PirateQ 
Illegal immigration, racism and homophobia are among the political and social issues to be addressed during this year’s Hispanic Film Festival at Pensacola State College.
Five Spanish-language films – “Carga Sellada,” “¿Quién es Dayani Cristal?,” “El Pelo Mado,” “El Aula Vacia” and “Neruda” – will be shown throughout April during the annual festival co-sponsored by Pensacola State and Pragda.
The free festival is open to the public and the movies have English subtitles. All shows begin at 6 p.m. in Hagler Auditorium, Building 2, on the Pensacola campus.
The dates and movies are:
- Thursday, April 12: “Carga Sellada,” a 2015 Bolivian drama directed by Julia Vargas-Weise. The movie – about a cargo of toxic waste discovered in a small Bolivian village – was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
- Friday, April 13: “¿Quién es Dayani Cristal?,” a 2013 documentary about a Central American migrant worker who died trying to cross into the United States. The film won the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Cinematography Award and the 2013 Abu Dhabi Film Festival Documentary Film Competition’s Special Jury Award.
- Thursday, April 19: “El Pelo Mado,” a 2013 Venezuelan film that tackles racism and homophobia. The movie offers a rare look into identity politics among Latin Americans, where racism is often a taboo topic.
- Friday, April 20: “El Aula Vacia” addresses the high school dropout crisis in Latin America. Under the creative direction of Gael Garcia Bernal, 10 award-winning directors explore the underlying reasons why nearly 1 out of every 2 students in seven countries do not graduate high school. The film was released in 2015.
- April 27: “Neruda” ─ a 2016 film about a determined police inspector who searches for Chilean poet and politician, Pablo Neruda, who goes into hiding in 1948. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the inspector and Luis Gnecco as Neruda.
The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN arts and culture and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain. The film club offers grants twice a year to help high schools, colleges and universities introduce contemporary Spanish and Latin American cinema to students.
Pensacola State is among more than 100 educational institutions to participate in the program. For more information, contact Amber Carey, Pensacola State Spanish professor, at 850-484-1360 or email acarey@pensacolastate.edu.