Film festival to feature Spanish-language ‘Babe’
Published 10:47 am Monday, May 7, 2012
It was so nice, they’re doing it twice.
The second annual Austin Human Rights Commission Film Festival is set for this week, as the HRC will sponsor free movies at the Paramount Theatre May 10-12.
“We really felt good about what happened last year, so we’re looking forward to this year,” HRC chairwoman Kirsten Lindbloom said.
Lindbloom said more than 250 residents took part in last year’s film festival, which is why organizers are excited to bring even more films to the area.
The festival opens at 7 p.m. Thursday with “Burma VJ,” a documentary from Anders Ostergaard which uses footage recorded and smuggled out of Burma by average citizens during the Buddhist monk protests of 2007.
“As we are seeing more and more of our Karen population, we wanted to be able to provide some historical and recent history on Burma and also to bring awareness,” Lindbloom said. “We want to put a spotlight on Burma and give the community an opportunity to learn.”
“The First Grader,” a movie about education in Kenya, will take place at 7 p.m. Friday. The movie is based on the true story of Kimani Maruge, an 84-year-old man who decided to get an education and enroll in elementary school after the Kenyan government approved universal and free education in 2003.
“It’s the story of a retired-age man who’s taking advantage of a free education,” Lindbloom said.
The classic “Babe” will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles at 2 p.m. Saturday. Lindbloom said last year’s family film, “Shrek,” was the most well-attended movie and organizers hope “Babe” will draw a large crowd, as well.
The final festival film “Papers,” is a documentary about the controversial immigration issue. “Papers” shares stories from undocumented youth who turn 18 without legally becoming a U.S. citizen. The film claims more than 65,000 undocumented students graduate every year from high school without legal status and about 2 million undocumented children who were born outside the U.S. and raised in the country.
“Many of these children come here as toddlers and live their whole life in the U.S.,” Lindbloom said. “Then they face the realities of this undocumented world.”
“Papers” will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday.
All movies are free of charge. Doors will open 30 minutes before showings.