The films have been selected and are ready to be screened at the 8th Annual New York International Latino Film Festival. Here’s a preview of what you can expect at the 5-day event which begins July 24 through the 29th and includes more than 80 U.S. and international films.

Aside from the movie screenings, the NYILFF is hosting several parties including Opening Night After-Party, the Dominican Night After-Party and three film parties: Adrift in Manhattan After-Party, El Muerto After-Party and Bella After-Party.

This year the NYILFF will open the festival with the film Trade, directed by Marco Kreuzpainter and stars Kevin Kline and Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo. The film centers on a 13-year-old girl from Mexico City who is kidnapped by sex traffickers. Kevin Kline plays a Texas cop who helps in the difficult search for the girl through the Rio Grande border tunnels.

The NYILFF will close with the highly anticipated film El Cantante starring Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. The film, which was produced my Lopez, tells the story of Puerto Rican salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe, with Anthony playing the title role.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama stars in the film El Muerto, directed by Brian Cox, which is based on the comic book of Javier Hernandez. El Muerto is about a young Latino, Diego (Valderrama), who is sacrificed in land of the dead after he is killed in a car accident. After the God of the Dead returns Diego to Earth minus his heart and soul, Diego is determined to get his soul back including the souls of those he loves.

Another film highlight at NYILFF is Bella starring Eduardo Verastegui in which he plays Jose, a once famous soccer player, who ends up working as a cook. He befriends a waitress and helps her embrace the future, all the while confronting his own past, in the course of one single day. Bella already won a People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival.

Writer and director Alfredo de Villa brings his third feature Adrift In Manhattan starring Heather Graham and William Baldwin. The film follows three characters as they struggle to overcome their isolation in a crowded city.

Tickets to festival will be on sale on June 25th. For more information please visit www.nylatinofilm.com or call the NYILFF at 212-726-2358. nocheLatina will also be updating you with the most current information regarding the 8th Annual New York International Latino Film Festival.