Film

7 pm A documentary about the 27 women who served in the Spanish legislature in 1977, promoting political change during Spain’s transition to democracy following the end of the Franco regime. Through their personal experiences, the film traces the history of women’s political involvement in Spain up to the present day, and includes a debate between these pioneering women, the “mothers of the constitution,” and women currently serving in the Spanish parliament. Presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday (more...)

7 pm Verbenas, summer festivals on town plazas featuring dance bands, were an integral part of the filmmaker’s childhood in Asturias. Her documentary focuses on the “end of the party”—when the plaza falls silent and “music, summer, work, money all disappear when winter arrives for musicians belonging to a time that is slowly fading away.” Presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. 2015; directed by Ana Serret Ituarte; Spanish with English subtitles; 73 minutes; not rated. Free (more...)

7 pm A documentary exploring the mechanisms that maintain patriarchal systems and perpetuate economic, cultural, and social inequality and imbalances of power in the 21st century, in the West in general and Spanish society in particular. Patriarchal ideology is revealed in images projected through our modes of communication; feminist thinkers interviewed include Ana de Miguel, Ochy Curiel, Pablo Llamas, Pilar Aguilar, Remedios Zafra, Rosa Cobo, Soledad Murillo, and Yayo Herrero. Presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. (more...)

7 pm Lina, now in her seventies, has always been a farmer, going at dawn to Turin’s Porta Palazzo, Europe’s biggest open air market, to sell her vegetables and strawberries. Her life has always been “home, church, and work,” until she encounters a young Moroccan immigrant looking for a job. The filmmaker’s documentation of their evolving lives and relationship over the next several years addresses themes of immigration, globalization, and transformation, as well as the enduring value of working with the land. Presented in partnership with Instituto (more...)

7 pm When Joe Mondragón, an impoverished farmer in Milagro, NM, diverts water from the future site of a large, and lucrative, resort development to irrigate his small bean field, he sets off a chain reaction that threatens to erupt into a small war in this comedy of everyday people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Presented as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. 1988; directed by Robert Redford; English; 118 minutes; rated R. Free ticketed event; tickets available one hour before show

7 pm A visually stunning look at the relationship between humankind and water brings together diverse stories from around the globe to examine how the liquid shapes people’s lives—how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it, and the impact of that use on this precious resource. Presented as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. 2013; directed by Jennifer Baichwal  & Edward Burtynsky; English; 90 minutes; rated PG. Free ticketed event; tickets available one hour before show

7 pm Beloved Mexican comic Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) portrays a young lawyer who dedicates himself to resolving the problems of the less fortunate. The title is a play on words deriving from his old professor’s description of him as “un hombre puro, y sin mancha” (a pure man, without stain)—qualities he is perceived to share with Cervantes’ Don Quixote de la Mancha (referring, in this case, to the region of Spain in which Don Quixote lives). Presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes as part of the Bank (more...)

7 pm Cinco de Mayo: La batalla is the story of the 1862 Battle of Puebla, the most important battle in Mexican history. Defending the city of Puebla, the army of General Ignacio Zaragoza, numbering around 2,000 men, won an unlikely victory against a supposedly unbeatable French army of over 6,000—at that time the world’s largest and most powerful army. French forces were withdrawn from the country six years later; the legendary battle for freedom and for Mexico is celebrated to this day. Presented as part of (more...)

7 pm When a Mexican mariachi singer and single father applies for a visa for his daughter to travel to Arizona, his application is promptly denied by an uptight U.S. embassy official looking forward to her forthcoming transfer to London. Subsequent events, and complications, bring the two together in a bilingual romantic comedy that has been described as “a love letter to Mexico City.” Presented as part of the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series. 2013; directed by Pitipol Ybarra; English/Spanish with English subtitles; 112 minutes; (more...)