Celebrating the
New Global Wave of Ibero American.
Hosted by DEPARTMENT
OF LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES.
WHEN February 20 & 27; March 6 & 27; April 3, 2015.
WHERE Adelphi University. Science
Building (SCB). Room 321. 6:30 pm
1 South Avenue, Garden City (NY) 11530.
516-233-5744
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015. 6:30
pm.
7 BOXES (7 Cajas). Presented by: Dr. Pepa Anastasio (Hofstra
University).
Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori / Paraguay
/ 105 min / 2014 / In Spanish, Guaraní, and Korean
with English subtitles
It’s Friday night in
Asunción, Paraguay, and the temperature is sweltering. Víctor, a 17-year-old
wheelbarrow delivery boy, dreams of becoming famous and covets a fancy TV set
in the infamous Mercado 4. He’s offered a chance to deliver seven boxes with
unknown contents in exchange for a quick one hundred US dollars. But what
sounds like an easy job soon gets complicated. Something in the boxes is
highly coveted and Víctor and his pursuers quickly find themselves caught up in
a crime they know nothing about. Reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire, 7 Boxes
was declared of Cultural Interest by the National Secretary of Culture of
Paraguay.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015. 6:30
pm.
YVY MARAEY:LAND
WITHOUT EVIL Presented by Wladimir Chávez Vaca(Ostfold University College-NYU).
Juan Carlos Valdivia / Bolivia / 105
min / 2014 / Spanish and Guaraní with English Subtitles
A Bolivian filmmaker
and a Guaraní indian travel together through the forests of South Eastern
Bolivia with the intention of making a film about the Guarani People. The
starting point is a 1911 film by Swedish explorer Erland Nordenskiöld. But
today’s reality turns out to be much more intense than the nostalgia for a lost
world. In Yvy Maraey, the white man
(the director) and the Indian create and interpret their own characters,
walking the thin line between documentary, fiction, and performance. Far from
observing another culture, we are watched and questioned about our identity in
a country undergoing enormous social, political, and historical change as it
struggles to create an intercultural society. Yvy Maraey is a quest for the knowledge within, seen through the
eyes of the other. The learning comes from listening, which is another form of
seeing. The film combines reality with an epic tale of a heroic indigenous
nation.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015. 6:30 pm.
BLACK BREAD (Pa
Negre). Presented by Juan Carlos Moraga (Stony Brook U.)
Agustí Villaronga /
Spain / 108 min / 2011 / Catalan with English subtitles
Andreu, comes across the bodies of a
father and son in the forest; leaning over the dying boy, Andreu hears him
whisper “Pitorliu”—the name of a monster supposedly haunting local caves. But
the real monsters in this brilliant adaptation of Emil Teixidor’s novel are the
local Fascists, who keep close watch on the family of Andreu and other
Republican sympathizers—and who think Andreu’s father might know more about
these murders than he admits. Reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth and adored by audience and critics
alike, Black Bread won an unheard of number of prizes, including 9 Goya
Awards. Spanish selection for the 2011 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015. 6:30 pm.
WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? (¿Quién es Dayani
Cristal?) Presented by Sandra Castro (Adelphi University).
Marc Silver / Mexico, USA
/ 85 min / 2014 / English and Spanish with English subtitles
Deep in the
sun-blistered Sonora desert beneath a cicada tree, Arizona border police
discover a decomposing male body. Lifting a tattered T-shirt they expose a
tattoo that reads “Dayani Cristal.” Who is this person? What brought him here?
How did he die? And who—or what—is Dayani Cristal? Following a team of
dedicated forensic anthropologists from the Pima County Morgue in Arizona, director
Marc Silver seeks to answer these questions and give this anonymous man an
identity. As the forensic investigation unfolds, Mexican actor and activist
Gael Garcia Bernal retraces this man’s steps along the migrant trail in Central
America. In an effort to understand what it must have felt like to make this
final journey, he embeds himself among migrant travelers on their own mission
to cross the border. He experiences first-hand the dangers they face and learns
of their motivations, hopes and fears. As we travel north, these voices from
the other side of the border wall give us a rare insight into the human
stories, which are so often ignored in the immigration debate. Winner of the
Sundance 2013 Cinematography award and nominated in the World Documentary
Competition, Who Is Dayani Cristal? shows how one life becomes
testimony to the tragic results of the U.S. war on immigration.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015. 6:30 pm.
BAD HAIR. Presented by Dr. Anna Shilova (Hunter College).
Mariana
Rondón / Venezuela / 93 min / 2013 / Spanish with English subtitles
A nine-year-old boy’s preening obsession with straightening his hair
elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother, in this
tender but clear-eyed coming-of-age tale. Junior is a beautiful boy, with big
brown eyes, a delicate frame, and a head of luxurious dark curls. But Junior
aches to straighten those curls to acquire a whole new look befitting his
emerging fantasy image of himself as a long-haired singer. As the opportunity
approaches to have his photo taken for the new school year, that ache turns
into a fiery longing. Junior’s mother, Marta, is barely hanging on. The father
of her children has died, she recently lost her job as a security guard, and
she now struggles to put a few arepas on the table for Junior and his baby
brother. Junior doesn’t even know yet what it means to be gay, but the very
notion prompts Marta to set out to “correct” Junior’s condition before it fully
takes hold. This is a story of people doing what they feel they have to, partly
out of fear, but also out of love.” - Diana Vargas, Toronto International Film
Festival.
SUPPORTED BY
The Spanish Film Club
series was made possible with the support of Pragda, The Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sports of Spain, and SPAIN arts & culture.
PRAGDA, the Ministerios de Ecucación, Cultura y Departe, Gobierno de Espan
