Soledad St. Hilaire

Luis Iga's ground-breaking Latinx feature film, 'Murder in the Woods,' makes its San Diego premiere at the FANtastic Horror Film Festival. The film stars José Julián (“A Better Life”) and features distinguished actor Danny Trejo (“Machete”).

Luis Iga's 'Murder in the Woods' has played to packed houses in Los Angeles, New York and Portland. Now Colorado can experience this film at the 20th Annual XicanIndie Film Fest in Denver. Critics give it '4.5 out of 5 stars' and call 'Murder in the Woods' a 'fun, popcorn film' with a 'phenomenal storyline' that 'delivers on its promise in heaps.' The award-winning film is directed and produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Iga, written and produced by Chicana filmmaker Yelyna De Leon, stars José Julián (A Better Life) and features distinguished actor Danny Trejo (Machete). The film will play on Friday April 6th at 7:45pm with a Q&A session with the filmmakers to follow. Get your tickets now before they sell out again. They are available here: http://bit.ly/mitwXicanpr 'I'm humbled and honored to be part of XicanIndie Film Fest. I want to thank 'Su Teatro' and Festival Director Daniel Salazar for being pioneers in reshaping how the world sees Chicanos and Latinos in cinema. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to showcase 'Murder in the Woods' in such an iconic venue for Chicanos and Latinos. My goal with this film is to showcase and empower the amazing LatinX talent that we have in our communities in the US,' said director and producer Luis Iga. 'My vision is to create content by Latinos that is universal in theme and crosses over to the general market transforming how Chicanos and Latinos are viewed around the globe,' he added. For over 40 years, 'Su Teatro' has established a national reputation for displaying homegrown productions that speak to the history and experience of Chicanos. 'We're exhilarated to premiere 'Murder in the Woods' at the 20th anniversary of 'Su Teatro' XicanIndie Film Fest. We're the third oldest Chicano Teatro in the US; our audience is 75% Latino. The all-Chicano cast featured injects a distinct spin that keeps it real for us. We're privileged to welcome the fresh young talent, faces we know we'll be seeing more of in the future,' said Festival Director Daniel Salazar. 'As a Chicana, who majored in Chicano Studies and Film and TV at UCLA, I am so honored to be able to bring a film with Latino and Chicano leads to Denver. Growing up, I always loved the arts but the lack of content and great roles for Chicanas were far and few between, which is why I decided to create better roles and projects that could star people of color. Because although there is a lot of talk about the diversity and inclusion problem that Hollywood has, the projects being made for us and by us, are still only a handful, so we decided to make a film to help solve that issue. Because representation matters and the truth is that brown is beautiful. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to screen in Denver at the XicanIndie Fest and can't wait to meet aspiring actors at 'Su Teatro' to hopefully help inspire them, because we need more projects being made for us, by us,' added writer and producer Yelyna De Leon. 'Murder in the Woods' distinguishes itself as being an All-American horror / slasher film in English, with an All-Latino cast in non- stereotypical roles, created by Latinos with a story that is of universal interest. The award-winning film had its Festival Premiere at the legendary 'Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara en LA' (FICG in LA) at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The film will also be playing at the renowned 34th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival (CLFF) on Saturday April 7th at 9:15pm and Monday April 9th at 8:45pm with Q&A sessions with the filmmakers to follow. 'Murder in the Woods' has received six nominations and has won six awards including Best Film at the LA Skins Film Festival; Best Supporting Actor (Kade Wise), Best Sound Design and Best Soundtrack at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in New York; the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant and the Luminys Grant. The ensemble lead cast includes actors Jose Julian (A Better Life, Shameless), Jeanette Samano (ISA, Female Fight Squad), Chelsea Rendon (Vida), Catherine Toribio (Jane the Virgin), Jordan Diambrini (The Outfield) and Kade Wise (Empire). It also features Danny Trejo (Machete), Soledad St. Hilaire (Beatriz at Dinner), Kurt Caceres (Lawless Range) and Rolando Molina (American Dad!). 'Murder in the Woods' is a production of REZINATE Entertainment, founded by Luis Iga. REZINATE partnered up with Yelyna De Leon to produce this film. Both graduated with an MFA in Film and Television Production from the esteemed School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California (USC) where they met. About REZINATE Entertainment: REZINATE is an entertainment company founded by Luis Iga. The company is involved in the Production and Financing of audiovisual projects including Film, Television, Animation, Video Games and Virtual Reality. REZINATE has a global presence and clients and projects that are developed around the world. www.rezinate.com

