Latin American films to be featured in Skidmore series
The Latin American Studies Program at Skidmore will present a series of four films and related discussions that explore contemporary Latin American culture and society.
The series, a component of the Skidmore course “Documenting Latin America,” is open to the public free of charge. The films, all of which have English subtitles, will be screened on successive Wednesdays from Feb. 18 through March 11, 7–9 p.m., in Emerson Auditorium of Palamountain Hall on the Skidmore campus.
Below is an overview of the films.
Feb. 18
From the Land to Your Table
This documentary presents the perspectives of seven Latin American filmmakers as they
capture the conditions and cultural diversity of popular produce markets in their
individual countries. Each segment has its own unique style and tone, highlighting
the fascinating stories of the foods that eventually wind up on our tables.
Feb. 25
The Eternal Amazonia
The film provides a critical analysis of how the world’s largest tropical rainforest
is understood and utilized. Exploring the Amazon’s five million square kilometers—home
to 20 percent of the world’s freshwater reserves—the film features nine successful
projects for sustainable forest use and asks whether such projects are possible on
a larger scale. The movie portrays the daily lives of the forest people as the guardians
of this great resource.
March 4
The Facilitator
This film is a political thriller about human rights. When Miguel, a successful businessman,
learns he is ill, he asks his estranged and troubled daughter, Elena, to come back
to Ecuador. While there, she becomes actively involved in the indigenous community’s
struggle for water access rights, and learns of dark family secrets of crimes and
corruption.
March 11
Marimbas from Hell
Exploring the boundaries between fiction and documentary, this film follows three
unlikely characters from Guatemala City as they attempt to fuse improbable musical
styles—the traditional music of the marimba and heavy metal. With many humorous moments,
the movie is a unique story of the fusion between tradition and modernity that conveys
a moving and authentic sense of Guatemalan life.
The “Documenting Latin America” series is sponsored by three Skidmore College programs—Latin American Studies, the John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative, and Project VIS—and by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports of Spain and Pragda Spanish Film Club.
