The opening session this morning at the 9th Annual NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) conference in Dana Point, California this morning was a discussion of the possibility of Pan-Latino cinema. The panelists were great, with Yareli Arismendi (a writer, LA Times, FAST FOOD NATION), Frida Torresblanco (Producer of Pan’s Labyrinth), Mireya Navarro (LA Bureau of the NY Times), a representative from PBS, and others.

The panelists acknowledged that there was a moment when “Magical Reality” was a pan-latin aesthetic, but that was then and now is now. This morning, the conversation seemed to focus on questions of personal identity, family and sports.

There is a “high concept” Pan-Latino development that may be spawning a new aesthetic even now. Over the last few years, democratic elections in several major countries across Latin American, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay, have brought into view a new movement to build a new relationship between people and their economies and their governments. This movement is different from the so-called “dirigiste” state regimes of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s — and strikingly different from the increasingly materialist social organization of the United States.

Democracy in Latin America represents an effort to find a “third way”, a way to balance individual liberties, community concerns and productive economies in new ways. This political/social development is truly global, with connections to developments in China and India. Developments this significant can spawn a new aesthetic in cinema.

In the same way that the rapid introduction of unfettered capitalism into Chinese society has produced gorgeous, emotional and award winning films on environmental issues (Up The Yangtze) and social family questions (Still Life) — so too can the emerging new social order in Latin America lead to films of extraordinary merit (Manda Bala, in this past year for example).

… And that surely would be a Pan-Latino Cinema with Global impact!