A program to match professors who teach distinct subjects is behind Nipissing University’s first Spanish film festival beginning next week.

“The students and the public are seeing these films for the first time. You couldn’t have gone to a movie theatre and watched these,” said Catherine Morabito King, Nipissing’s Spanish professor.

Faculty of arts and science dean Craig Cooper created a “dialogue program” last year bringing together Morabito King’s Hispanic culture and civilization class with film professor Tom Hanrahan’s world cinema class.

Out of that, Morabito King applied for a grant through The Spanish Film Club — a project with the Spanish government and film distribution company, Pragda, that promotes Latin cinema.

Nipissing was chosen as one of 44 organizations in North America to screen contemporary Spanish films. Almost 30 students tackled the project by viewing a series of films and picking five with English subtitles to screen at the university’s first Spanish language film festival.

Nipissing is eligible to receive grants from this project for two more years for future festivals.

“It’s been wonderful because students have been able to break down stereotypes about Hispanic culture, and they’ve been able to really hone in on academic writing and speaking as they go into this film festival,” Morabito King said.

“Our students would not have had the opportunity — our university would not have had the resources — to develop this appreciation for foreign cinema. It’s fantastic because we’re given access to films that are limited. They’ve never been screened in North America,” Morabito King said.

The festival comes at a time when film production is gaining more attention in the area. Cubicle Warriors, filmed at various locations in North Bay this month, including Nipissing, is a comedy about finance grads who target a shady investment banker hatching a scam that involves student loans.

Local production Boys will be Boys — a coming of age film set in a barbershop — will be screened Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at Ecole Secondaire Publique Odyssee gym.

The Spanish film festival is open to the public and runs Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 in Room H104 at Nipissing University. Admission is free. The festival is collecting donations of non-perishable food for the university food bank.

The Island Inside Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.

A dark family drama about three troubled siblings who reunite to say goodbye to their dying schizophrenic father. They’re forced to deal with emotions they have suppressed over the years.

I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.

A drama about a geologist who travels to an isolated region in Brazil to assess routes for a water canal from the area’s only river which gives hope to those who live in the area.

From the Land to the Table Dec. 1 at 2 p.m.

A documentary about Latin cultures that don’t denaturalize food by processing what they eat, and instead rely on open air markets and fresh foods for their table. It’s a timely subject as the public grows more interested in the source of their food.

The Cinema Hold Up Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

Four aimless teenagers decide to rob a movie theatre and risk losing their friendship which is the only stability they have in life.

Undertow Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.

The story of a young, handsome fisherman, Miguel, in a small and deeply religious village in Peru who is expecting his first child with his wife, Mariela. Fate forces Miguel to choose whether to expose his love affair with another man.

Click here for details about the films.

maria.calabrese@sunmedia.ca

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