Behind the Mist), you jump to the other side, to the documentary form, when it is usually the other way around (documentary filmmakers making their transition to fiction features). Why did you want to make a documentary at this stage of your life?

I have dedicated these past few years to exploring several different paths to the creative process. I first started with theater, adapting my own film Rabia into an immersive experience. I wanted to be able to see the audience from different perspectives and also explore new ways of telling the story. Parallel to this exploration, I began to feel the need to tell more personal stories and the documentary has allowed me to do that. In the case of Al otro lado de la niebla (Behind the Mist), the personal element grew in a very organic way, without the film having been planned that way, and it is that personal element that I like the most about it. I am currently editing a documentary that is even more personal. I keep exploring, it’s part of my growth as an artist. 

At the beginning of the documentary, you acknowledge that when Iván Vallejo invited you to shoot it, you had no clear idea how you would finish it or even what shape it would take. How were those initial shooting days like for you? Were you joined by any additional crew members or were you a one-man band? And when did you finally come up with its structure?

It was only me, Iván and our guide during the shoot. I had a small camera, two lenses, the lightest tripod I could find and a digital recorder. Everything fit in a backpack. So, yes, I was a one man band. At the beginning we thought we would split the shoot in two parts: one part in Nepal and the other in China. But the pandemic forced us to change our plans, so we canceled our second trip.

What was interesting is that I felt that that first trip would be part of the process of prior research and that I would be using very little of that material, so I felt free to shoot whatever I wanted and capture anything that caught my eye. Later, as I began to edit the film, I felt grateful for having taken that spontaneous approach. When the second part of the trip was cancelled, I thought that I no longer had a documentary but it was during the pandemic shutdown that I found the structure which focused as much on myself as on Iván.

Has Iván seen the documentary? What did he make of it?

Iván loves the documentary, but I was really afraid of showing it to him the first time because I felt that maybe it would not meet his expectations. But he loved the fact, that it was so personal, so questioning, and that it shows both of us as characters who are philosophical antagonists that learn how to share the beauty of life.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am finishing that documentary I told you before, and I hope to begin shooting my new fiction feature in early 2026, a project that I’ve been dreaming to do since I was a teen,

Al otro lado de la niebla will screen alongside the Brazilian short Pastrana directed by Gabriel Motta on Wednesday, April 9th at 5:45 p.m. and Saturday, April 12, 8:45 p.m. at the Landmark Century Center Theatres.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the 44-year filmmaker has written and directed several shorts as well as miniseries that are currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+. She has also worked as an assistant director alongside Francis Ford Coppola (Tetro) and Héctor Olivera (El mural), and even as a gaffer for Damián Szifron (Tiempo de valientes). She taught screenwriting at the University of Buenos Aires between 2003 and 2006.

Mariana talked to us about her journey as a filmmaker, working with actors, and the way power and toxic masculinity curtail desire:

Your journey to making Linda began with your shorts Las hormigas (2016) and Error 404 (2016) and continued with your work as a scriptwriter for such miniseries as Planners and Barrabrava (both 2023). When did you finally decide to make the dive to feature filmmaking and how did all these experiences prepare you for it?

I believe the idea of directing a feature film is always there in the mind of any filmmaker. It is a long process, not because of the making of the movie, but, in my case, because it was a product of so many experiences. After those shorts, I shot another one, Pivote, as well as music videos and I continued writing. Those miniseries were released the same year but were written years before. I also took part in the writing of División Palermo (for Netflix) and in 2022 I took on my first big project as a director, El mejor infarto de mi vida (The Best Heart Attack of My Life, a miniseries for Disney+). That project involved many weeks of intense production which gave me enough experience and certainty. The idea of directing a feature was always there and finally it happened thanks to a producer who is dear to me. That is how the process of telling such a complex and uncomfortable story as Linda began. It was a great challenge.

You share writing credits with seven other writers. Can you describe the story’s origins, how the idea evolved, and what was it like to work on it collaboratively?

I have always been interested in family dynamics, the power play within these spaces and how they can be pierced by beauty and sexuality. On the other hand, I was interested in exploring the distance that separates Linda’s and Luisa’s roles as women, each one’s freedom, Luisa’s role as a mother and how she sees her own body. How much real freedom comes with money? How much power does beauty have? How much happiness does hypercontrol bring? What happens when a domestic employee who should play an invisible role in this family, represents its canons of beauty and its members can’t help but feel attracted? Linda’s script is the result of this search, of these questions that interest me and have complex answers. In the course of the script’s development we kept asking more and more questions, keeping an open conversation so we could rethink these themes. The final script was written by Sabrina [Campos], Nancy [Gay] and myself, but it began with the collaboration of other scriptwriters. There are so many of us!

You built a solid ensemble around Eugenia “China” Suárez, who plays Linda in the film. They understand that a simple gesture can say so much more than words. And this is a film full of gestures and tiny reactions. Describe the casting process and how you directed these actors.

