Duke and UNC host annual Latin American Film Festival

Baseball is a universal language. It's not just America's pastime — it's one of the most important sports in Latin American history. 

UNC and Duke are hosting the annual N.C. Latin American Film Festival as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. 

This year’s film festival, which will last until Oct. 4, is called "Baseball — Dreams — Vanished Rebellions" and focuses on Venezuela. In order to showcase the importance of baseball in the country, the films emphasize the many different dreams in the region. Other topics include the role of art in the lives of young migrants, the water challenge in the Americas and the recent struggles of the Bolivarian Republic and Cuba. 

The festival acts as a cultural bridge not only between the rival universities, but also between the different principles and demographics that connect citizens all across the Triangle.

Sophomore Katie Dixon said she believes the legacy of this festival is to show people how different and influential Latin American cinema is, all while providing viewers with a friendly and entertaining environment. 

“I really think that this festival is great for the UNC and Duke communities,” she said. “The environment is so diverse and the movies and discussion really help to create a supportive network for people of all viewpoints.”

In the past few years, as a response to North Carolina’s ever-changing demographic tides, festival director and Duke special events coordinator Miguel Rojas-Sotelo has added new films and speakers, who comment on issues including migration, globalization and politics. 

This annual event sheds light on the issues facing the citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean in the past and the present. The festival shows films from many of the 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in 13 different languages. Both classics and new releases are shown from a wide variety of genres. 

The goal of showing so many different types of movies is to show as many perspectives of Latin American cinema as possible. These different types of movies and their interpretations lead to an incredibly holistic view of Latin American culture.

Sophomore Madeline Stefan said the diverse environment of the festival was what made it so great.

“I had a ton of fun getting to meet so many different types of people,” she said. “All of the filmmakers and artists were really welcoming and open to any questions that I had.”

Another UNC student, Camille Russell, who is minoring in Hispanic studies, said she decided to attend the festival because some of her classmates said the films from previous years were highly interesting and compelling. 

“I went into the day just expecting to be entertained, but I really did learn a lot about Latin American culture from being at the festival," she said. "I was surprised by how little I actually knew about it beforehand.”

arts@dailytarheel.com