Welcome to the Central Michigan University 2021 Spanish Film Festival! We invite you to join us as we view six films this semester. The films are recent releases in Spanish with English subtitles. All but one (*) will stream online via digital streaming platforms. All of the films are multiple award and prize-winners, each at multiple international film festivals.
Schedule of Events
February 22-28
STREAMING ACCESS WEEK: February 22 - 28
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 seeking assistance from Steevens to establish himself. Junior has entered Chile without papers and doesn’t speak any Spanish. Steevens does everything he can to support his friend and even manages to get him a job with his employer. When an incident at their workplace erupts racial tensions and stokes a large anti-immigration sentiment in the city, Steveens loses his working documents. Now without a job, Steveens has to vacate his home and is left to wander the city, looking for a chance to restart his life beyond the margins of society.
Tuesday, March 9
Monos (Alejandro Landes, Colombia, 2019) *SCREENING DATE: Tuesday, March 9
Monos is a breathtaking survivalist saga set on a remote mountain in Latin America. The film tracks a young group of soldiers and rebels -- bearing names like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom -- who keep watch over an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson).
March 20-26
STREAMING ACCESS WEEK: March 20-26
A true story of young immigrants who get detained by U.S. Border Patrol—on purpose—and put in a shadowy for-profit detention center. Marco and Viri are members of a group of radical Dreamers on a mission to stop deportations, and they believe the best place to do that is in detention.
March 29 - April 4
STREAMING ACCESS WEEK: March 29 - April 4
Famous movie star Macarena Granada (Penelope Cruz) flees the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood to return to her roots in Spain, where she has signed on to star in an epic film as Queen Isabella of Spain.
April 10 - 16
STREAMING ACCESS WEEK: April 10-16
Tall, dark, androgynously handsome, Pierre wears eyeliner and a black lace g-string, while having sex with both boys and girls. The confusion only goes deeper when the teenager’s single, working-class mom is arrested for having stolen him (and his “sister”) at birth. Thanks to the wonders of DNA, he’s returned to his biological parents: bourgeois, straight-laced and thrilled to have him back—at least until he joins them at a bowling alley in a zebra-print mini dress.
April 19 - 26
From Mexican director Manolo Caro (Netflix’s The House of Flowers) comes the electrifying comedy about a seemingly simple dinner party. When a group of best friends gets together during a lunar eclipse to share an intimate meal in the tasteful house of Eva and Antonio, they suspect it’s just another typical night, until the hostess proposes a game. All guests must lay their cell phones on the table and read aloud all incoming messages and answer all incoming phone calls in front of the entire group. What begins as a provocative party game quickly becomes a wild ride full of twists and “textual tension” in this over the top comedy about the secrets we all carry in our pockets.
Contact Us
Contact
k.kulawik@cmich.edu for more information, for access to films, introductions, presentations, Q & As with filmmakers, and discussion forums.
Sponsors
The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN Arts & Culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain.
Thank you to our Central Michigan University partners for their generous support of this festival: