Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2021 Hispanic Film Festival, “The Poetics of Empowerment,” kicks off October 5 and continues through November 9, showcasing five award-winning movies from Spain and Latin America at the historic Strand Theatre, 28 E. Winter St., Delaware.
All films will begin at 7 p.m. and be screened in their original language with English subtitles. Each explores the ways in which their subjects or communities face and overcome economic, social, sexual, educational, and racial struggles while working to gain agency and build identity.
Some films may contain mature themes and language. All screenings will conclude with discussions with guest artists. 
This year’s Hispanic Film Festival includes:
- October 5 – “The Mole Agent” (2020), directed by Maite Albardi. A private investigator in Chile hires a mole to work inside a retirement home where the caretakers are suspected of elder abuse.
- October 19 – “Midnight Family” (2019), directed by Luke Lorentzen. In Mexico City’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a private ambulance, competing with other for-profit EMTs seeking to aid patients in need of urgent help.
- October 26 – “The Second Mother” (2015), directed by Anna Muylaert. When the estranged daughter of a hard-working live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the Brazilian home are thrown into disarray.
- November 2 – “The Pearl Button” (2015), directed by Patricio Guzmán. Delving into the nearly religious significance of water in Chile, this profound rumination on memory and loss bridges the gap between its mystical origins, Pinochet’s coup d’état, and the secret of a mother-of-pearl button at the bottom of the sea.
- November 9 – “The Innocence” (2019), directed by Lucía Alemany. Lis enjoys one more summer with her friends. The Spanish town’s lack of intimacy, enforced by scandalmonger neighbors, means she keeps her relationship status secret, but the end of summer arrives with an unpleasant surprise.
Ticket prices are $7 for general admission; free for Ohio Wesleyan students with a valid university ID; $6 for other students, OWU employees, teachers, and military; and $5 for those 55 and older or those 12 and under. Senior citizens are eligible for an $8 deal that includes a small drink and small popcorn, and children 3 and under also are admitted free.
The 2021 Hispanic Film Festival is co-sponsored by Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of World Languages and Cultures, Film Studies Program, and Honors Program. It is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA), in partnership with the Strand Theatre.
For more information about the series, contact Eva Paris, associate professor of Spanish, at eeparish@owu.edu. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of World Languages and Cultures at owu.edu/languages.
