Frida (Frida Kahlo)

Julie Taymor

USA - 2002

"Frida" chronicles the life Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) shared unflinchingly and openly with Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), as the young couple took the art world by storm. From her complex and enduring relationship with her mentor and husband to her illicit and controversial affair with Leon Trotsky, to her provocative and romantic entanglements with women, Frida Kahlo lived a bold and uncompromising life as a political, artistic, and sexual revolutionary.

1492: The Quest for Paradise

(The Spanish Conquest)

Big budget account of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas. Released in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery. Shows the disastrous effects the Europeans had on the original inhabitants, and Columbus' struggle to civilize the New World.

Ripley Scott

USA - 1992

The Mission

(The Spanish Jesuits)

Roland Joffe

USA - 1986

Jeremy Irons plays a Spanish Jesuit who goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region. Robert DeNiro plays a slave hunter who is converted and joins Irons in his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

Real Women Have Curves

(Las Mujeres Verdaderas Tienen Curvas)

Patricia Cardoso

USA - 2002

This is the story of Ana, a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the predominately Latino community of East Los Angeles. Freshly graduated from high school, Ana receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. Her very traditional, old-world parents feel that now is the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. Torn between her mainstream ambitions and her cultural heritage she agrees to work with her mother at her sister's downtown LA sewing factory. Over the summer she learns to admire the hardworking team of women who teach her solidarity and teamwork. Still at odds with what her mother expects of her, Ana realizes that leaving home to continue her education is essential to finding her place proudly in the world as an American and Chicana.

Before Night Falls

(Antes Que Anochezca)

Julian Schnabel

USA - 2001

Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New York City. He joins Castro's rebels. By 1964, he is in Havana. He meets the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; a love-hate relationship lasts for years. Openly gay behavior is a way to spite the government. His writing and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge

Beauty (Bella)

Alejandro Gomez Monteverde

USA - 2006

An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when a series of events unfold that bring his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down... until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day to an unforgettable experience

Under The Same Moon

(La Misma Luna)

Patricia Riggin

USA - 2007

Tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while her mother cares for Carlitos back in Mexico. Unexpected circumstances drive both Rosario and Carlitos to embark on their own journeys in a desperate attempt to reunite. Along the way, mother and son face challenges and obstacles but never lose hope that they will one day be together again. Riggen's film is not only a heartwarming family story; she also offers subtle commentary on the much-debated issue of illegal immigration.

In the Time of the Butterflies

(En el Tiempo de Las mariposas)

Mariano Barroso

USA - 2001

On November 25, 1960, the bodies of three sisters were found near the bottom of a cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official daily 'El Caribe' reports that it had been an accident, but it does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it mention the sisters' fierce opposition to the General Trujillo's dictatorship. This is their story: how Minerva started the tragedy by refusing Trujillo; how Patria became an opponent from the church itself; how Maria Teresa joined the revolution through the love. And how they lost their wings, but not their courage. They were Las Mariposas - "The Butterflies".

The North (El Norte)

Gregory Nava

USA - 1983

Mayan Indian peasants, tired of being thought of as nothing more than "brazos fuertes" ("strong arms", i.e., manual laborers) and organizing in an effort to improve their lot in life, are discovered by the Guatemalan army. After the army destroys their village and family, a brother and sister, teenagers who just barely escaped the massacre, decide they must flee to "El Norte" ("the North", i.e., the USA). After receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant on strategies for traveling through Mexico, they make their way by truck, bus and other means to Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.

Quinceañera

( Fifteen Years)

Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland

USA - 2006

Apocalypto

(Apocalypse)

Mel Gibson

USA - 2006