- Los Olvidados (The Young And The Damned) Directed by Luis Buñuel
“Over an opening montage of the delights of the global metropolis – the Manhattan skyline, Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower – the narrator sets the stage for the narrative to come, solemnly providing the film's motto: “behind every beautiful city are poor children.” In one of the film's early scenes, setting the plot in motion, Jaibo, the sly, intelligent gang leader, beats his rival Julian to death in the shadow of a half-built high-rise building. The city may be in the process of progressing toward some unimaginable future, but one constant is that the downtrodden will be left behind by any such progress.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.O418 2004b
For more information see: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/03/25/los_olvidados.html
- Orfeu Directed by Carlos Diegues
“In a dangerous but human Rio de Janeiro slum rises the love affair between Orfeu, a famous composer, and Eurídice, a simple but pretty brunette, provoking jealousy and violence in times of carnival.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.O64155
2002
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183613/
- Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) Directed by Marcel Camus
“A retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.O6445 1999
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053146/
- El Otro Camino (The Other Road) Directed by Oscar Orzábal Quintana
“Drama about a widow, owner of a coffee estate, who falls in love with a strange visitor. Her son disapproves of the affair.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.O768 2003
For more information see: http://www.mediarights.org/film/the_other_roadel_otro_camino
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- Pachito Rex: Me Voy, Pero No Del Todo Directed by Fabián Hofman
“Several stories surround the assassination attempt of controversial singer, Francisco Ruiz, the favorite candidate to win the election in a Latin American country. The stories of the alleged assassin, of a police officer in charge of investigating the disappearance of the body 5 years after the attempt, and that of an architect hired to design a mausoleum to the memory of the possible dictator become entwined and twisted, offering a vision about idols, democracy and the repercussion of outstanding events that occur in our everyday life.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.2.P334 2001
For more information see: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=244139
- Pequeños Milagros Directed by Eliseo Subiela
“Customers at a Buenos Aires supermarket are unable to answer theological questions asked by cashier Rosalia. Rosalia and her bitter mother were abandoned years earlier by Rosalia's father. Rosalia volunteers to help two blind people; one is the wealthy Don Francisco, and the other is a middle-aged woman studying for a law exam. Rosalia, who uses her telekinetic abilities to help these two and others who are needy, sees herself as a "fairy godmother," and she gets a total makeover from a trio of young women she assumes are other fairies. Eventually, Rosalia finds her own Prince Charming -- physicist Santiago who has been tracking her movements at the bus stop with a video camera transmission to his computer.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.P4575 1997
For more information see: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=162502
- Perfume De Violetas: Nadie Te Oye Directed by Maryse Sistach
“A poignant and moving urban drama, focusing on the growing problem of sexual assault in Mexico City. Tells the true story of Yessica y Miriam, teenagers in Mexico City, who become fast friends in high school. Their friendship is strained after Yessica is assaulted by a friend of her stepbrother.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.P45824 2004
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280015/
- The Price Of The American Dream (El Precio Del Sueño Americano) Directed by Jackie Torres
“This film covers the trials and tribulations of a family struggling to realize their greatest hopes. Very soon the mother and father will become official American citizens after living in the United States for three decades. Their children are each struggling with the harsh realities of life."Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.P739 2002
For more information see: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=305046
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- Que Bom Te Ver Viva (How Nice to See You Alive) Directed by Lúcia Murat
“Interviews with women who survived torture and imprisonment for political offenses following the Brazilian military coup of 1968; interspersed with a fictional dramatization of the life of such a survivor.”Call Number: Media Collection F2538.25.Q44 1989
For more information see: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0261936/
- Que He Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto? (What Have I Done To Deserve This?) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
“An absurd black comedy that centers on Gloria, a very resourceful working class housewife and cleaning woman, who is hooked on amphetamines and must contend with her crazy family.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.Q36 2003
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088461/
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- Real Women Have Curves Directed by Patricia Cardoso
“This is the story of Ana, a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the predominately Latino community of East Los Angeles. Freshly graduated from high school, Ana receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. Her very traditional, old-world parents feel that now is the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. Torn between her mainstream ambitions and her cultural heritage she agrees to work with her mother at her sister's downtown LA sewing factory. Over the summer she learns to admire the hardworking team of women who teach her solidarity and teamwork. Still at odds with what her mother expects of her, Ana realizes that leaving home to continue her education is essential to finding her place proudly in the world as an American and Chicana.”Call Number: Reserve Book Service PN1997.2.R435 2003
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296166/maindetails
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- Santitos Directed by Alejandro Springall
