Southampton - The Organización Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA) hosted the Seventh Annual OLA Film Festival in Southampton, kicking off the weekend with an endless celebration of culture on Friday, November 12.

Every year OLA takes pride in spreading Latin American culture across the East End with a diverse showcase of feature films that raise cultural awareness. Sponsored by Bridgehampton National Bank at the Parrish Art Museum, the festival began with an opening night reception offering guests traditional Latin American cuisine and a delicious wine tasting. Following the feast, OLA showcased a number of radiant films that put Latin American culture in the spotlight.

Activist, co-founder and president of OLA, Isabel Sepulveda de Scanlon, was honored to showcase such beautiful independent films to participants for the seventh year in a row. "It was an idea that I always had. The message that the films speak makes people happy," remarked Scanlon. "We believe very strongly in promoting our culture and it's all about the films. Whether the message is political, romantic or about the arts, it's worth it to come see the films and I am very excited to be a part of this."

Guests gathered around the big screen for the opening night presentation of a Mexican film, directed by Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, "Alamar." The feature follows the life of a five-year-old, Natan, who is in for a surprise as he ventures to Chinchorro, Mexico for a holiday. The film opens with a series of photos that reveal the young boy's true identity; he is born of Italian and Mexican descent. As his parents undergo a divorce and his mother packs for Rome, Natan spends a final summer with his father in Chinchorro, a top destination with the largest and richest coral reef in all of Mexico. "Alamar" celebrates Latin American culture as it interweaves cultural identity with an adventure that illuminates the magnificence of Mexico.

Phillip and Laura Dolence alongside Marlel Burns at the opening night reception.

The screenings that followed at the festival were "Entre Nos," a film from Colombia, "Only When I Dance," from Brazil, "So Far," from Ecuador and "The Maid," from Chile. The versatility of the works offered to participants held a well-balanced cultural palette that gave every guest something to cherish as the festival came to a close.

OLA is an outreach education organization that strives to promote the social, economic, cultural and educational development of the Latino community on the East End. OLA addresses and reaches out to the concerns of residents across the board through a combination of educational and cultural programs, events and monthly meetings that provide self-empowerment tools to the Latino community.

For two days, the Seventh Annual OLA Film Festival showcased unique works that touched the hearts of all who came to watch. Sepulveda is already looking forward to next year's festival, as each and every event grows bigger, better and stronger, bringing high-quality independent films from around the world right before your eyes.