April 8-14, 2016
UWM Union Theatre
2200 East Kenwood Boulevard
Free Admission
All films will be shown in their original language with English subtitles. Films are not rated; many include adult content.
Friday, April 8
Between Sea and Land (La Ciénaga: Entre el Mar y la Tierra)
Colombia, 2015, 98 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Carlos del Castillo
Alberto lives on a swampy marsh adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, which he dreams of one day visiting. But Alberto is afflicted with a neurological disorder that confines him to his bed, and his mother Rosa lovingly protects and takes care of him. Alberto’s wry humor and creativity help them muster the strength to endure. Winner, Audience Award and Best Acting Award, Sundance 2016 (World Dramatic Section)
NN
Peru/Colombia/France/Germany, 2014, 90 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Héctor Gálvez
The remains of a male body who had presumably disappeared during the years of political violence in Peru have been exhumed, but nobody claims them. Now the only clue to his identification is a picture of a smiling girl found in his shirt. Only a blurred photo, a snapshot of a moment in time and a memory.
Saturday, April 9
Ixcanul
Guatemala/France, 2015, 91 min (in Kaqchikel Maya with English subtitles)
Blu-ray – Directed by Jayro Bustamante
Seventeen-year-old María lives with her Kaqchikel Maya family on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano. She is expected to follow the traditional customs and beliefs of her community, including an arranged marriage. She loves someone else, however, someone she hopes will take her to see the world beyond. Guatemala’s submission for the Academy Awards Foreign Film Category
Road to La Paz (Camino a La Paz)
Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar, 2015, 94 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Francisco Varone
Sebastian can’t seem to find direction in his life. Drifting through his days, disappointing his spouse, he starts getting wrong number phone calls, requesting a taxi. Gradually, seeing an opportunity, he begins playing the role, picking up passengers, and eventually meeting Jalil, an elderly Muslim, who wants to hire Sebastian for the 2000 mile drive to La Paz, Bolivia to see his brother and begin his journey to Mecca.
Sunday, April 10
Boy and the World (O Menino e o Mundo)
Brazil, 2015, 80 min (no dialogue)
Blu-ray – Directed by Alê Abreu
Brazilian artist Alê Abreu’s animated feature depicts the wonders and struggles of the modern world as seen through the eyes of a young boy. Cuca’s cozy rural life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family. The young boy’s journey unfolds like a tapestry, the animation taking on greater complexity as his small world expands. Academy Award Nominee, Best Animated Feature<
Co-presented with the Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies
Havana Curveball
USA/Cuba/Canada, 2014, 56 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Marcia Jamel and Ken Schneider
Thirteen-year-old Mica takes to heart his Rabbi's dictate to help “heal the world,” and launches a grand plan to send baseball equipment to Cuba—a country with a mysterious pull. He knows only that Cubans have few resources, love baseball, and gave his Jewish grandpa refuge during the Holocaust.
Immediately followed by a “Sneak Peek” of a new short film
Wheel of Life (La Rueda de la Vida)
Cuba/US, 2016, 15 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Marcia Jamel and Ken Schneider — Movie trailer
Meet El Oso (the Bear), one of the founders of Casino–the Cuban dance that launched salsa. A simple man whose joie de vivre delights, Oso travels through his Havana regaling us with tales of his youth, when Havana’s exclusive clubs were white only, forcing him to dance on the streets.
Monday, April 11
Cimarrón Spirit
Dominican Republic, 2015, 53 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Rubén Durán
As early as 1512 African slaves escaped from Spanish plantations and lived with the island’s Taíno Indians or on their own in the mountains. These cimarrones created their own independent communities that have survived for centuries and until recently remained isolated from mainstream Dominican society. These resilient and resourceful “outlaws” have long developed their own celebrations, many of which mock a society that enslaved them.
Immediately followed by
Sunday Ball (Jogo de Campo)
Brazil, 2015, 70 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Eryk Rocha
Eryk Rocha’s documentary focuses on an annual soccer championship among favela teams in Rio de Janeiro. Set in the Sampaio neighborhood (close to the Maracanã Stadium, where the 2014 World Cup final was held), the film brings audiences to a final match between two rival teams: Geração (from the Matriz favela) and Juventude (from the Sampaio favela). Rocha enters into the world of soccer from a sensorial and socially grounded perspective.
In collaboration with the Chicago Latino Film Festival
Tuesday, April 12
The Hamsters (Los Hámsters)
Mexico, 2015, 71 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Gilberto González
Rodolfo and Beatriz are the parents. Jessica and Juan are the teenagers. Together they are one very dysfunctional family, living in Tijuana. Rodolfo leaves the house as if for work each morning, though he is actually unemployed. Beatriz, feeling old, has a fling with her gym trainer. Jessica is in love with her boyfriend and her best friend. Juan’s girlfriend has a surprise for him.
Co-presented with the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival
Wednesday, April 13
From Afar (Desde Allá)
Venezuela/Mexico, 2015, 93 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Lorenzo Vigas
Armando, a 50-year-old man, seeks young men in Caracas and pays them just for company. One day he meets Elder, a 17-year-old hustler and leader of a criminal gang, and that meeting changes their lives forever. Winner of the Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival
Thursday, April 14
The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Brazil, 2015, 114 min
Blu-ray – Directed by Anna Muylaert
Val works as a live-in housekeeper in São Paulo. She is perfectly content to take care of her wealthy employers’ needs, from cooking and cleaning to being a surrogate mother to their teenage son, whom she has raised since he was a toddler. But when Val’s estranged daughter Jessica suddenly shows up, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.
The series is financially co-sponsored by UWM Union Sociocultural Programming, the Center for International Education, the Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, the Honors College, Cultures and Communities, the Departments of Africology, Art History, French, Italian and Comparative Literature (FICL), Film, English (Film Studies), Spanish & Portuguese, the Master of Arts in Language, Literature and Translation (MALLT), the Urban Studies Program Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival, Promotional cosponsors: the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Certificate Program, the major in Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latin@ Studies (LACUSL), Comparative Ethnic Studies, and the Department of History. In collaboration with the Chicago Latino Film Festival.