CUSLAI’s Hispanx / Latinx Film Festival Showcases Vibrancy of Latin American Cinema

The Hispanx / Latinx Film Festival will unveil a diverse cinematic showcase at UT Dallas, spotlighting Latin American and Spanish production screenings spanning numerous genres.

The motion picture gathering – made possible by The UT Dallas Center for US-Latin America Initiatives (CUSLAI) and Pragda – will present screenings of five films on April 11 and 12.

The Hispanx / Latinx Film Festival will launch with four screenings at the courtyard between the Edith O'Donnell Arts and Technology Building (ATC) and the UT Dallas Eugene McDermott Library on April 11, starting at 3 p.m. The showcase will continue through April 12, with a virtual screening of a fifth film.

The April 11 screening lineup will feature (in order) the Venezuelan film Bad Hair, the Brazilian film The Second Mother, the Chilean film My Brothers Dream Awake, and the Mexican film And Your Mother Too. The following day, the Argentinian film Carajita will be available online through CUSLAI.

The film lineup

Pelo Malo [Bad Hair] (2013) – screening on April 11 at 3 p.m.

A nine-year-old boy's preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother.

Que Horas Ela Volta? [The Second Mother] (2015) – screening on April 11 at 4:45 p.m.

When the estranged daughter of a hard-working live-in housekeeper suddenly appears, the unspoken class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray.

Mis hermanos sueñan despiertos [My Brothers Dream Awake] (2021) – screening on April 11 at 7:15 p.m.

Two brothers have been in a juvenile prison for a year, dreaming. The arrival of a rebellious young man offers a possible escape: the only door to make those dreams come true.

Y tu mamá también [And Your Mother Too] (2001) screening on April 11 at 9 p.m.

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.

Carajita (2021) screening virtually on April 12

Sara and her nanny, Yarisa, have a relationship that seems to transcend their class conditions: they are the closest thing to a daughter-mother, but an accident will test their intimate loyalty and the innocent illusion that nothing can separate them.

About the Center for US-Latin America Initiatives at The University of Texas at Dallas

Dr. Toni Viva Muñoz-Hunt is a U.S.-Mexico border native whose research focuses include US-Latinx literature, border studies, and the history and pedagogy of the oppressed. Besides leading CUSLAI, Muñoz-Hunt teaches creative writing and is a two-time UT Dallas Alumna who earned an MA in Aesthetic Studies in 2017 and a PhD in Literature in 2021.