Homegrown festival of international films

Oct 07, 2011

Homegrown festival of international films

-Nancy Shohet West, Globe Correspondent

April Ranck needed to look no farther than her own neighborhood to see the multiculturalism of Arlington, a town widely recognized for promoting the culture and heritage of immigrants who now make their home there.

For that matter, she needed look no farther than her own household: She grew up in the Boston area, while her husband, Alberto Guzman, moved here from Colombia.

And with the couple’s interest in the arts and filmmaking, the idea of starting an international film festival in Arlington seemed like a perfect fit.

It took more than a year of hard work to make their vision a reality, but tonight marks the opening of the three-day Arlington International Film Festival, an event that Ranck hopes will take place annually. Through Sunday, 15 feature films as well as numerous shorts from all over the world will be screened at the Regent Theatre. Those that made the final cut were selected from more than 50 submissions.