Spanish/Latin American Film Festival 2008

By Morgan Carver

Staff Writer

The Western Carolina Foreign Languages department has sponsored a Spanish film festival for WCU students. The show times are at 7:30 pm every Tuesday starting September 9 and running through October 21. The movies are held in the University Center Theatre.

“Nueba Yol” is a movie that was released August 16, 1995. Previous reviews on the film have commemorated it as funny and a “great mix between reality and comedy.” The movie, filmed in the Dominican Republic, is about a Dominican searching for something more in life. He has some bumps along the way when he gets caught in family reunion and gets involved with another ex-Dominican like himself. He experiences the troubles of finding a job without a green card and has to face some leaps and bounds. Coming up are some more films-just look for them every Tuesday night. The next film being shown is “La ley de Herodes” on September 23, which tells the story of a janitor who becomes mayor and grasps the power and corruption of the small town. The film is a mix between mystery and crime.

The film festival provides us with a great taste of the Spanish/Latin culture, ways of understanding of how hard it can be for immigrants and also shares the ways of life that they go by. The movie playing on October 7, “Como Agua para Chocolate,” illustrates the cultural differences between the American ways and the Spanish ways when it comes to marriage. The film is about two people who fall in love, but they come from different backgrounds and have different traditions and obligations. There are a variety of different films each with a unique lesson of culture. If you are looking for a heart filled movie, be sure to show up for the last movie of the festival on October 21. The film is called “Hable con Ella.” It is about two men who create a friendship because both of their girlfriends are in a deep coma. They are encouraged to talk to each of their girlfriends, hoping that a miracle will occur. Previous movie reviews have addressed this movie as “a film that shows us the beauty and subjectivity of love.”

A discussion will follow each movie, giving students a chance to discuss what they have just seen to create a better understanding of the Spanish culture. The Spanish/Latin American Film Festival has the potential of giving students the chance to learn and gain respect for the value of where we live today and respect for the Spanish/Latin American Culture. The Foreign Language Department has put this event together for students studying other languages as a way for them to understand that there is more to learning a language than just the pronunciations and the alphabet. Learning the culture is a huge part of it. The festival also includes other activities, such as a study abroad fair where students can get information about studying internationally. There are also plays and films shown around the area at various places for students to attend to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, September 15-October 15. Mexican Independence day was on September 16, and it is the anniversary of independence in five Latin American countries. In Franklin, on Downtown Main street, there is going to be a Multicultural Health fair for the closing of Hispanic Heritage month.