¡Cine Magnífico! Returns for Third Annual Film Festival
August 31, 2015
In 2015 the Latin American & Iberian Institute proudly partners with Instituto Cervantes and the National Hispanic Cultural Center for the third annual ¡Cine Magnífico!, a weekend-long program celebrating Spanish and Latin American culture through the presentation of the best of modern cinema. Featuring work by first-time filmmakers and established masters alike, the subject matter runs the gamut from comedies, action, romances and documentary films, to dramatic masterpieces. Some of the riskiest and most innovative films of recent years will be included in this year's festival, scheduled for September 18-20, 2015.
This year we are also excited to announce that part of the festival will take place on campus with free screenings. In the morning and afternoon on Friday, September 18, 2015, we will screen two documentaries. The first, to be shown at 10:30 a.m., is "American Dreamers," a crowd-funded documentary about the Campaign for an American DREAM (CAD), a group of six undocumented youth and an ally who risk their freedom when they publicly come out as undocumented and walk 3,000 miles to the nation's capital to organize for immigrant rights. The second, to be shown at 12:30 p.m., is "El Espíritu de la Memoría," a documentary about justice, memory and truth in Guatemala. Two religious individuals share their Protestant and Catholic experiences of working with indigenous communities in the effort to resist transnational corporations. Campus screenings are provided through partnership with the Student Organization for Latin American Studies, Department of Cinematic Arts, and the UNM Lobo Reading Experience.
Later in the evening on Friday the film festival holds its grand opening with a screening of Conducta/Behavior, an award-winning Cuban drama that examines the relationship between student and teacher in the face of wider obstacles. Director/writer Ernesto Daranas will be in attendance, and will provide a question and answer session following the film. For more information about the film, see MALAS student Jake Sandler's summary on ¡El Blog!. The film festival will then continue with a full line-up of amazing films on Saturday and Sunday.
¡Cine Magnífico! is at the forefront of the movement to increase cultural opportunities for the entire New Mexico community and to bring Latinos and non-Latinos together to share common experiences through film. For more information, visit the film festival website. Note: The complete schedule will be posted September 1.
