Dear Friends,
SPANISH FILM CLUB (SFC) educational program has a new grant
application deadline and a brand-new line-up of films! The program
offers grants to bring a slate of impressive recent films to campuses
across North America and abroad. Spark your semester by engaging your
school community with an unforgettable Ibero-American Film
Festival! Apply for a SFC GRANT online by April 17, 2020
at https://pragda.com/spanish-film-club/application/
HOW IT WORKS
• Grants cover up to 50% of the festival costs
• Universities screen 5 films or more in 8 weeks
• Two grant deadlines: April 17 and October 15, 2020
• More than 90 Award-winning titles from 25+ countries
• Virtual Q&As with filmmakers
• Study Guides available
• 220+ universities participating so far!
2020 NEW FILM LINE-UP INCLUDE (For all 90 titles check:
https://pragda.com/spanish-film-club/ [1])
EMA
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL; TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
Adoptive parents Ema (Variety’s 10 Latinxs To Watch 2020’s
Mariana Di Girolamo) and Gastón (Gael García Bernal) are artistic
free spirits in a contemporary dance troupe whose lives are thrown
into chaos when their adopted son Polo is involved in a violent
incident. As her marriage crumbles in the wake of the couple’s
decision to reverse the adoption, Ema embarks on an odyssey of
liberation. By one of Chile’s greatest living filmmakers, Pablo
Larraín.
“One of the year’s most dynamic and electrifying films.” –
David Ehrlich, INDIEWIRE
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/ema/ [2]
MONOS
ACADEMY AWARD® COLOMBIA’S SUBMISSION; SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL,
SPECIAL JURY AWARD
A crossroad between Apocalypse Now, Lord of the Flies, and Embrace
of the Serpent, Alejandro Landes’s Monos tracks a young group of
soldiers and rebels who run wild in the mountains of an unspecified
South American country, while keeping watch over an American hostage,
Doctora.
“A monumentally cinematic experience.” - ROGEREBERTCOM
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/monos/ [3]
THE AWAKENING OF THE ANTS
ACADEMY AWARD® COSTA RICA’S SUBMISSION; BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
For thoughtful, demure young housewife Isa, life in a lush,
postcard-perfect Costa Rican seaside village is far from anyone’s
idea of a dream.
“The hesitant steps toward liberation of a young wife and mother
are depicted with subtlety and sensitivity in The Awakening of the
Ants.” – Jonathan Holland, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/the-awakening-of-the-ants/? [4]
PERFECT STRANGERS
From Mexican director Manolo Caro (Netflix’s The House of Flowers)
comes an electrifying comedy about a seemingly simple dinner party
that becomes a wild ride full of twists and “textual tension”.
“Snappy, witty, and fast-paced... A modern comedy of manners that
may hinge on the influence of cell phones and the internet, but
chronicles emotions and twists that don’t need technological
fluffing.” – Kate Erbland, INDIEWIRE
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/perfect-strangers/ [5]
THE INFILTRATORS
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, NEXT SECTION AUDIENCE AWARD, INNOVATORS
AWARD; SXSW
This powerfully inventive docu-thriller tells the incredible true
story of two members of the Dreamer-led National Immigrant Youth
Alliance who embark on a mission to stop deportations by intentionally
getting themselves detained.
“Exceedingly smart...The Infiltrators manages to personalize the
undocumented struggle by transforming it into an unlikely blend of
activism and suspense that makes a compelling case for the abolishment
of ICE.” – Eric Kohn, INDIEWIRE
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/the-infiltrators/?sfc=1 [6]
PERRO BOMBA
MALAGA FILM FESTIVAL, BEST IBERO AMERICAN FILM, BEST ACTOR, AUDIENCE
AWARD
Steevens is a young Haitian immigrant living a challenging, but
somewhat stable life in Santiago de Chile: he has a construction job,
a home, friends, and fun. This precariously balanced life is disrupted
when Junior, a childhood friend from Haiti, arrives in Chile
“Caceres’ debut feature, the film takes aim at the arcane racism
affecting above all Chile’s working class, and immigrants’
suffering from laws born in the time of a xenophobic dictator Augusto
Pinochet which remain today and affect more than half a million
immigrants.” – Jamie Lang, VARIETY
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/perro-bomba/ [7]
NEITHER HERO NOR TRAITOR
Buenos Aires, 1982. Matías (19) has recently finished his military
service and dreams of going to Spain to study music far from a
dictatorship. His problems come down to convincing his girlfriend to
meet him there at a later date and to get around his father’s
opposition. But the playing board changes completely when the
Falklands War breaks out and he is drafted along with his friends.
