Augustana’s Hispanic Film Fest offers free films beginning January 9 | Arts & Culture

ROCK ISLAND, Ill.--The 18th annual Augustana College Hispanic Film Festival begins on Wednesday, January 9, and continues on Wednesdays through February 6. It will feature five films in Spanish with English subtitles. The film festival The films will be shown at 7 p.m. in Room 102 of the Hanson Hall of Science (726 35th Street). The film festival is free and open to the public.

Listed below are the title and a short synopsis of each film in Augustana’s Hispanic Film Festival:

Jan. 9: Biutiful. This film is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. As fate encircles him, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life’s corridors. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, 148 minutes, rated R.

Jan. 16: Gigante (Giant). An award-winner at the Berlin International Film Festival, this film is a subtle drama about a lonely, burly security guard working the night shift at a supermarket in Montevideo, Uruguay. Besides his love of metal music, his only other interest is the quiet stock girl at work. His security camera voyeurism seems innocent enough, but after a few ‘chance’ encounters outside work, his obsession becomes clear. Directed by Adrian Biniez, 85 minutes, un-rated.

Jan. 23: Los viajes del viento (The Wind Journeys). Ignacio Carrillo travels the villages of northern Colombia, playing traditional songs on his accordion, a legendary instrument said to have once belonged to the devil. He eventually marries and settles in a small town. But after the traumatic death of his wife, he vows to never play the accursed accordion again, and embarks on one last journey to return the instrument to its rightful owner. On the way, Ignacio is followed by Fermín, a spirited teenager determined to become his apprentice. Directed by Ciro Guerra, 120 minutes, un-rated.

Jan. 30: La ventana (The Window). This film tells the story of 80-year-old Antonio. After an absence of many years, his estranged son is coming to visit. All must be perfect. There will be a toast, an embrace, warm words that may finally bridge the gap between them. But first, Antonio must wait. Bedridden, he looks out his window at the Patagonian landscape and decides to secretly leave the house to take what might be a last walk in his fields. What could otherwise seem like insignificant memories have a special meaning in this poetic, humanistic film. Directed by Carlos Sorín, 77 minutes, rated R.

Feb. 6: El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in their Eyes). The Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2010, this film is an unrestrained romantic thriller that shuffles back and forth from 1970s Argentina to the present. Back in the days of coups and political violence, a young court investigator and his sultry supervisor worked on a rape-murder case that was lost amidst a military takeover. Now retired, the investigator reconnects with his former supervisor. Directed by Juan José Campanela, 120 minutes, rated R.

The Hispanic Film Festival is sponsored by the Spanish department and the Office of Student Activities, and is connected to Augustana’s year-long Independent and International Film Series, featuring films from around the world. In the 2012-13 film series, French, German, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Scandinavian and Spanish films are also shown from September through May in Olin Auditorium (733 35th St.).

For more information, email or call Dr. Jeanneth Vázquez, (309) 794-7670.

Submitted Press Release