OXFORD, Miss. – “Hard-to-see films from unexpected countries” are on tap as part of the Third Annual Hispanic Heritage Film Series, hosted by the University of Mississippi Department of Modern Languages. It begins Sept. 21 with a screening of “The Return.”
The film series is part of Hispanic Heritage Month, which will be observed at Ole Miss from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. All five films have English subtitles and will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursdays in Lamar Hall, Room 131. The Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library also will host a showing of one of the films in the series, “Truman,” at 3 p.m. Sept. 30.
The series consists of five contemporary films from Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain this time, said Diane Marting, associate professor of modern languages and one of the organizers.
“This year has several special features: a community showing, hard-to-see films from unexpected countries and a nice, new location,” Marting said.
The films to be screened at 7 p.m. Thursdays in Lamar Hall are:
- Sept. 21 – “The Return.” This Costa Rican movie is based on a life-changing journey back to Costa Rica.
- Sept. 28 – “Truman.” Argentinean actor Ricardo Darín stars in a beautiful nostalgic movie about a dog named Truman. The movie was awarded Spain’s Goya Prize for the best film of 2015. The Oxford Public Library also will screen “Truman” on Sept. 30.
- Oct. 5 – “The Companion.” Cuba’s official entry to the Academy Awards covers the period in the 1980s when HIV patients were sent to AIDS centers under military rule.
- Oct. 12 – “The Tenth Man.” This comedy explores identity, faith and father-son relationships in Once, which is Buenos Aires’ bustling Jewish district.
- Oct. 19 – “Seven Boxes.” This Paraguayan crime thriller chronicles a few days in the life of Victor, a daydreaming 17-year-old pushcart porter in Mercado 4 who is asked to keep seven boxes with unknown content away from the police.
The trailers for the films can be seen here.
The Hispanic Heritage Series is made possible with the support of Pragda, the Spanish Film Club.com, SPAIN Arts & Culture, and the Secretary of State for the Culture of Spain. Local major sponsors are the Department of Modern Languages, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Center for Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. Other sponsors include the College of Liberal Arts; the cinema studies minor program; the departments of English, history, political science and sociology and anthropology; Croft Institute for International Studies; the Oxford Film Festival; and the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies.
“This series promotes cultural understanding of the Hispanic community,” said Carmen Sánchez, a UM modern languages instructor and another of the organizers.
Irene Kaufmann, UM lecturer of Spanish and another co-organizer, added, “Being exposed to international cinema is one way of opening our minds to the world, something we all need very much in these times.”
