Cine Las Americas/Austin's BEST Film Festival

Sorry, but I attend all of the film festivals in Austin and this is by far the best. It's so viewer friendly and the selection of films is so intelligent.  During the day all of the films at the Mexican American Cultural Center are free and MACC provides a parking pass.  Today I saw 'La Montana' an exhilirating documentary about three natives of the Dominican Republic who climb Mt. Everest.  This is  paralleled with 3 young boys (friends and surfers) hiking three miles to the tallest summit in the Dominican Republic inspired by the Mt. Everest climbers.  The Q&A with the filmmaker was informative, intelligent, and so inspiring.  The audience just loved this film.
This evening at the STATE I saw a remarkable documentary about Javier Bardem's personal struggle for the people of West Sahara who have been living in a camp of tents colonized by Morocco for 35 years!  Their struggle for their human rights has been thwarted by the U.N., USA and France until now.  This film has really brought about change for these nomadic people who have lost their homes, their lifestyles, their family members.  The Q&A was once again intelligent and informative.  No doubt in my mind that this festival is the best in town!  The subjects, the presentation, the ease to get into films and the intelligent audiences makes this my favorite film festival in Austin!