“A character-driven comedy about a young Mexican woman who has to come to terms with the loss of her teenage daughter. Esperanza's daughter Blanca suddenly and mysteriously dies in the hospital where she was having her tonsils removed. Shortly afterward, the vision of a saint appears on the greasy glass door of the oven, telling Esperanza that Blanca is not dead.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.S17375 1998
For more information see: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=176052
- Selena Directed by Gregory Nava
“The film tells the true life story of the beloved Texas-born Tejano singer Selena and her rise to fame up until her tragic murder at the age of 23. Stars Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.S3285 1998
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120094/
- Solas Directed by Benito Zambrano
“Maria, whose parents live in the country, cannot stand her father's authoritarian ways and moves to the city. She finds a job as a cleaner and tries to survive in a wretched apartment in the shabby part of a big city. She is pregnant, and the fact that her boyfriend has abandoned her does not help matters. When her father goes to the hospital for an operation, her mother comes to stay with her. Her neighbor, an old recluse whose only friend is his dog, begins to come out of his shell and these three lost souls try to give each other the strength to start over.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.S624 1999
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190798/
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- The Take Directed by Avi Lewis
“The Take is a political thriller that turns the globalization debate on its head. The film follows Argentina's radical new movement of occupied businesses: groups of workers who are claiming the country's bankrupt workplaces and running them without bosses.”Call Number: Media Collection HC175.T354 2004
For more information see: http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=51363&v=h
- Tanto Tiempo Directed by Cheryl Quintana Leader
“Mia, a young Mexican American woman, and Luz, her Mexican mother, have abandoned their Mexican heritage to adapt to an American lifestyle. Mia, confronted with her past in various situations, rediscovers the value of her Mexican ancestry and brings it and her estranged mother back into her life.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997 .T3434 1994
For more information see: http://www.mediarights.org/film/tanto_tiempo.php
- Terra Estrangeira Directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas
“Aspiring actor Paco lives in a poor area of São Paolo, Brazil, with his mother, who yearns to go back to her native Spain. When she dies abruptly, Paco finds himself without direction and falls in with a man named Igor, who asks him to carry an antique violin to Lisbon. There he finds himself caught up in a black-market scam, from which his only hope of escape is a woman named Alex -- only Alex has an agenda of her own.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.T414 1997
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114651/
- O Testamento Do Senhor Napumoceno (Napumoceno's Will) Directed by Francisco Manso
“The film is an epic farce from one of the world’s least known but most culturally complex societies - Cape Verde. This classic tale of the hollowness at the core of provincial bourgeois life introduces English speaking audiences to Germano Almeida, one of the outstanding writers in Portuguese today. With its novelistic breadth, the film offers a bildungsroman of a man and a society so caught up in the pursuit of conventional success and prestige it overlooks its true self almost until it is too late.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.T4254 1997
For more information see: http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0094
- Todo Sobre Mi Madre Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
“A single mother in Madrid sees her only son die on his 17th birthday as he runs to seek an actress's autograph. She goes to Barcelona to find the lad's father, a transvestite named Lola who does not know he has a child.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1995.9.T559 2000
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185125/
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- Una De Dos Directed by Marcel Sisniega
"Based on the novel by Daniel Sada, this comedic film is about life in a norteño town. Tiaré Scanda (Sin Dejar Huella) stars as Constitución, a woman who runs a local dressmaking shop with her twin sister Gloria (Erika de la Llave). As their cousin's wedding day approaches, the sisters must decide who will go and who will mind the store."Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.2.U53 2002
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324365/
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- La Vida Es Sueño Directed by Pedro Amalio López
“A dramatic reproduction of the Spanish classic of personal transformation finalized with the reconciliation of father and son and a double marriage. With Julio Núñez as Segismundo.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.V483429 1994
For more information see: http://ffh.films.com/id/7809/Calderon_de_la_Barca_La_Vida_Es_Sueno.htm
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- Whisky Directed by Pablo Stoll
“Sixty-year-old Jacobo Köller owns a none too successful sock factory; till a year ago, he lived with and looked after his mother [...] But now his brother Herman, who lives with his wife in Brazil and missed mom’s funeral, plans to visit for the erection of a headstone, so Jacobo – for reasons kept to himself – asks his forewoman Marta to pretend to be his wife for the duration of Herman’s stay.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.2.W487 2004
For more information see: http://www.timeout.com/film/81815.html
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- Zoot Suit Directed by Luis Valdez
“Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to San Quentin without substantial evidence for the death of a man at Sleepy Lagoon. As part of the defense committee, Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant miscarriage of justice for the freedom of Henry and his friends. Edward James Olmos stars as the mythical "El Pachuco" in a blend of action, music, and excitement.”Call Number: Media Collection PN1997.Z662 1991 or Coleccion Tloque Nahuaque PS3572.A387 Z6 2004
For more information see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083365/
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