I fervently believe in the kind of acting that is subtle, small, that is capable of expressing an enormous amount of layers in a character. All the characters in Linda are complex, they are full of contradictions. The idea here was to build on that complexity through gestures, through erratic, almost imperceptible actions that would gradually generate a degree of tension. These are characters with so much volume, with so many layers, as ambiguous as real people. With this in mind, we found a wonderful ensemble, with whom we worked in building this universe with enormous enthusiasm. Each rehearsal produced an exchange of ideas that nourished the story. They are all very talented and to work collaboratively with them was a real treat.

The fact that Claudio has security cameras all over the house and that he spends a significant amount of time not only monitoring the goings-on of his staff but also of his family caught my attention. It stands as another way to exercise power.

Cameras in these neighborhoods, in these wealthy households, are pretty common but when it is used as a form of security, you want to see clearly everything that it entails. Camilo exerts total control over the house’s spaces and people. He can spy without being seen from the comfort of his office, he can stick his nose in everybody’s business, which he does. I think the saying that “families are the building blocks of society” offers us a way to think about how a family’s microbehaviors are duplicated by society. It is a metaphor of life as we live it. Cameras are another tool for the powerful, but in the end that tool delivers a terrible blow to him. A well deserved one, I think.

Above all, this is a film about desire and how societal norms, toxic masculinity and the need to preserve the status quo repress it.

The film talks about connecting to your own desire and how life or certain social norms repress it, particularly in certain family spaces. It also talks about an old toxic masculinity that is passed from generation to generation: the gifts, the promises, the supposed care, the lessening of a beautiful object. It’s interesting how Linda alters the supposed established order and reconnects each member of the family to their own desire. That manipulation, even when it is not done on purpose, overturns the table of power and places her in the position of having control. That’s where social status no longer matters, but at the same time, real control is on the side of the moneyed. At the end of the day, the most vulnerable are still vulnerable.

Linda will screen on Sunday April 6 at 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday, April 8, 8:30 p.m. alongside the Nicaraguan short Adelaida by Tamara Hernández at the Landmark Century Center Theatres.

The year is 2147: environmental pollution after a deadly chemical war has reduced the world’s population to extinction level. Tania, a conservation biologist, has been working in finding a way to prevent the extinction of her species with the help of VIDA, an Artificial Intelligence system with whom she has forged a symbiotic relationship. But the arrival of Azarias, a traveler with a hidden past, throws off kilter the safe, almost sterile environment both scientist and AI felt so secure in.

Leticia talks to us about why she wanted to do a science-fiction movie, the challenges of making the film and her next project, a musical biopic about the Queen of Merengue, Milly Quezada:

Your feature debut, Love Child (La hija natural, 2011), won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature at the 27th Chicago Latino Film Festival. What does the Festival mean for you?

Not only was attending the Festival with my first feature a wonderful experience because of the award, but it was also the first film festival I attended as a filmmaker! It was the best start to my career not only because of the warm welcome from the moviegoers and from Pepe (Vargas, executive director of the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago), and also because of the experience of bringing a movie that is so representative of our country to an international audience. Up to this day, it stands as a wonderful memory and an experience from which I learned a lot.

From the Santo movies to graphic novels like El Eternauta to the short stories and novels by Yoss, science-fiction has left its mark in Latin American literature and cinema. And yet, it is still very rare in Caribbean cinema. Even so, we have two science-fiction features from the region at the Festival this year, including yours. Why do you think science-fiction has yet to be seen as a viable genre in our countries?

I do think our countries see science-fiction as a viable genre. I, at least, have a very particular opinion on the matter. For me, it comes from a need to express ourselves, to not limit ourselves to the type of stories we can tell, not only about the past and the present but also about the future. I know that, often, our countries’ societal needs, the problems we may have politically, socially, about poverty, often impede us from having a vision of the future, right? But I think it is a healthy sign that as an industry we want to tell stories, that we want to reclaim the right we have as Latinos and Caribbeans to offer our perspective and tell stories that express our doubts about the future from a particular perspective.

How was the idea for Aire.Just Breathe born? How were you able to pull it off?

The first challenge was the budget, because generally the science-fiction films we are used to seeing on the big screen are the product of a much larger industry with much larger budgets, so my director of photography, my production designer and myself had to sit down and figure out a strategic way to use the resources we had at hand. One of the decisions we made, and it was really a way to be coherent with the film’s narrative, was that 95% of the materials used in the set design had to be from recycled materials. That, of course, helped bring down costs and gave the sets, especially the bunker, a unique aesthetic.

I came up with the idea for Aire. Just Breathe, if I am not mistaken, a year before the pandemic. I’ve always loved science-fiction but I am also respectful of it. The original pre-pandemic story was much, much darker. Once we got out of the pandemic, I revised the script and I felt that, after all we had gone through, I was not up to telling such a dark story and that I would also be contributing to the uncertainty, right?, that we had about the future. I thought of offering some hope through Aire. Just Breathe.

How would you describe your experiences of shooting your films at Pinewood Studios in the Dominican Republic? And how has this studio helped the development of the country’s film industry?