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/neither-hero-nor-traitor/ [8]
GUIE’DANI’S NAVEL
MORELIA FILM FESTIVAL, SPECIAL MENTION FILM ACTRESS, CINÉPOLIS
DISTRIBUTION AWARD; CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, BEST NEW
DIRECTOR NOMINATION
Guie’dani is dragged to Mexico City by her mother to help in her
work as a housekeeper for an upper-middle-class family. There, the
subtle psychological subjugation inflicted by the white family
functions as a metaphor for the oppression of the old world by the
new. A striking contrast to Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, the film is a
unique coming-of-age narrative exploring the racism inflicted on
indigenous people in Mexico and the empowerment of a new generation
that refuses to accept it silently.
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/guiedanis-navel/ [9]
MIGUELITO: A SONG TO PUERTO RICO
MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVAL; SAN JUAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL,
HONORABLE MENTION
In 1973, the eleven-year-old Miguelito was discovered singing in San
Juan airport by the legendary New York record producer Harvey Averne.
Within a year, he went from the slums of Manuel A. Perez to recording
an album with the finest salsa musicians of the time, to finally
performing with Eddie Palmieri at Madison Square Garden in front of
20,000 people. A year later, he had disappeared from public life.
“Part portrait of a legendary child prodigy, part detective story,
part family drama and always filled with layers of revelation and
irony, Miguelito is an emotional cross-cultural journey from NYC to
Puerto Rico to Colombia and back -- celebrating the joys of salsa
music, and the hopes and dreams, but also the harsh realities, of life
in the music industry.” – Alan Berliner, FILMMAKER
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/miguelito/ [10]
THE CITY OF THE FUTURE
NEWFEST, GRAND JURY AWARD; BUENOS AIRES INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL,
BEST LATIN AMERICAN FILM
In Serra do Ramalho, Brazil, young teacher Milla finds herself
pregnant by her colleague Gilmar, who is in a relationship with Igor.
But Milla asserts that the baby will belong to all three of them.
“The film is moving and makes you think; turning an unusual love
story into a statement of freedom.” – Rodrigo de
Oliveira, ABRACINE
Read more at https://pragda.com/film/the-city-of-the-future/ [11]
WHAT UNIVERSITIES SAY
• “Great experience!” - Iowa State University
• “A great way to get colleagues and students involved and
talking about Spanish and Latin American culture, history, and
politics.” – Brown University
• “An excellent opportunity to challenge students’ stereotypes
and cultural knowledge.” – Dickinson State University
• “One of the favorite events at UNC charlotte. Students become
critical thinkers and learn to appreciate freedom of inquiry.” –
UNC at Charlotte
• “It’s my 3rd time and I’ll do it again, unique films that
are meaningful to our students.” - University of Michigan-Dearborn
• "A touching and inspiring experience that moved our audience into
tears or laughter, gathered different people together, and generated a
sense of happiness and community". - University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.
• “Traveling the globe via films is a fabulous way to see the
world.” - Winthrop University
• “The best way to put students in touch with the reality of
Latin America.” - Texas A&M University
• “A very valuable and thought-provoking experience for our
students and community!” - Clayton State University
ABOUT PRAGDA
PRAGDA is a cultural initiative that specializes in offering Latin
American and Spanish films of educational interest for students,
instructors, and librarians. To learn more, visit www.pragda.com
[12]. Read more about SFC and check out the complete line-up
at https://pragda.com/spanish-film-club.
Best,
Daniela
--
Daniela Bajar
Pragda
Pragda: www.pragda.com
Spanish Film Club: www.spanishfilmclub.com
Links:
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[1] https://pragda.com/spanish-film-club/
[2] https://pragda.com/film/ema/
[3] https://pragda.com/film/monos/?sfc=1
[4] https://pragda.com/film/the-awakening-of-the-ants/?sfc=1
[5] https://pragda.com/film/perfect-strangers/?sfc=1
[6] https://pragda.com/film/the-infiltrators/?sfc=1
[7] https://pragda.com/film/perro-bomba/?sfc=1
[8] https://pragda.com/film/neither-hero-nor-traitor/?sfc=1
[9] https://pragda.com/film/guiedanis-navel/?sfc=1
[10] https://pragda.com/film/miguelito/
[11] https://pragda.com/film/the-city-of-the-future/
[12] http://www.pragda.com
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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org
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