Spanish Cinema—Beginning in March and continuing through May, the National Hispanic Cultural Center (1701 Fourth Street SW) will host the Spanish Civil War Film Series. The series kicks off Thursday, March 2, with Vacas, Julio Medem's drama about the rivalry between two Basque families between 1870 and 1932. The film nabbed Medem “Best New Director” honors at the 1992 Goya Awards (Spain's equivalent to the Oscars). Future films in the series include Fernando Trueba's Belle Epoque (March 23), Jose Luis Cuerda's La Lengua de las Mariposas (April 6) and Juan Antonio Bardem's Lorca: Muerte de una Poeta (April 20). All screenings begin at 7 p.m. in the NHCC's Wells Fargo Auditorium. Films will be presented in Spanish with English subtitles and are free (entrada gratuita!) to the public.
Reel World
Femme Film Series—In other Spanish cinema news, the Cortes Femininos film series begins this Sunday at 7 p.m. in the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Bank of America Theatre (1704 Fourth Street SW). This screening is part of the Women in Creativity Week at NHCC and will spotlight short films related to women by their themes, characters or directors. Films include “La Valiente/The Brave Little Girl,” “Demonios de Corta Vista/Shortsighted Demons,” “La Última Polaroid/The Last Polaroid,” “Una Gran Actriz/A Great Actress” and “Esperamazotoides/Spermatozoa.” Films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free and there will be a discussion afterward. The Cortes Femininos series continues with different shorts on March 16 and 30. Log on to www.nhccnm.org for more info.
Reel World
Africa in Santa Fe—From March 2 through 5, the CCA Cinematheque (1050 Old Pecos Trail) will present its annual African Effect Film Festival, covering films about “Africa and the African diaspora.” Director Thomas Allen Harris will be there in person on Thursday to unveil his opening night film The Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela, a drama about anti-Apartheid exiles in the '60s. Award-winning documentaries like Boys of Baraka (about inner city Baltimore kids sent to a boarding shool in Kenya), romantic comedies like Cape of Good Hope (about lovelorn workers at a Cape Town animal shelter) and family films like Duma (a gorgeous fable about a boy who befriends a cheetah cub) are among the festival's diverse offerings. For a complete schedule of films, log on to www.ccasantafe.org.
Reel World
Dog Day Afternoon—Bow Wow Blues (3845 Rio Grande NW) is sponsoring an Academy Awards photo contest to benenfit the OSCAR Foundation (Organization for Specialized Care in Animal Rehabilitation). Awards will be handed out Saturday, March 4, at a gala ceremony from noon to 2 p.m. There will be Champagne, popcorn, hot dogs, Raisinettes and plenty of pets. Bow Wow Blues will be donating 10 percent of all sales that day to OSCAR.
