Olmos, Douglas to appear at this year's Loft Film Fest
This evening the tenth annual Loft Film Fest begins an eight-day celebration of 47 independent, foreign and classic films. The fest opens with a likely Oscar contender, “The Two Popes,” and closes with Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” recipient of the Palme d’Or at Cannes last May.
Special guests include the forceful actor and Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos and versatile cinema personality Illeana Douglas. Both will receive the Lofty Achievement Award for 2019.
“He’s iconic, and he’s an activist,” said the Loft festival’s executive director Peggy Johnson. Olmos’ career includes “Stand and Deliver,” “Zoot Suit,” “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez,” “American Me.” “Mi Familia” and “Selena.”
As timely as tomorrow is Olmos in his new film, “Windows on the World.” He plays Balthazar, an undocumented Mexican immigrant working at the famed Windows on the World restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center when it was attacked on 9/11.
In the chaotic aftermath, Balthazar is counted missing and presumed dead. But in Mexico, his wife insists she saw him in a TV news clip running from the carnage. Against all odds, Balthazar’s son Fernando (Ryan Guzman) heads for the States to find his father.
That journey becomes our look into the hazardous life of all undocumented foreign workers in the United States today. “Windows on the World” is directed by Olmos’ son Michael. This is the third film they have worked on as actor and director. Together at the Loft they will introduce the film and lead a Q&A session afterward.
“I’ve done some really great pieces of story that I’ve had great passion for, and this is right there with him,” said Olmos at a screening last month presented by TheWrap. “I can’t believe that we got this on the screen.”