Amigo, written and directed by John Sayles and starring Chris Cooper has been announced as the opening night film of the 3rd Albuquerque Film Festival scheduled for August 18st – 21st, 2011.

AMIGO stars Joel Torre as Rafael Dacanay, a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War in 1900. When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people, especially his brother Simon (Ronnie Lazaro), head of the local Filipino guerillas. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) learns that “hearts and minds” cannot be won at gunpoint. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) thwarts communication with his spiteful intrigues and Rafael is forced to make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance, and heart-breaking violence layer the story of AMIGO as a page torn from the forgotten history of imperialism, and is a mirror for today’s unresolvable conflicts.  AMIGO debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The festival will kick off the season on June 7th by presenting the film ‘The Cool School’ as a part of “Savor Albuquerque’s” event line-up.

About The Cool School: From 1957 to 1966, the Ferus Gallery was the catalyst of modern art in Los Angeles. Launching the careers of luminaries like Warhol, Ruscha and Lichtenstein, Ferus built an art scene from scratch and transformed the cultural climate of the West Coast.

The Cool School also includes commentary from two other famous transplanted New Mexican artists/actors who are also very close to the festival – the late Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell.