TAMIU's Roadside Cinema Film Festival Shows 'El Norte' March 28
"Roadside Cinema," Texas A&M International University's Spring Film Festival's trip through road movies, continues with "El Norte." The film will be shown Thursday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in Bullock Hall 101. The showing is free and open to the public.
"El Norte" (1983), directed by Gregory Nava, follows two Guatemalan siblings on their quest to find a better life in El Norte, the United States. The film probes themes of oppression and class struggle with an achingly realistic touch. Leonard Maltin calls this "a compassionate, heart-rending, unforgettable film."
The film was nominated for the 1985 Academy Award Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and won the 1984 Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montréal World Film Festival.
The film is rated R and shown in English and Spanish.
After the show, there will be 15 to 30 minutes of commentary and questions and answers, led by Dr. Sean M. Chadwell and Dr. William J. Nichols II, series creators and both assistant professors in the College of Arts and Humanities.
The next film, "Leningrad Cowboys Go America," will be shown on Thursday, April 4. Leningrad Cowboys is a dreadful band from Finland that travels to the U.S. and journeys through small-town America on the way to Mexico. It is a surreal comedy, where the dead bass player travels with the band packed in ice, and elf shoes for all. In English and Finnish, with English subtitles, it is rated PG-13.
For more information on the "Roadside Cinema," 2002 Spring Film Festival, contact either Drs. Chadwell or Nichols by phone, 326.2471, 326.2610, visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 418C, room 421B or visit the festival's website: http://www.tamiu.edu/~wnichols/road.htm.
University office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu