“Niñas Araña (Spider Thieves)”

Get ready for some fascinating, enlightening and downright funny films at the Pragda Spanish Film Festival in Menomonie. This is the third year UW-Stout has collaborated with Pragda, an independent Spanish film distribution company, to present the Festival.

The festival was the brainchild of Ilse Hartung, a senior lecturer of Spanish at UW-Stout who retired last winter, and Dr. Maria Alm, Dean of UW-Stout’s College of Communication, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The festival took place in 2014 and 2015, but has been on hiatus until now. The festival started Sept. 12, but don’t worry! There are still plenty of excellent movies on the agenda, and all are free and open to the public.

The remaining movies – all scheduled for Wednesdays at 7pm at UW-Stout’s Harvey Hall – are as follows:

Sept. 19: Paraíso (Paradise). This film from Mexico centers on an overweight couple who move from a sheltered, peaceful life in the suburbs into a world of cruelty and body shaming in Mexico City. Driven by a new and sudden insecurity, and to better fit in with their new surroundings, Carmen and Alfredo sign up for a dieting class together, with unexpected results.

Sept. 26: Niñas Araña (Spider Thieves). This thrilling film from Chile is about a group of 13-year-old girls who live in an illegal land grab. They form a small band of thieves specializing in petty robbery to get what they need to survive. One day, they decide to start robbing apartments … by scaling up the outside balconies.

Oct. 3: Mae Só Há Uma (Don’t Call Me Son). This Brazilian drama tells the story of Pierre (aka Felipe), a young man who discovers the truth about his birth and family after his parents’ divorce. This terrible knowledge forces him to deal with the consequences of his mother’s actions and come to terms with his own identity.

Oct. 10: Birdboy: The Forgotten Children. This sophisticated animated film from Spain won numerous awards at film festivals across the world, including best animated film. It tells the story of three “children” who decide to leave their home in search of a better life. It’s beautiful, dark and, ultimately, hopeful.

Check out one or all of these fantastic Spanish films on the big screen while you can! Contact Dr. Kevin Anzzolin at anzzolink@uwstout.edu for more information.