South American film series begins tonight in Kiva

Katie Huntley

If students weren’t able to study abroad this semester, they too can be immersed in the captivating cultures of Latin countries.

This weekend, Libraries and Media Services presents a South American film series in the Kiva. The series features four films from Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

All films shown will include English subtitles, and discussions will be held afterward, said Francoise Massardier-Kenney, director for the Institute for Applied Linguistics.

“Since each movie is from a different country, you will be able to see the difference in cultures and speech patterns,” Massardier-Kenney said.

Daniel Boomhower, head of the music library and organizer of the series, said that the broad goal is to introduce campus communications to distinctive films.

“We are taking a large part of the world and providing an engaging way of accessing South American culture,” he said.

Boomhower said the films will cover a variety of topics, from political issues to the relationships of rural and urban societies.

“Everyone’s film tastes are different, but each (movie) is very distinctive, ranging from the poignant, to the challenging, to cinematographically beautiful – even stunning,” he said.

To gain further knowledge about the cultures, discussions led by experts will be held after each film.

“The intellectual and social stimulation really changes you,” Massardier-Kenney said.

The films offered contain mostly fictional and some historical issues.

“Movies are a medium that are readily understood,” Boomhower said. “They make these types of issues easier to digest.”

He said all of the films shown are also available in the library.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Boomhower said. “This series is shown to introduce the richness of the collection that we offer.”

Contact libraries and information services reporter Katie Huntley at [email protected].