Two years after its first edition, the Gustavus Hispanic Film Festival is back! Just like in 2013, this year the GHFF has been made possible through a grant received from PRAGDA, a distribution company sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
For this second edition, we are glad to have six amazing new films from Latin America and Spain, and we will even get the chance to speak with two of the filmmakers at Gustavus (Aquí y allá, March 2; La sombra azul, March 16). All screenings are free and open to the public, and will take place at Wallenberg Auditorium on Mondays at 7pm over the course of six weeks of the Spring 2015 semester. The schedule goes as follows:
02/16 | 7 cajas [Seven Boxes] | Tana Schémbori & Juan Carlos Maneglia, 2007 | Paraguay
Víctor, a porter working in Asunción’s Market Four, receives a mysterious proposal: to deliver seven boxes of unknown contents—they must arrive intact to destination. If he manages to do it, he will receive a good sum of money… But nothing is that simple at Market Four.
02/23 | Un cuento chino [Chinese Take-Out] | Sebastián Borenzstein, 2012 | Argentina
Roberto, the grouchy owner of a hardware store in Buenos Aires, leads a lonely and quiet life. One day, he meets by chance a Chinese man named Jun who has just arrived to the city looking for his only living relative. Roberto speaks no Chinese; Jun speaks no Spanish. And yet, they need to understand each other.
03/02 | Aquí y allá [Here and There] | Antonio Méndez Esparza, 2012 | Mexico
Pedro returns to his hometown in the state of Guerrero (Mexico) after years of working in the US. His family is happy, but things have changed since he left. He tries to organize a folk band with a few friends, at the same time he keeps providing for his family. However, managing a life torn between here and there proves to be quite a task.
03/09 | Pelo malo [Bad Hair] | Mariana Rondón, 2013 | Venezuela
Junior is a 9-year-old boy who lives in a tough slum in Caracas that is no home for the weak. His obsession with straightening his naturally curly hair for a school photo shoot raises alarm in his family—so does his way of looking to a handsome teen who works at a newsstand in the neighborhood. Growing up was never easy.
03/16 | La sombra azul [Blue Shadow] | Sergio Schmucler, 2012
Javier Rodríguez is a policeman who has suffered torture during the brutal 1976 Argentinian military regime after being accused of belonging to a left-wing guerrilla group. When he returns to his country in 1994, democracy has been restored, but he is granted no justice and needs to leave again.
03/23 | Wilaya [Tears of Sand] | Pedro Pérez Rosado, 2012 | Spain
Set in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Wilaya tells the story of Fatimetu, the daughter of Sahrawi refugee parents. They sent her to live with a foster family in Spain, and when her mother dies, Fatimetu comes back for a few days and needs to take major decisions: will she go back to his comfortable life in Europe or will she take root in his native country, still plagued by decades of conflict and lack of international recognition?
The six films we have selected are filmed not just in Spanish, but also in Chinese, Korean, Guarani, and Arabic. They cover a wide range of topics, such as intercultural communication, economic inequality, homophobia, political repression, and social justice.
In addition to the grant money from PRAGDA, this festival has been possible thanks to the support of numerous Gustavus departments, programs, and offices: Scandinavian Studies; LALACS; Geology; Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; English; Theater and Dance; Communication Studies; the Diversity Center; the Kendall Center.
See attached flyer for all dates and more information, check the Gustavus calendar dates for synopses, and tell everyone you see, both on and off campus!
¡Nos vemos en el cine (see you at the movies)!