It’s wonderful to shoot at Pinewood; their facilities are fantastic, nothing to envy their studios in London and Atlanta. It fulfills all the requisites plus it’s also right in front of the beach! But besides the fact that the studio is so complete, there is a close professional relationship with studio executives who have had the vision and know the importance of producing Dominican films. Even though they have a large international clientele, they always carve a space for the production of local films; I think that theirs is a smart vision because it not only guarantees a steady year-round flow of productions but it also helps foster a community of filmmakers who help each other. The studios have played a fundamental role in the development of our film industry these past years.

You are currently working on a musical biopic about pioneer merengue singer Milly Quezada. What can you tell us about this new project and how far are you in its production?

My filmography is rather eclectic, isn’t it? I am really attracted to genres. So, yes, I am working on a movie about Milly, the Queen of Merengue, which is currently in post-production. It’s a co-production with Puerto Rico. I believe we will have the film ready in two, three months, max. And we have a strategic release plan. We are choosing a festival for its World Premiere. And well, what can I spoil for you?

I am incredibly happy with the end result. Music is such an important part of our culture. And besides, we are talking about the Queen of Merengue who’s been working in the industry for more than 45 years. She’s been an inspiration not only for artists of her generation but contemporary ones as well. It’s been a complete honor that Milly Quezada trusted me with her life story. We all gave a lot to the film. We embraced the challenge of producing another genre rarely done in the Caribbean, the musical, with our heads held high.

Aire. Just Breathe will screen on Sunday April 6 at 9:00 p.m. and Tuesday, April 8, 8:30 p.m. alongside the Colombian short Thirst (Sed) by Julián Díaz Velosa at the Landmark Century Center Theatres.

The Art of Balance: Meet Our Winning Artist

Picture this: a filmmaker performing an acrobatic feat on a stepladder, camera in one hand, clapboard in the other, somehow managing to capture the perfect shot while defying gravity. This playful scene, brought to life through Mila Bernardo’s vibrant digital brushstrokes, perfectly embodies the balancing act that is filmmaking.

Born under the sunny skies of Santos, a picturesque beach town in São Paulo, Brazil, Mila brings her unique perspective to our festival’s visual identity. A graduate of Centro Universitário Belas Artes de São Paulo, she has masterfully blended her graphic design expertise with her painter’s soul to create something truly special.

More Than Meets the Eye

Look closely at the winning design, and you’ll discover delightful details that reveal themselves like easter eggs in a beloved film. The colors of the Brazilian flag weave throughout the composition, paying homage to Mila’s roots. And here’s a clever twist – the filmmaker’s posed figure that forms the number 41, a subtle nod to our festival’s legacy.

“The entire illustration was created digitally using pastel brushes on a textured paper background,” Mila explains, describing how she achieved that perfect blend of digital precision and artistic warmth. The hand-drawn lettering adds an extra touch of whimsy, making the whole piece feel like a celebration.

From Competition to Creation

This winning design wasn’t just luck – it emerged victorious from a pool of nearly 600 submissions from artists across the globe. From Argentina to Turkey, Morocco to China, creative minds worldwide sought to capture the spirit of our festival. Mila’s vision stood out for its ability to remind us that even in the serious business of filmmaking, there’s always room for joy.

Be the First to Own a Piece of Festival History

Here’s some exciting news: for the first time ever, you don’t have to wait until the festival to own a piece of this artwork. Starting today, we’re launching our merchandise collection featuring Mila’s winning design. You can grab your hoodies and t-shirts through our online store at chicagolatinofilmfestival.org, with more items coming soon.

Mark Your Calendars!

The 41st Chicago Latino Film Festival runs April 3-14, 2025, bringing you nearly 100 feature-length and short films from across Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. We’ll be hosting screenings at three iconic Chicago venues:

• Davis Theatre (4614 N. Lincoln Ave.) – Opening and Closing Nights
• Instituto Cervantes (31 W. Ohio St.) – Special Events
• Landmark Century Center (2828 N. Clark St.) – 41st CLFF Feature and Shorts scheduled films

Join Our Festival Family

Want to be part of something special? Sign up for an ILCC membership by March 15th, and you’ll receive a FREE mini-passport good for four festival screenings. Members also enjoy a 20% discount on all year round ILCC events and an invitation to our exclusive festival kick-off party.

From its humble beginnings in 1985 with just 500 attendees, our festival has grown into a cultural phenomenon that draws more than 50,000 film lovers annually. Mila Bernardo’s winning poster design perfectly captures this spirit of growth, creativity, and joy that has defined our festival for four decades.

Stay tuned for our program announcements coming in late February/early March. In the meantime, why not grab some festival merch and join us in celebrating the art of Latino cinema?

Visit latinoculturalcenter.org/membership-benefits to learn more about becoming a member, and don’t forget to check out our online store at chicagolatinofilmfestival.org to be among the first to wear this year’s stunning design.

The 41st Chicago Latino Film Festival: Where cinema meets creativity, and everyone’s invited to join the celebration!