The Venezuelan movies Havana Eva, by Fina Torres, and Hermano, by Marcel Rasquin, received the most important awards in the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) on Wednesday, August 25, reported AFP.

Havana Eva was awarded the Jury’s Best Film, while Hermano the Audience’s Best Film.

Produced by Venezuela’s Villa del Cine and co-produced by Cuba and France, Havana Eva shows the difficulties of a young Cuban seamstress who works for a state-owned wedding dress factory. The film, which features a starring role by Venezuelan actress Prakriti Maduro, received rave reviews after it was screed at the festival in Los Angeles, highlighted AFP.

“I’m happy. It’s a great moment for Venezuelan cinema; we are very grateful with the audience at LALIFF for having connected with our movie,” Marcel Rasqui told the AFP, after he was awarded for Hermano. According to the French news agency, this film received loud applause on the day it was shown.

Recently, Havana Eva won the Best Film Award of the New York International Latino Film Festival, while Hermano got the San Jorge de Oro Best Film prize, the Critic’s Award and Audience’s Award in the 32nd Moscow International Film Festival.

Hermano tells the story of two foster brothers, Daniel and Julio, who have the opportunity to change their lives and overcome poverty when a head-hunter invites them to try their luck in the Caracas Football Club.

La Villa del Cine, a Venezuelan state-owned production house created in 2006, has produced several films which have been nationally and internationally awarded, among them Postales de Leningrado (Mariana Rondón), La Clase (José Antonio Varela), Macuro (Hernan Jabes), Zamora (Roman Chalbaud), Libertador Morales, El justiciero (Efterpi Charalambidis), Vinotinto, la película (Miguel New) and Yo soy el Otro (Marc Villá).

Photo: LALIFF/tapizmedia.com

Press Office – Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S/ August 30, 2010