Film Festival Program_2017

Spanish language Film Festival

Encountering difference

The theme of this year’s film festival, encountering difference,
explores the experience of being confronted with difference
through a selection of varied and seemingly unrelated films from
Latin America and Spain. As a community dedicated to unhurried
conversations, we invite the Washington College community to
join the characters on their path to discovering and challenging a
world that does not always embrace diversity.

In an age when we have at our disposal a myriad of media choices
that can be streamed instantly from the comfort of our homes, it
might feel a bit out of our comfort zone to select a film from a
program that not only limits our options, but also tells us when
and where to watch it. In spite of this reality, everyone behind
the film festival invites you to return to the wonders of the
cinema. Come live the experience of coming together as a
community that occupies a space, initiates thoughtful
conversations, raises questions, and shares memories with
delicious popcorn in hand.

Hasta pronto,

Dr. Martín Ponti

Opening Night

Join us for an evening of:

Film + Food + Fun

Guess the name of our first film to win a Gift Card from
Evergrain

Here are some clues…..
a. Romantic comedy
b. Year of production 2014
c. Spain-Argentina co-production

Email your response* to [email protected]
After the film, join us for a lively discussion with:
Dr. Cristina Casado Presa
Dr. Rebeca Moreno
Dr. Martin Ponti

Wednesday March 22, 5:30pm Norman James Theater

* The first correct answer will receive prize during the discussion

THE TRAVEL AGENT (Pequeñas mentiras piadosas)
Niccolò Bruna / Spain, Italy / 87 Min / 2015/ In Spanish with English
subtitles

From her tiny office overlooking the U.S.
Interests Section, 58-year old Lourdes
counsels thousands of Cubans seeking a
U.S. travel visa. She coaches them on
answering tricky questions, fine-tuning their stories so they have a
better chance of succeeding. Despite helping others to travel, she has
never been able to visit her own mother, son, brothers, grandsons, and
nephews in Florida. After a long wait, Lourdes’ time has finally come:
her interview is set. Her dream to visit her dying mother, who emigrated
during the sixties, has never been so close. Will she be able to travel and
finally overturn her destiny of forced separation?

Show times:
Friday, March 24 at 5:30 pm in Norman James Theater

Undertow (Contracorriente)
Javier Fuentes / Colombia, Peru, Germany / 100 min / 2010 / In
Spanish with with English subtitles

Miguel is a young and handsome
fisherman who lives with his
beautiful pregnant wife in Cabo
Blanco, a small traditional fishing
village in Northern Peru. What
nobody knows is that Miguel is
having a passionate affair with
Santiago, a painter ostracized
from the community due to his
sexuality and agnostic views.
When Santiago drowns accidentally, Miguel has to make an important
choice that could cause him to lose the people he loves the most. With
its emotionally charged love story, sweeping images of the beautiful
Peruvian coastline, and excellent cast, Undertow examines the
complicated intersection of manhood, masculinity, sexuality, and
tradition.

Show times:

Saturday, March 25, 2:00 pm Norman James Theater

After the film join us for a lively discussion with:

Dr. Elena Deanda and Dr. Martin Ponti

IXCANUL, VOLCANO (Ixcanul, Volcán)
Jayro Bustamante / France, Guatemala / 62 min / 2015 / In Maya and
Spanish with English subtitles

Maria, a 17-year-old Mayan girl, lives and
works with her parents on a coffee
plantation in the foothills of an active
volcano in Guatemala. An arranged
marriage awaits her: her parents have promised her to Ignacio, the
plantation overseer. But Maria doesn’t sit back and accept her destiny.
Pepe, a young coffee cutter who plans to migrate to the USA becomes
her possible way out. Maria seduces Pepe in order to run away with
him, but after promises and clandestine meetings, Pepe takes off,
leaving her pregnant, alone and in disgrace. There’s no time to lose for
Maria’s mother, who thinks abortion is the only solution.

