Sunday, November 5----The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival presents the US Premiere of the US-Columbian co-production GRINGO WEDDING at a special screening on Sunday evening at 7:00pm at the Parker Playhouse. The film, which stars telenovella queen Ana Lucia Dominguez, is a romantic comedy about crossing borders and cultures to find love.

Directed by Tas Salini, a local Fort Lauderdale filmmaker who teaches television and video production at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Salini has directed well over 100 music videos that have been seen on MTV and a host of music satellite channels around the world, as well as several music-oriented documentaries, including RAPS MOST WANTED, a portrait of rap artists Chuck D, Too Short and Ghetto Boys; INNER CIRCLE: A 20 YEAR JOURNEY, examining the career of Grammy winning reggae band Inner Circle; and LELE JIHA: MAKING AN ALBUM. He has won several major awards for his intriguing PBS documentary THE PAN AM STORY, which tells the rise and demise of the legendary airline Pan-American Airways, which revolutionized the air travel industry during its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s.

GRINGO WEDDING begins its romantic tale at an international dating agency where the beautiful Rebecca Gonzales (played by international beauty Ana Lucia Dominguez) meets her soulmate Matt Goldman, played by handsome newcomer Justin Kane. Despite the worst efforts of the dating service, the two fall in love and begin a new life with each other in the United States. Of course, their language barrier (he doesn’t speak any Spanish, she only a few words of English) and profound cultural differences do get in the way. But armed with their flamboyant translator Javier (a great performance by Sebastian Boscan), they follow their inevitable path towards the pursuit of happiness that is every American (and immigrant’s) dream.

GRINGO WEDDING is an old fashioned romantic comedy, filled with tender moments and endearing performances. The film had its world premiere last month at the Bogota Film Festival and now comes to South Florida for its first US showing. The film’s mix of Spanish and English, plus its wise comedic touches about the reconciliation of different cultures living in close proximity, is a perfect choice for a South Florida film festival. In a place where many “gringo weddings” are not that unusual, the film has a special resonance.

Ana Lucia Domingues on Red Carpet at Bogota Film Festival

The Festival will welcome the film’s leads, Ana Lucia Dominguez, Justin Kane and Sebastian Boscan, along with the film’s writer/director/producer Tas Salini and the film’s producers Ruchel Lewis, Maria Pinzon, Albert Miniaci and Paul Lazarus III at the Parker Playhouse screening this evening at 7:00pm.

Sandy Mandelberger
Online Festival Dailies Editor