At Southwestern University, we are proud of our growing Hispanic and Latino community of students and faculty, which continues to expand each year. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, the Spanish Department, in conjunction with Student Life and Paideia, organized the Spanish Film Festival to recognize Latine countries and their contributions to cinema. For this occasion, the festival prepared five films originating and produced in different Latin American countries that will be screened from September 11 to October 9 every Thursday in the F.W. Olin Building, Room 105 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The films mentioned are Tiguere (Dominican Republic), 7 Semanas (Chile), Nuestro País Robado (Ecuador), La Suprema (Colombia), and No Nos Moverán (México), chronologically.

On September 11, the first Latin American film screened was Tiguere, a 2024 production from the Dominican Republic directed by José María Cabral, a director and screenwriter of the same nationality. In this feature film, Cabral seeks to question the identity of the Dominican “Tiguere” (“delinquent” in English), who is personified as a cold opportunist with a mischievous streak, unafraid to take advantage of his street smarts, and commonly held up as a social standard for Dominican men. In this case, the main character, Pablo(Carlos Fernández), the total opposite to this social standard, , is forced by his father, Alberto (Manny Pérez), to join several other young men in a shock therapy camp organized by his father to turn them into “Tigueres” and “teach them how to be men”. Under this premise, in a conflict between father and son—and underneath, an identity conflict—, it is attempted to understand the meaning of manhood and the terms in which this role is taught in a “macho” society. Based on these ideas, Tiguere (2024) was nominated for Best Feature in the Ibero-American Competition in 2025.

The next film, screened on September 18, was 7 Semanas, a Chilean film directed by Constanza Figari that tackles the dilemma of pregnancy from a feminist and holistic perspective (and also, my favorite!). During the 67 minute film, Camila(Paulina Moreno Vivanco), a university student, receives the shocking news that she is pregnant. However, despite receiving the full support of her family and her boyfriend, Simon(Camilo Carmona), she does not personally take this news with complete gratitude, as those around her force her to celebrate. In a country like Chile, where motherhood is a taboo subject and abortion is illegal, Camila, like thousands of other women in her situation, faces a moral dilemma in which she must choose between speaking with her own voice or drowning in silence within the imperative standards of her society. With a cinematography that follows its lead actress everywhere, seeking the naturalness of ordinariness, 7 Semanas manages to surprise its audience with the acting skills of the cast, who convey the tension and difficulty of the invisibility of women’s decisions in Chile. Due to these achievements, 7 Semanas (2017) was nominated for Best Leading Actress at the Pedro Sienna Awards.

So far, these are the only two films that have been shown. However, on September 25, Nuestro Pais Robado (Our Stolen Country), directed and written by Marc Wiese, will be screened. It is a political drama that explores the roots of the governmental problems in Ecuador since 2007, involving its population and relationship with foreign nations such as China, which has been a vital part of Ecuadorian history.  It is further a highly informative work on Latin American history for those who love political science. 

In any case, we hope that more students and faculty members will attend this event, since, as Dr. Katy Ross from the Spanish Department expresses, it is important to value Latine and Hispanic experiences and history in order to understand the importance of their culture on a global level, as they not only reflect their own perspective of the world, but also educate us to understand our own from a different angle. The Spanish Film Festival eagerly awaits new audiences and invites them to upcoming screenings!