Show times:
Saturday, March 25, 5:00 pm Norman James Theater
Monday, March 27, at 5:30 pm Norman James Theater

THE BOSS, ANATOMY OF A CRIME (El patrón, radiografía de un crimen)
Sebastián Schindel / Argentina, Venezuela / 98 Min / 2014 / In Spanish
with English subtitles

Based on a true story, The Boss, Anatomy
of a Murder is a neo-realistic portrait of
the inhumane work environment, and the
power imbalances existing between
worker and employer. The multiple award-winning film tells the
unsettling story of Hermógenes, a humble illiterate farmhand who
arrives in Buenos Aires in search of a job. When Don Latuada puts him
in charge of one of his butcher shops he is extremely grateful. In
exchange, he forces him to disguise and sell rotten meat while
subjecting him, by means of pressure and extortion, to a modern day
slavery situation.

Show times:
Wednesday, March 29 at 5:30 pm in Norman James Theater
Saturday, April 1 at 2:00 pm in Norman James Theater –Followed by a
discussion session with Mr. Collin Ashmore and Dr. Martin Ponti

THE COUNTRY OF FEAR (El país del miedo)

Francisco Espada / Spain / 102 min / 2015 / In Spanish with English
subtitles

A festival favorite, The Country of Fear is a
must see for high school and college level
students. The film touches upon one of
the most talk about behavioral issues
happening on campus these days. Carlos, Sara, and their preteen
son Pablo, live a peaceful middle-class life until Sara begins to notice
things disappearing in the house. She blames the Moroccan maid and
eventually fires her. But the stealing doesn’t stop; Pablo is the culprit.
Fearful, Carlos decides to follow Pablo to school where he discovers that
a 13-year-old classmate, Marta, is bullying and extorting Pablo. But
resolving the affair isn’t that easy and he becomes Marta’s victim as
well. Carlos’s inability to defend himself or his son, pushes him to a
series of anguished situations that would lead him to make the wrong
decisions.

Show times:

Friday, March 31, at 5:30 pm in Norman James Theater

BAREFOOT IN THE KITCHEN (Con la pata quebrada)
Diego Galán / Spain / 86 min / 2014 / Spanish with English subtitles

Co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar’s
production company El Deseo and veteran
Spanish producer Enrique Cerezo, this
illuminating survey was put together by
Diego Galán, a noted Spanish film critic and former director of San
Sebastian Film Festival. Reflecting changes in the political sphere,
Barefoot in the Kitchen chronicles how Spanish cinema has portrayed
the evolution of women from the 1930s to the present day, using film
fragments from 180 movies. Galán demonstrates how landmarks in the
recent history of Spain can be directly indicated by shifts in social mores
in cinema. By the time of All About My Mother (1990), women had turned
the tables on men and on cinematic sexism, present since the early days
of the talkies. – Jaie Laplante, Miami International Film Festival.

Show times:
Saturday, April 1, at 5:00 pm in Norman James Theater

• Interested in learning more about the Spanish speaking world?

• Are you considering a Minor or a Major in Spanish?

• Have you ever wondered about studying abroad in a Spanish

speaking country?

Reach out to any of our dedicated faculty who can connect you to all
things Spanish.

• Dr. Cristina Casado Presa
Associate Professor of Spanish
Department Chair
Gender Studies Program Director
[email protected]

• Dr. Elena Deanda Camacho
Associate Professor of Spanish
Black Studies Program Director
[email protected]

• Dr. Martín Ponti
Assistant Professor of Spanish
[email protected]

• Dr. Rebeca Moreno
Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
[email protected]

• Mr. Collin Ashmore
Visiting Instructor and Language Coordinator
[email protected]

I would like to thank the following departments and organizations for
making this film festival a reality. Your generous contribution opens our
community to a greater diversity of voices, images, and ideas. It is the
goal of everyone behind this Festival to offer the greater Washington
College community the opportunity to come together through the
captivating magic of film making.

Enjoy the films and the popcorn!

Our Generous Sponsors:
Washington College

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
The Spanish Club of Washington College
Sigma Delta Pi
Humanities
Gender Studies