Normally when the word "family" is used to describe a film, it's used to describe a target audience that includes small audiences. At Cine Las Americas, it means the story focuses on a family, often with mature themes.

Two of the strongest films in the narrative feature lineup include Postales de Leningrado (Postcards from Leningrad) (dir. Mariana Rondon, Venezuela) and Cinco dias sin Nora (Nora's Will) (dir. Mariana Chenillo, Mexico), both of which are family themed, but which deal with family matters quite differently.

Postales de Leningrado is a whimsical interpretation of the darker consequences of living in interesting times, particularly 1960s Latin America and the era of rebels versus regimes. Instead of focusing on lovers, friends, or enemies, writer/director Rondon's story is told by a young girl and focuses on her cousin and her parents. The film could easily be a chaotic melange of first person, third person, animation and still images both past and present. However, the narration helps makes it an endearing tale that manages not to break your heart while telling heartbreaking stories.

Friday's lineup was a theme of extremes, starting with Cruzando (odyssey to confront a father at all costs), Stranded (survival in extremis), Gasolina (explosive teenagers), and the dark and twisty Breaking Nikki. I'm not entirely sure how good it all was, but it sure was dark, because the digital projection was not the state-of-the-art 4K at Alamo Village. The difference between old-school and new-school digital projection is astounding.

Fantastic Fest is co-sponsoring a screening next week of a Fantastic Fest favorite, Santos, but in the meantime more fantastic style goodness occurs tonight. Perro Come Perro (Dog Eat Dog) is a gangland thriller mixed with black magic that plays at Regal Metropolitan at 10 pm). It's followed at midnight by Sangre eterna (Eternal Blood), a 2002 Chilean vampire flick -- with the filmmaker in attendance, Austin's horror fans should go.

The Austin Jewish Film Festival is co-sponsoring a screening tonight of Cinco Dias sin Nora (Nora's Will), a comedy from Mexico in both Spanish and Hebrew. The film screens at Metropolitan at 8 pm.

It's day three of Cine Las Americas, and the start of the weekend. If you're considering seeing films this weekend, why not check out the festival? This weekend alone brings us 74 films representing 14 out of 18 countries, and a lot of different genres, so there's something for everyone.

If you want to get your horror on, there's Sangre eterna (Eternal Blood), one of the Chile retrospective films. The film (pictured at right) includes an abandoned house, vampires and a character named Dahmer. Sangre eterna is playing Saturday at Regal Metropolitan at 11:59 pm.

Are veterans' affairs important to you? Check out Animas perdidas (Lost Souls) tonight at 7 pm at the MACC. The film is free and the filmmaker will be there.

Yesterday, I headed over to Troublemaker Studios to attend the bill signing for House Bill 873, which improves the incentives that film, video, and game productions receive when they work in Texas. Troublemaker had set up a studio for the event, which was packed with locals who work in the film industry and a few politicians. I suspect some people not only wanted to see the signing but also get a peek at even a bit of Troublemaker Studios, and the event area was nicely dressed with some cars used in Robert Rodriguez's films. Yes, I've got photos after the jump.

Rep. Dawnna Dukes of Austin introduced the bill in the legislature this session, and spoke at the event along with Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film Commission. Gov. Perry was confident that the incentives would help bring enough film production to Texas to give the economy a huge boost.

I'm still working on an article about today's signing of the film-incentives bill, which took place at Troublemaker Studios. But while I'm slaving away, here's a photo of Robert Rodriguez taken at the event. I really like this one. I've got more good photos that I'll post with the article.

Nueva Onda hosts a series of films in the warmer months, and tonight they seem to be celebrating the spirit of Cine Las Americas with the short Danzak, an Andean tale that earned director Gabriela Yepes an Austin Film Festival award. The lineup also includes an episode of Austin Stories and The Bickersons.

The screenings happen on the patio at Nuevo Onda rain or shine, at 8 pm -- the restaurant opens at 6:30, and you can get some great Mexican food beforehand. Admission is free. Nuevo Onda is located at 2218 College Avenue. More information at the Nueva Onda website.

Cine Las Americas opened with All Inclusive and an appreciative audience. While many filmmakers are in town for the fest, All Inclusive, picked up by Lionsgate last year, is opening in Mexico and the press junket is underway there.

Director Rodrigo Ortuzar's drama focuses on a family on vacation at an all-inclusive resort during hurricane season. The approaching hurricane parallels the emotional tempests each family member keeps hidden from the others, reaching the predictable climax at the height of the storm. That's not to say it's not an enjoyable film; it balances serious and silly quite well. It also uses closeups on faces extremely well, with some very memorable images. The cast will probably seem familiar to mainstream film audiences; lead Jesus Ochoa has been a featured actor in Quantum of Solace and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Martha Higareda, who played the sulky Camila, was in Street Kings and will appear in the upcoming sequel to Smoking Aces.

You might assume that Austin's film fests are limited to SXSW and Austin Film Festival ... okay, and Fantastic Fest too. But this town supports a number of other great festivals, including Cine Las Americas, which starts tomorrow.

The 12th Cine Las Americas Festival, a 10-day celebration of cross-cultural media arts, includes a diverse selection of films in different genres. Slackerwood will be covering Cine Las Americas, so watch this space for reviews and previews of films screening during this international festival. The films are from all over the world, but emphasizing the Americas, with a special focus this year on movies from Chile.

Austin Film Society has pointed out films that feature AFS/Texas Film Production Fund alumni, including Bracero Stories, The Least of These, and two shorts in the Hecho de Tejas (Made in Texas) category, Los Ojos de Javier and Duplex.

Festival passes are $70, and AFS members get a discount. Opening and Closing Night film tickets are $10. Some films are free; check the schedule for details, but it looks like most if not all the films screening at the Mexican American Community Center (MACC) are free. Other venues include the Paramount, Regal Metropolitan, Alamo Village, and Alamo South.

As previously mentioned, the Texas legislature recently passed HB873, a bill about moving-image incentives. This bill improves the previous state law about incentives for filming in Texas.

On Thursday, April 23, Governor Rick Perry will sign the bill into law at 10:30 am at Troublemaker Studios (Studio B, 4900 Old Manor Road). We received this news from an email that TXMPA sent to their mailing list; check with them for more information about the signing ceremony, which appears to be open to the public.

The Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) has reported that House Bill 873 has passed not only the House but the Senate, and will be on Governor Rick Perry's desk for signing on April 23. It's celebration time.

Why? A little perspective is in order. In the 1990s, Texas -- in particular, Austin -- was becoming a film production alternative to Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver.

In 1991, under Governor Ann Richards, Texas began drawing more and more productions, and El Mariachi put Austin and Texas on the map. By 1995, the mission of Austin Film Society (AFS) evolved into an educational and support organization, providing education and funding for film-related projects.