Presented by The World Language Network, this film festival--showcasing five films in Spanish and one in Chinese--is a celebration of the love of languages, cultures and our growing multicultural community. A unique variety of films will be presented including award winning; My Back Yard Was a Mountain, winner of the Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the prestigious Imagen Award for Best Theatrical Short or Student Film, local film artist Miao Wang’s Yellow Ox Mountain, Cubamor and many other exciting international films. The WLN is dedicated to promoting and encouraging diversity within Arlington by supporting K-12 world-language learning and literacy, and multicultural enrichment curricula, programs and activities. Working with community groups, educators, and families, we facilitate awareness and serve as a resource for the learning and appreciation of world languages and cultures in our community.

Film Festival Agenda

September 24, 2006

Tickets:

• $5 Students
• $8 Adults
• $20 Family Pass
• $15 ALL DAY PASS (Parts I, II and III ) for 18+ only because Parts II & III contain material suitable not suitable for children)

Part I (General Audience)

2:00     2:15 pm       Intro to Film Festival                                                                

2:15     2:45 pm       My Backyard was a Mountain

2:45     2:50 pm       Intro to Razurate                                   Rene Dongo

2:50     2:55 pm            Razurate

2:55     3:00 pm            Razurate Q & A                                   Rene Dongo

3:00     3:05 pm       Intro to La Décima Boriqueña            David Morales

3:05     3:35 pm       La Décima Boriqueña

3:35     3:40 pm       La Décima Boriqueña Q & A                     David Morales

3:40     3:45 pm            Intermission

3:45     4:15 pm       Yellow Ox Mountain

4:15     4:45 pm            Intermission until Part II

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Part II (Adults -18+)

4:45     4:55 pm                   Intro to Part II - Film Festival                                                

4:55     5:10 pm                   My Backyard was a Mountain

5:10     5:30 pm                   Otra Vida

5:30     5:40 pm                   Intermission

5:40     6:50 pm                   El Chogüí

6:50     7:15 pm                   Intermission until Part III

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Part III (Adults -18+)

7:15     7:25 pm                   Intro to Part III- Film Festival            

7:25     7:30 pm                   Razurate

7:30     9:45 pm                   Cubamor

COMPLETE SCHEDULE:

Directed by Adam Schlachter and Produced by Austin Wakefield
Narrative Short - All audiences
(In Spanish with English subtitles)

24 minutes

Ten-year-old Adan lives a carefree life in the rural town of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico, in the late 1950's, surrounded by his friends, his caring mother, Lilliam, and his beloved pet goat, Chivo. His father, Pablo, returns home from New York City after a brief absence, bringing good news that he has found employment there and announcing he will be moving the family to the distant city immediately. Although Adan initially thinks the trip will be fun and exciting, he discovers that he cannot take Chivo along with him. With the help of his childhood friend, Denise, Adan embarks on a quest to find a new home for his goat.

2:45PM & 7:20PM:  RAZURATE

Directed and Produced by Rene Dongo
Youth Produced - All Audiences
Spanish - no subtitles (5 mins)

A loving husband seeks the perfect razor to impress his wife.

3:00PM:  LA DÉCIMA BORINQUEÑA

An unprecedented documentary by the Puerto Rican Cuatro Project

Spanish with subtitles

DVD 27 minutes
Produced by the Puerto Rican Cuatro Project
Directed by Myriam Fuentes
Scripted by David Morales and William Cumpiano
In Spanish with available English subtitles

Vicente Martínez de Espinel (1551-1624), poet, novelist and musician from Andalusian Spain, is recognized as the one who revived and refined the poetic genre known as décima, a ten-line octosyllabic verse now known as décima espinela. The tradition of the décima of the Puerto Rican jíbaros and it's singing troubadours can be traced back to popular poetic forms of the Island's colonial past. In them, one can discover medieval Spanish and Moorish roots.

The jíbaro troubadour confronts a difficult task: to sing and improvise, on the spur of the moment ten octosyllabic verses that rhyme in consonance with a strict rhyme scheme that follows the pattern A, B, B, A, A, C, C, D, D, C. To these challenging exigencies of meter, rhyme and improvisation, another is added: the singer must conform the improvised lyric to what is called a "forced foot"--which means the décima must be constructed on top of a concluding last line which is provided written on a slip of paper right on the spot.

In the documentary, four of the greatest Puerto Rican troubadours revive the vanished countryside tradition of the Mesa Redonda (Round Table) in front of the cameras, as they honor the greatest literary work in the Spanish language: Don Quixote of La Mancha, in celebration of the 400th year anniversary of its publication. As they improvise on this theme, notable elder troubadours recount the story of the décima: its history, its rules and its significance to Puerto Ricans and their culture.

3:45PM:  YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN

Directed and Produced by Miao Wang
Documentary Short - All Audiences
Chinese with subtitles

27 minutes

China's inescapably turbulent political atmosphere from the Cultural Revolution to the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 inspired a movement of contemporary Chinese artists to New York City. YELLOW OX portrays the artistic and the personal journeys of two such artists--Zhang Hongtu (b. 1943) and Zhang Jian-Jun (b. 1955). Their lives and work span from the post-Cultural Revolution political environment of China to cultural negotiations in today's thriving contemporary Chinese art community.

5:10PM:  OTRA VIDA (ANOTHER LIFE)

Directed and Produced by Karry Fefer
Narrative Short, Mature Themes
18 minutes

Filmed in the Caribbean and Seattle, Another Life is a bicultural, bisexual and bilingual film that explores a woman's search for that elusive place of acceptance and belonging

5:40PM: EL CHOGÜÍ (Little Bird) A Mexican Immigrant Story (Rating PG)

Directed and Produced by Felix Zurita
Spanish with English subtitles
Narrative Documentary
57 minutes

Luis is a young 25-year-old Mexican, and the son of poor peasants who live in the Mexican State of Oaxaca.  Given his lack of options, and hoping to help his family find a way out of their misery, Luis – like so many of his countrymen – decides to emigrate to the United States to look for a better life.  His secret dream is to become a boxing champion, to get his family out of the eternal misery once and for all.

This documentary also examines the social challenges confronting most of the wealthier nations today, whether in North America or Europe.  The story reflects the drama of millions of people for whom “the North” represents their only hope for a better life.

7:30PM:  CUBAMOR

Directed and Produced by Joshua Alafia

Spainsh with subtitles
Narrative Feature, Strong Adult Content
131 minutes

Direct from the Cuban Underground, cubamor brings us into a colorful, mystical world where love knows no borders. American student, Lazaro, makes a promise to his fiancée, Fatima, as well as the Yoruba Goddess Oshun, that he will remain faithful for the three months he will spend studying music in Havana. Meanwhile, Renato, a Cuban jinetero (gigolo) falls in love with an American tourist named Zoe.