Diego's Blessings & The 11th International Latin Film Festival l 8 November 2007
By Sophoan Sorn
3 November 2007On Saturday in the afternoon, I took off for San Francisco to attend the 2nd days' events of the 11th Latino International Film Festival. This late afternoon and throughout the evening, the spotlight was on Mexican superstar Diego Luna. I wanted to be there in San Francisco in time for the screening of his directorial debut with the premiere of his documentary on legendary boxer J.C. Chavez.
There were some things held back in Stockton that made it so that I was unable to make it to San Francisco in time. In addition, it was early Saturday evening, and people from around the Bay Area and the Central Valley wanted to have fun in the CITY as well. So, I was stuck in traffic, from Livermore, to Dublin, to Oakland, to the Bay Bridge.
I arrived to the district around the Castro Theatre only to find that parking was a luxury. After roaming around the nearby streets for almost half an hour, I found a parking spot that was only
a block away from the theatre. I looked at my watch, and I knew I had missed the Premiere of "J.C. Chavez," and the program "A Conversation with Diego Luna."In addition, I looked at my clock and the movie that starred Diego, called "The Night Buffalo" was scheduled to begin about ten minutes prior. So, I just made my way to the Will Call area, picked up my tickets. I talked to the ticket people for a few minutes and they me that the movie "The Night Buffalo" had just begun. So, I smiled, and thanked them.
I opened the door and as I entered into the little foyer, Diego was three feet from me. It was seriously "meant to be." A little crowd began to form, and the light of the Univision camera was on him as he answered in Spanish to the local TV interviewer. Then he turned to me and I approached him. Prior to this moment, I did not even pick up any brochures of the festival nor pre-purchased any Diego Luna "headshot" promo pics (By the way, where would I have found these, anyway?). So I reached into my portfolio and grabbed a postcard of my festival - the San Joaquin Film Festival 2008. I told Diego briefly about my festival and my admiration of his work as a talented actor. He looked at me and smiled. Then, he looked closer at the postcard. Then I said, "You know, maybe if you cannot come - you might be able to come 'in spirit.'" I remembered the expression on his face as he looked at the postcard and reading it - as he slowly wrote down his blessings in the words: "GOOD LUCK." He paused a little more to read. Then, he wrote "SALUD!" He took more time to read and then, finally, gave a part of himself through his signature.
What a moment to remember.
Unfortunately, I did not bring a camera with me. However, I know that we will have the opportunity to meet and talk with each other again in the future. Hopefully, I will be fluent in Spanish by then!
Following this, I watched "The Night Buffalo" / "El Bufalo de la Noche" a film from Mexico, starring Diego Luna. The film is raw, thrilling, and suspenseful. It is also a very personal film - where the emotions of each character reaches beyond the screen into the minds and thoughts of the patrons of the theater.
