Stories of love, pain, triumphs, challenges and rebellion are told during the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival. It is a month-long festival to recognize and share Latin American films, history, culture and hardships.

Organized by The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, this festival will screen a total of 50 films, represent 12 countries, have 10 filmmakers in attendance and 24 local, young filmmakers in a total of nine different venues throughout Durham and Chapel Hill. 

Its 29th year running, the festival began on Sept. 15, and will continue until Oct. 13  where the public, filmmakers, musicians, artists, directors and actors gather to celebrate “the power and artistry of Latin America’s film and audiovisual production,” according to the festival’s website. 

“Normally, a movie is an individual experience,” said Miguel Rojas-Sotelo, the director of the festival and professor at Duke University in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. “People are put in a black box to watch together, but it is still a personal experience. It is a nice moment and my favorite pa rt of the festival when the audience stays and reflects [after the screening].”

However, the viewings of the films included in the festival are not typical, according to Rojas-Sotelo, because unlike normal movie theaters where a film is an individual experience, these showings include a discussion afterwards for the audience to share their reflections of the screenings.

The discussion after the screenings is one of the main concentrations of the festival. The purpose of the discussion after the films is free and open for the public to see and share different perspectives of cultures and subjects of Latin America.

Each year, a theme is established to guide these discussions. This year’s theme is “Baseball — Dreams — Vanished Rebellions” with a  focus on Venezuela.” This combination of films will work to show the relationship between life, sports, music, history and politics in the Americas.

Baseball is an important sport in Latin America, especially in the countries of Venezuela, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The game, which has origins in the United States, is a connection between the Americas. In addition to the exportation of oil, Venezuela has significant exports of baseball players as well. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, there are currently 65 Venezuelan ball players in the United States Major Leagues. The movies shown in the festival, “Papita, Mani, Tostan” and “Pelotero” are from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic respectively, and reflect this importance of the game to the Latin American culture.

The second part of the theme, dreams, is a reference familiar to United States politics. The dreamers are migrants, people trying to find opportunities and a better life in a foreign country. The festival has selected two documentaries called, “Art Connections,” to tell the stories of undocumented students in North Carolina trying to enroll in higher education in the university system. Although migration is a controversial subject throughout the world, the documentaries of the festival offer a chance to see migration in the perspectives from the local community.

Another connection between Cuba and Venezuela is the third part of the theme: rebellions. Both countries have very difficult political environments with repressive governments. In contrast to the U.S., the government produces and controls the film industry of Venezuela and Cuba.

“In showing the movies that have been sponsored by the government, we can talk about the propaganda and start a conversation,” Rojas-Sotelo said.

“There is no freedom [in Venezuela],” said Laura Ginnari, a sophomore studying biological sciences from Caracas, Venezuela. “We are completely controlled by the government. And although the talent in movies is advancing rapidly, the television channels don’t report the news, don’t discuss the situation of the country and social media is affected as well. I think that it is very, very important that the people know this crisis.”

The movies of the festival are to been seen as a valuable window to observe the realities and political problems of countries.

North Carolina Latin American Film Festival is meant to be a special occasion to admire the work of movies and artists but also include the public in an important conversation about the culture, the successes and the challenges of Latin America.

“Generally, the memories of the festival that are the most wonderful have been the opportunity to meet many directors of Latin American films,” said Jorge Marí, a foreign language and literature professor at NC State and a former organizer of the festival. “It is interesting because many times what you think of a movie, when you talk to the director about the interpretation, they had never thought of that. Things that seemed obvious to you about the movies, the director had never thought of or had seen.”

As a result, there is always something to learn, one only needs a different perspective. It’s in the interest of exposing people to new perspectives that the festival invites everyone to participate in cultural, informative discussions about Latin American films and why it is important.