Film Festival
SPANISH FILM FESTIVAL
Lights, ¡acción! This week, we invite all of Central New York to join us for our Spanish Film Festival, featuring one incredible film each night, free and open to all.
Dates:
Monday, April 6 – Friday, April 10
Time:
7:00 – 9:00 PM Nightly
Location:
5300 Jamesville Rd., Dewitt, NY 13214, located in Coville Theater
Admission:
Free
This Week's Films
Monday, April 6 – Sun and Daughter (Cuidando al sol)
Catalina Razzini | Bolivia / Spain / Germany | 84 min
Set on the stunning shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, ten-year-old Lucía fills the void left by her father’s absence with imagination and hope. When a group of tourists arrives, she sees her chance — enlisting a new friend and hatching a creative plan to bring her father back. A beautiful and heartwarming story about the unbreakable bond between a parent and child.
Director: Catalina Razzini is a Bolivian-Italian director who graduated in Filmmaking from the Universidad Catolica Boliviana and in Literature from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Film Directing from Madrid’s Escuela TAI de Artes y Espectaculos. Sun and Daughter is her debut feature film.
Themes: Coming-of-age, family, women and girls, indigenous identity, economic migration, rural life in the Bolivian Andes
Tuesday, April 7 – Home is Somewhere Else (Mi casa está en otra parte)
Carlos Hagerman & Jorge Villalobos | Mexico / United States | 87 min
Told through three deeply personal stories, this animated documentary pulls back the curtain on what it truly means to grow up undocumented in the United States. From a young girl fighting to keep her family together, to sisters separated by immigration status, to a poet-activist deported at 23 — each story is voiced by the real people living it. Brought to life through vivid, unique animation styles, the film places viewers inside each character’s fears, hopes, and dreams for a better future.
Director: Carlos Hagerman was born in Mexico City, received his MFA in Film at NYU as a Fulbright scholar, and worked for eight years as a director in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s production company Zeta Films before opening his own company. Jorge Villalobos works as a writer, director, and producer of animated and live-action projects; his animated and fiction short films have won over 20 international awards. Since 2012, when he co-founded Brinca Animation Studio, he and Carlos Hagerman have worked as a team, co-producing and co-directing animation projects for children.
Themes: Immigration, undocumented youth, identity, family separation, social justice
Wednesday, April 8 – Eternal Amazon (Amazônia Eterna)
Belisario Franca | Brazil | 88 min
Home to 20% of the world’s freshwater and millions of species, the Amazon rainforest is one of our planet’s most vital ecosystems — but how long can it survive? Through breathtaking cinematography and the voices of indigenous communities and environmentalists, Eternal Amazon explores whether a true balance between economics and ecology is possible, and the real-world projects working to make it happen.
Director: Belisario Franca is a Brazilian director who has been filming feature documentaries and documentary series since 1980 and has received multiple awards. His documentary series Beyond the Sea was awarded “Best Documentary Series” by the International Documentary Association in 1999, and Xavante Strategy won “Best Creation of Art and Media” at the United Nations Film Festival in 2007. Eternal Amazon is the most extensive documentary ever made about the sustainable economy in the Amazon region.
Themes: Environmental conservation, sustainability, indigenous peoples, the green economy, the relationships between humans and nature
Thursday, April 9 – La Suprema
Felipe Holguín Caro | Colombia | 83 min
In a remote Afro-Colombian village that doesn’t appear on any map and has never had electricity, a fierce and determined teenage girl discovers her uncle is about to fight for the world boxing title — and it will be broadcast live on television. What follows is a joyful, heartwarming story of a community that refuses to be forgotten, rallying together against all odds to make the impossible happen. Colombia’s official Oscar submission, La Suprema is a feel-good film brimming with humor, heart, and dignity.
Director: Felipe Holguin Caro is a Columbian, award-winning film writer and director, co-founder of Columbia Films, who has worked in Bogota, NYC, Sao Paulo, and L.A. He received awards at different festivals for his short films and also directed music videos for artists including Kali Uchis and Petrona Martinez. La Suprema, his debut narrative feature, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was chosen by the Columbia Film Academy to represent Columbia at the Oscar Awards.
Themes: Women’s empowerment, Afro-Columbia identity, community resilience, marginalization, intergenerational relationships, dreams and dignity
When a single mother who has long turned her back on her Jewish heritage returns to her hometown of Melilla — a vibrant, multicultural Spanish city on Africa’s north coast — for her niece’s Orthodox wedding, her carefully constructed world begins to unravel. Set against the backdrop of a city where Jews, Muslims, and Christians live side by side, Alegría is a warm, funny, and deeply human story about coming to terms with your roots, your family, and the culture you thought you’d left behind.
Director: Violeta Salama studied Audiovisual Communication at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and holds a Master’s in Creative Documentary from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. She moved to Vancouver to pursue a postgraduate degree in film production at Vancouver Film School, and later worked on acclaimed Spanish series before transitioning into feature filmmaking. Alegria (2021) is her feature-length directorial debut, and in 2023 she directed the second season of the Prime Video series Dias Mejores.
Themes: Jewish identity and heritage, multiculturalism, women’s stories, family, coexistence of cultures (Jewish, Muslim, Christian), and belonging