Elgin screening of Latino Film Festival favorite

Elgin will be host to a movie screening by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago next week, and some hope the connection won’t stop there.

The center screens movies that were shown in a former Chicago Latino Film Festival through its yearlong Reel Film Club series. In this case, “Alguien Ha Visto a Lupita?/Has Anyone Seen Lupita?” was part of the festival in April.

People can see the comedy at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Marcus Theatres, 111 S. Randall Road, in Spanish with English subtitles. A reception will start at 6 p.m. with a question-and-answer session after the film.

Karla Guzmán, Parent/Community Outreach Coordinator at Elgin Area School District U-46, said she hopes the screening proves that Elgin can host another film.

“What we really want to do is bring the Latino Film Festival here to Elgin so maybe in the future we can use the movie as part of a dual language curriculum,” Guzmán said.

The school district is in the process of shifting all of its bilingual education classes into dual language programs where English speakers can learn Spanish as well as the other way around. The film screening will bring Spanish-language entertainment for the substantial Latino community in the area but also show others more of Latin American culture, Guzmán said.

“It helps expose some of the other traditions to our students,” Guzmán said.

Maria Lopez, associate of development and marketing with the International Latino Cultural Center, said the Reel Film Club is most often held in Chicago with upcoming screenings planned in Minneapolis, Kansas City and Waukegan.

“Alguien Ha Visto a Lupita?” was especially popular this year because several of the actors are well known from Mexican telenovelas, Lopez said. The film is about a Mexican girl who runs away from home because her family wants to put her in a psychiatric hospital. The comedy tracks Lupita’s flight from Mexico to the United States and her adventures along the way.

General admission is $20 for the screening or $30 for two people. For details visit latinoculturalcenter.org.