25th annual Latino film festival at Mill Creek Theater
This year’s 25th annual Latino Film Festival will be held at the Mill Creek Cinema from Feb. 27-29. Organized by Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods the event will be from 6-10:20 p.m and there will be no entry fee.
The topic is “Environmental Issues in Latin America” three films during the event featuring three movies;
A Million Miles Away
A Million Miles Away is an hispanoamericana movie telling the story of a young Mexican-American man who aspires to become an astronaut.
El abrazo de la serpiente
El abrazo de la serpiente touches on the topic of violence in the South America Amazon forest.
Nostalgia de la luz
Nostalgia de la luz focuses on accountability for past actions in a corrupt political atmosphere in the Chilean Atacama desert.
This event was coordinated by Spanish professors, Francisco de la Cabada from Cal Poly Humboldt and Kristy Carlsen from College of the Redwoods.
The film festival was a collaboration initiated by Professor Anna Maria Romo, who will be attending the festival this year as part of the panel.
The film festival will consist of an introduction detailing the elements of the movie by keynote speaker Myrna Santiago, the viewing of the film and a panel discussion at the end. The panel will include a Q and A where attendees can ask questions about the films.
Part of the experience is to analyze the film, making the Latino Film Festival different from going to an ordinary theater and watching a movie. De la Cabada said the goal is to make the film festival an interactive experience.
“It is important to transcend isolation through connectivity,” said De la Cabada. He believes events like this one give people the opportunity to ask questions and ponder on a film’s significance rather than just watching a movie without really understanding the meaning behind the movie.
Professor De la Cabada explained it is a process to pick which movies will be played, it comes down to accessibility and quality.
The films are socially relevant to the audience’s lives and communities.