Special Introductions
This year the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival has invited different experts to introduce audiences to the themes that are being discussed in some of the films. With this new initiative, we hope that there will be a wider dialogue between the films and the audiences.
Guest Speakers:
Alejandra Bronfman is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at UBC. She is an expert in Caribbean issues and she is the author of the book Measures of Equality: Race, Citizenship and Social Science in Cuba, 1902-1940 (UNC Press, 2004) She will be presenting the film The Last Supper, within the section of Afro-Cuban films at the Museum of Anthropology.
Antonio Eligio is a Cuban artist, writer and art curator. He will be presenting the film Memories of Underdevelopment.
Jorge García Antezana is a SFU Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Latin American Studies. He will be presenting the film Yvy Maraey: Land Without Evil.
Raúl Gatica is a Oaxacan writer and human rights activist. He will be presenting the Mixtec and Zapotec short films, within the program Indigenous Film from BC & Beyond.
Ronnie Dean Harris is one of the programmers of the 3rd Annual Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival. He will be presenting the First Nations short films, within the program Indigenous Film from BC & Beyond.
Ema Oropeza works with transgender people in the capacity of group facilitator and provides individual counselling at Vancouver Coastal Health. She is active in the community and in the women’s movement in Canada and Latin America. She will be presenting the films Bad Hair and Quebranto.
Pedro Ortega is the head programmer and one of the founders of the Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana, Cuba. He will be presenting Maluala, Alabbá and El Benny in the section of Afro-Cuban films at the Museum of Anthropology.
Carmen Rodríguez is a Chilean-Canadian author, poet, educator and political social activist. She will be presenting the Chilean films that deal with issues around the dictatorship: The Quispe Girls, Machuca and Images of a Dictatorship.
Juanita Sundberg is an Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Geography. Her current research is on the militarization and everyday life in the US-Mexico borderlands. She will be presenting the film Who is Dayani Cristal?