The festival begins with “Butterfly”, a coming-of-age tale about a young boy who, in befriending his teacher, is introduced to the world. Spanish director José Luis Cuerda uses the film’s narrative to explore issues faced by the Spanish populace during a period leading up to the Spanish Civil War.
Spain’s fight for political ideology is also the backdrop for Wednesday, March 12’s film, the fantastical “Pan’s Labyrinth”, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. In this film, a young girl enters the storybook world of Pan, the faun, while the last days of the civil war play out among the adults in her life.
Thursday’s film, “Machuca”, is the story of class divisions and social upheaval told through the friendship of the very poor Pedro Machuca and the well-off Gonzalo Infante.
All of these award-winning films will be presented in Spanish language with English subtitling.
The film content and mode of representation will be compared and discussed. There will be a half-hour speaker’s presentation, in English, by international guest speaker Dr. Lauro Zavala, a prominent scholar, literary and film critic and Cinema professor from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, UAM, from México City.
Each film starts at 6:00 p.m. with Dr. Zavala’s presentation, followed by the screening of the film and post screening panel and public discussion.
The general public is welcome and can purchase tickets at the door for $5.00. For additional information call the Department of World Languages and Cultures at 826-3226 or visit the web page.