The Vistas Film Festival screens more than 30 Latino films ranging from documentaries and short films to full-length features.
In its eighth year, Vistas has grown into the largest Latino film festival in North Texas.
The Herculano & Elida Hernandez Foundation chose to open the festival with Unconscious (Inconscientes) a “Sherlock Holmes” kind of adventure set in 1913 Barcelona.
Opening night took place last night at the Dallas Museum of Art with a reception immediately following the film at The Empire Room.
In addition to the 30 plus screenings, this five-day event (Sept. 20-24) boasts an exciting schedule including the opportunity for patrons to interact with a number of the actors and filmmakers.
Vistas provides film buffs ample opportunity to pick the brains of accomplished directors and producers with guest filmmakers Q & A sessions directly following the screenings and “Coffee with a Filmmaker” sessions.
These intimate gatherings give patrons a unique opportunity to sit down with a cappuccino and listen to the directors discuss their movies.
The Vistas Film Festival is highlighting two legendary individuals this year: Raúl Juliá and Roberto Clemente. A three film retrospective on the late Raul Julia will consist of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (Sept. 21), “The Burning Season” (Sept. 22) and “The Addams Family” (Sept. 24).
Film enthusiasts will remember Mr. Juliá as one of the greatest actors of our time and Vistas hopes the retrospective will reveal his work to a younger generation.
Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente will be featured in a special documentary, “CLEMENTE 21,” acknowledging not only the baseball player’s struggles on the field, but also in his personal life.
Following the documentary, long time friend and fellow Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda will discuss memories of his friend.
In between retrospectives and “coffee talks,” Vistas offers live music, as well as nightly after-parties open to all pass holders at no extra charge. The festival has discounted the price of the pass for SMU students to $15 which provides access to all screenings at the Angelika Film Center, all receptions and after-parties with the exception of opening and closing nights.
As to why students should attend, Dr. Veronica León, Spanish department advisor and professor responded with the following: “There is an old saying in Spanish: El mundo es un pañuelo, (The world is the size of a handkerchief). I think it is very important for our student body to break the Hollywoodesque pattern and try to see at least one unusual film…with a topic that would minimally make them question and hopefully, widen their personal perspective.”
In years past, Vistas has debuted such films as “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “Maria Full of Grace” and hosted guests like Edward James Olmos and Diana Bracho.
Don’t miss the opportunity to experience extraordinary Latino films from around the world. The full schedule of films and events can be found at www.vistasfilmfestival.com.
