Spanish Film Festival

The Spanish Film Festival, Fall 2024, will feature the screening of five films on campus in the new Film Lab in Building E.

Films will screen on days listed at 2pm and 6pm, in Building E, Room E109 and are free and open to the public.

Seating is limited to 52 persons per screening.

All films are presented in their original language with English subtitles.

This event has been made possible with a grant from the Government of Spain through their Spanish Film Club program PRAGDA with additional support from the Harper Cultural Arts Committee. 

For information, contact Brian Shelton, Associate Professor, Liberal Arts, by emailing: bshelton@harpercollege.edu

Film Schedule:

Tuesday, September 24, 2024: Carajita (2021) by Ulises Porra and Silvina Schnicer

Dominican Republic / Spanish

with Cecile Van Welie, Magnolia Núñez, Adelanny Padilla

Featuring striking cinematography and outstanding performances, Carajita (which means annoying child) explores the tenuous relationship that exists between race, class, and family. Sarah, the pampered daughter of a corrupt oligarch whose family recently relocated to Las Terrenas, thinks of her Black Dominican nanny, Yarisa, as “part of the family.” The two have a “mother-daughter-like” relationship that transcends their social standing. That illusion is put to the test when Yarisa’s spirited daughter Mallory goes missing, challenging Sarah’s naïve beliefs. Boasting intuitive storytelling and confident direction, Carajita plays like a psychological thriller, deriving oppressive tension from unspoken inequalities and the impunity of privilege.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024: Alegría (2021) by Violeta Salama

Spain / Spanish

with Cecilia Suárez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Laia Manzanares, Sarah Perles, Joe Manjón

A layered, heartfelt family drama about women breaking free from patriarchal tradition in a contemporary Jewish diasporic community.

Alegría’s life takes a profound shift upon discovering that her orthodox Jewish brother insists on holding his daughter’s wedding in Melilla. Guided by Dunia, her Arab housekeeper, and Marian, her Christian confidante, Alegría embarks on a journey to connect with her roots while assisting her niece, Yael, in navigating womanhood within a highly conservative male-dominated environment.

Tuesday, October 8: A Bruddha’s Mind (2020) by Déo Cardoso

Brazil / Portuguese

with Lucas Limeira, Nicoly Mota, Jennifer Joingley, Mayara Braga

Based on real events, this political drama fuses Brazilian history with international anti-racist movements. Saulo, a black introverted student and fan of the Black Panther Movement, challenges his school in the largely white city of Fortaleza.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024: Alice Júnior (2019) by Gil Baroni

Brazil / Portuguese

with Anne Celestino Mota, Emmanuel Rosset, Thais Schier, Surya Amitrano

Alice Júnior is a carefree, spoiled trans YouTuber with everything she could ask for: an apartment in a cool beach town, a loving dad, her own advice vlog, an almost-win on Teen Top Model, and a cat named Rhinoceros. So, when her father announces their move from the vibrant Brazilian city of Recife to a small, conservative town in the south and to an old-fashioned catholic school, Alice has to prepare herself for the prudery and small-mindedness she will confront there. The teenager, however, doesn’t let the initial hostility get her down. Alice releases her truest survival instinct to make her new schoolmates and teachers rethink their conservative ways, and catch her long-overdue first kiss: by being loud and unapologetically herself.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024: Cassandro (2023) by Roger Ross Williams

Mexico / United States / Spanish

with Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla de la Rosa

Based on the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, who rises to international stardom after he creates the character ‘Cassandro,’ the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life.