Latin American and Spanish Film Festival returns to Lawrence Oct. 13-16

The Latin American and Spanish Film Festival returns to Lawrence University Oct. 13-16 after a two-year absence. It comes during Hispanic Heritage Month.

The film festival is an independent event that is organized by Rosa Tapia, professor of Spanish, and Cecilia Herrera, instructor of Spanish. Admission to Warch Campus Center Cinema on the Lawrence campus is free and the films are in Spanish language with English subtitles.

"The film festival was born in 2012, so this is its 10th anniversary," Tapia: said. "To celebrate this milestone, we are bringing special guest Dr. Javier Guerrero from Princeton University, a leading scholar in Latin American and Film Studies.”

Guerrero will give a talk about famous Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (4:30 p.m. Oct. 14) before the screening of his latest film, Parallel Mothers. Guerrero is the author of many important books about Latin American cinema and literature, and he was the 2017 winner of the Latin American Studies Association’s Sylvia Molloy Award.

“Dr. Guerrero was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence University in 2011-2012 and he was one of the original organizers of the film festival, so this is a very special homecoming and anniversary for all of us,” Tapia said.

The five films featured this year represent different Spanish-speaking countries: Argentina, México, Spain, Costa Rica, and Peru. The movies have won numerous international awards and almost all are from 2021.

Below is the lineup for this year’s LULASFF (you can find additional information by clicking on the film titles in the event’s web page, https://go.lawrence.edu/lasf):

Free admission to Warch Cinema. All films are rated “R” (Restricted) or “NR” (Not rated for US audiences). Viewer discretion is advised.

Thursday, October 13

5 p.m.: THE WEASELS’ TALE / El cuento de las comadrejas  (Argentina, 2019)

8 p.m.: PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN / Noche de fuego  (Mexico, 2021)

Friday, October 14

4:30 p.m.: “Almodóvar: A Critical Take.” Javier Guerrero (Princeton University)

5:30 p.m.: PARALLEL MOTHERS / Madres paralelas (Spain, 2021)

Saturday, October 15

5 p.m.: CLARA SOLA (Costa Rica, 2021)

8 p.m.: THE GOOD BOSS / El buen patrón  (Spain, 2021)

Sunday, October 16

2 p.m.: A WORLD FOR JULIUS / Un mundo para Julius (Peru, 2021)