The award-winning horror / slasher film Murder in the Woods, directed and produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Iga starring José Julián (A Better Life) and featuring distinguished actor Danny Trejo (Machete) has played to packed houses in Los Angeles, New York and Portland thus far and now will have its Midwest Festival Premiere at the renowned 34th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival (CLFF), home of Latina writer and producer Yelyna De Leon. The film will play on Saturday April 7th at 9:15pm and Monday April 9th at 8:45pm. Get your tickets now before they sell out again. They are available here: http://bit.ly/mitwCLFFticketspr. 'I received the news while I was at Sundance and I couldn't contain the excitement. I want to thank Pepe Vargas (ILCC Founder & Executive Director) and the Chicago Latino Film Festival for being pioneers in reshaping how the world sees Latinos and Minorities in cinema. I'm honored and grateful to be part of this festival and thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase this film to the over 1.9 million Latinos that reside in Chicago,' said director and producer Luis Iga. CLFF began in 1985 and is produced by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC), a pan-Latino, nonprofit, multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to developing, promoting and increasing awareness of Latino culture among Latinos and other communities. The two-week Festival will take place from April 5 to April 19, 2018 and features opportunities for the audiences to participate in discussions with the directors at the screenings and at the series of special events highlighting the diversity of the Latino culture. 'Being a Latina born and raised on the Southside of Chicago in the Back of the Yards, attending Curie High as a performing arts theater major, who has attended this amazing festival in the past, I am humbly honored and thrilled to bring it back home and have it premiere in Chicago at the Chicago Latino Film Festival. As Latinos in Hollywood, we need all the support we can get from our communities to show Hollywood that we are done with stereotypes, so I am extremely grateful to festival director Pepe Vargas for his support. Mr. Vargas is a force who has always advocated for Latinos and Chicago native filmmakers and is very much a part of the change that Hollywood needs, by showcasing films like Murder in the Woods, which I wrote with non-stereotypical roles for Latinos to star in. The lead character is a strong Latina from Chicago and some of the songs in our film are by Latino Chicago natives, so I know that audiences will have a great time watching this film, and I can't wait to go back to my roots where it all started,' said writer and producer Yelyna De Leon. Murder in the Woods distinguishes itself as being an All-American horror / slasher film in English, with an All-Latino cast in non- stereotypical roles, created by Latinos with a story that is of universal interest. Critics give it '4.5 out of 5 stars' and call Murder in the Woods 'a fun, popcorn film' with a 'phenomenal storyline' that 'delivers on its promise in heaps.' The award-winning film had its Festival Premiere at the legendary 'Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara en LA' (FICG in LA) at the TCL Chinese Theatres. Murder in the Woods has received six nominations and has won six awards including Best Film at the LA Skins Film Festival; Best Supporting Actor (Kade Wise), Best Sound Design and Best Soundtrack at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in New York; the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant and the Luminys Grant. The ensemble lead cast includes actors Jose Julian (A Better Life, Shameless), Jeanette Samano (ISA, Female Fight Squad), Chelsea Rendon (McFarland, USA), Catherine Toribio (Jane the Virgin), Jordan Diambrini (The Outfield) and Kade Wise (Lucifer). It also features Danny Trejo (Machete), Soledad St. Hilaire (Beatriz at Dinner), Kurt Caceres (Lawless Range) and Rolando Molina (American Dad!). 'Murder in the Woods' is a production of REZINATE Entertainment, founded by Luis Iga. REZINATE partnered up with Yelyna De Leon to produce this film. Both graduated with an MFA in Film and Television Production from the esteemed School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California (USC) where they met. About REZINATE Entertainment: REZINATE is an entertainment company founded by Luis Iga. The company is involved in the Production and Financing of audiovisual projects including Film, Television, Animation, Video Games and Virtual Reality. REZINATE has a global presence and clients and projects that are developed around the world. www.rezinate.com

Josefina Lopez, the creator, author, playwright and co-screenwriter of "Real Women Have Curves" appeared at a 10th Anniversary celebration of the award-winning film, directed by Patricia Cardoso, co-written by George LaVoo, starring America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros and George Lopez held at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday, September 6, 2012. Check out photos from the event below!

The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre and Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival will present an evening celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the award-winning film "Real Women Have Curves" with special guest, Josefina Lopez, today, September 6, 2012.

The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre and Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival will present an evening celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the award-winning film "Real Women Have Curves" with special guest, Josefina Lopez, on Thursday, September 6, 2012.