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: ------ [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 ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.ScreenSite.org