On Thursday, Sept. 25, the launch of the NC Latin American Film Festival took place at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at UNC Chapel Hill. This series of events will continue through Nov. 6 and is free and open to the public.
The festival is organized annually by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-CH and Duke University. It is co-sponsored by the Centro Hispano, North Carolina Central University, Durham Technical Community College, PRAGDA and other sponsors.
Since its foundation in 1986, the festival has consistently offered a variety of events representing Latin American cinematic tradition in North Carolina. It has also been a platform for seminars, cultural events, panel discussions and Q&A sessions with leading filmmakers of the 26 countries that comprise Latin America.
This year the festival will explore and demonstrate the influence of sound and rhythm in the socio-cultural and historical development of regions, thus demonstrating the human experience of Latin American peoples.
Seven Boxes, the inaugural film, paints a picture of life of many young people in need in Latin America and the pitfalls that come with the quick fixes. In Spanish, Guarani and Korean, this movie is a wonderful multilingual representation of demographic diversity in South American countries. The Paraguayan film is directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schémbori.
In previous years, NC State has participated as one of the sponsors of the festival. In 2011, two films were presented at Witherspoon Student Cinema, El tiro de piedra and El Infierno and featured a discussion from one of the directors.
The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies is renowned for this film program as well as its research and publications in the subject area. This semester UNC-CH admitted a total of 8,930 undergraduate students, Hispanics comprising 8 percent of the total 2018 class, according to its admissions website.
Last year, at the beginning of the fall semester, Duke admitted 6,495 undergraduate students, 6 percent being of Hispanic descent. NC State currently has a total of 4 percent of Hispanic students. Although this represents a small difference in population percentages, the difference reflects a significant gap in enrollment of Latino students.
This year the festival is increasing the variety of its events by including a live score performance accompanying a film, live music from Latin rock band L.E.T.A.L. and a food truck meal by Dos Perros Restaurant in Durham.
