Latin American Studies spotlights cultural films

By Lesley Nickus
Online Forty-Niner
Staff writer

For the next three weeks, the Latin American Studies Film Series will be showcasing weekly independent films based on different aspects of Latino culture.

Each Thursday at 7 p.m. in the University Theater, students have the opportunity to view award nominated films and have question and answer sessions with the directors following the event.

Thursday, Sept. 30, features "R-Generation," a documentary about the world of street racing. It follows the beginning of this growing automotive industry into the large empire it has become today. Director Thomas Trail interviews local crews, racers, event promoters and others involved in the business to create an entertaining and sometimes funny look at the "Fast and Furious" type of life.

On October 14, "Strawberry and Chocolate" will be shown. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, "Strawberry and Chocolate" is a story of two young men who conquer all odds of intolerance against homosexuality in order for their love to survive. Director Thomas Gutierrez Alea is the artistic director of the Latino Theatre Company and UCLA and will be present after the film to answer any questions.

Last, but not least, "Son of the Bride" will play on October 21. This film follows a young man and his decision to help his father give his mother the wedding she always wanted. Son of the Bride was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

The first week of the series showcased "The Motorcycle Diaries," a film by Walter Salles that depicts the lives of two Argentines, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna ("El Che") and Alberto Granado, based off of information gathered from their diaries. Last week the series showed""Kordavision," which is a biography on Alberto Diaz "Korda," the man who became Fidel Castro's personal photographer.

This series is sponsored by the Latin American Studies Program, the Film and Electronic Arts Department, the College of the Arts, the Romance, German and Russian Languages and Literatures Department, the College of Liberal Arts and the Odyssey Program. For more information call 985-5138. All movies are free for Cal State Long Beach Students.