LATIN AMERICAN FILM SERIES
The Center for Latin American Studies presents a film series on a particular theme each quarter of the academic year. CLAS faculty specialists in Latin American cinema determine the theme and choose 5 feature films to be shown on alternate Wednesday evenings during the quarter. Graduate students specializing in film/cultural studies serve as film series coordinators. Among their duties is an introduction to each film, covering essential background information on filmmakers, actors, and cultural context. All films in a language other than English have English subtitles. The Latin American Film Series is free and open to the public. Children (accompanied by an adult) and teens are welcome, but discretion is advised as most films are not rated.
Latin American Literatures and Cultures faculty who contribute their expertise to the film series:
Abril Trigo
Laura Podalsky
Richard Gordon
WINTER 2010 LATIN AMERICAN FILM SERIES
RE-VISIONING BOLIVIA
Wednesdays at 7:30 PM
100 Mendenhall Labs & 180 Hagerty Hall
The Ohio State University Columbus Campus
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
All films subtitled in English
Click here for flyer.
Cuestion de Fé / Faith Matters
100 Mendenhall Labs
January 13, 2010
The Opera Prima of Bolivian director Marcos Loayza tells the story of two Bolivian saint makers who are ordered by a gangster to construct a life-size Virgin and deliver it to a small village in the subtropical jungle in the northern part of La Paz. Accompanied by their friend, a notorious gambler, they proceed to have misadventures which test their respective faiths in God, the Virgin, and gambling. Marcos Loayza, 1995, 89’. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH4uzEdk5Hw
American Visa
100 Mendenhall Labs
January 27
Mario Alvarez, a middle age school teacher from Oruro City, wants to immigrate to the United States and begin a new life with his son, who is already in Miami. When Alvarez’s visa application is denied, he plans a robbery to pay for a visa through the black market. Fate has an unexpected turn for him when he meets Blanca, a nightclub dancer looking for a different kind of dream. With a different angle on immigration, American Visa addresses the complex relationship between the US and Bolivia. Juan Carlos Valdivia, 2005, 100’. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlGSwEDgGEk
¿Quién mató a la llamita blanca? / Who Killed the White Llama?
180 Hagerty Hall
February 10, 2010
Jacinto and Domitila are two happily married indigenous Bolivians and the most notorious criminals in the country. When they are paid to transport 50 grams of cocaine to the Brazilian border, they embark on riotous adventure through the jungles, mountains, deserts, and cities of Bolivia while their friendship is tested and they question their future as criminals. With two of the country’s top anti-narcotics officers on their trail, what should have been a simple arrest soon becomes a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse, exposing all the irony and corruption that comes with Bolivian life. Rodrigo Bellot, 2006, 112’. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12PHT9N71YU
Los Andes no creen en Dios / The Andes Don’t Believe in God
180 Hagerty Hall
February 24, 2010
A historical movie about a young writer brought up in France named Alfonso, who arrives at an adventurous mining town (Uyuni) on the Bolivian high plateau. Here he meets the beautiful Claudina, a sensual, strong willed chola, la "Misqui simi" ("The one with the sweet lips"). Uyuni radiates a strange magnetism; it is charged with a collective euphoria during the first part of the twentieth century produced by the bewitching mineral, in which the lives of the characters enter a whirl of passion, ambition and frustration as they struggle to define both ethical and commercial boundaries. Antonio Eguino, 2007, 105’. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUaHzguEGuQ
Cocalero
180 Hagerty Hall
March 10
Based on the US war on drugs, an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales – backed by a troop of coca leaf farmers – travels through the Andes and Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic bid to become Bolivia’s first Indigenous president in 2006. The filmmakers, who were granted astonishing up close and personal access to Evo, capture the intimate moments of this controversial figure and his triumphant rise to power. A story of geopolitics, people’s movements, indigenous culture, and one man’s impressive determination. Alejandro Landes, 2007, 94’. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ91ku5rJxc.
1712 Neil Ave, Columbus, Ohio 43210