Court Square Theater will host the Latino Film Festival of Shenandoah Valley as it returns for its seventh year of entertainment. The festival will run from Oct. 1-4, and will feature films from Mexico, Uruguay and Honduras. The four films appear on a repertory of 7-9 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday and 2-7 p.m. on Sunday. All films run in Spanish with English subtitles. Tickets are available at the door for $6 or $4 with a student ID.
Holding the Latino Film Festival annually brings a sense of unity to the large Latino population in the Harrisonburg area. The Arts Council of the Valley sponsors the annual festival, a brain child of JMU foreign-language professor Karina Kline-Gabel, in downtown’s Court Square Theater. “My mission, as the festival’s creator…is to continue to bring films that celebrate the Latino culture as well as educate on issues that impact directly or indirectly all of us.” said Kline-Gabel.
Each film has received international acclaim. Kline-Gabel chose them to represent a variety of Spanish-speaking countries and themes and the Arts Council brings them to Harrisonburg with hopes of increasing cultural events in the local community. In addition to providing an opportunity for Latino families to enjoy native language programming, the festival is popular with college communities in the area; provoking great discussions in and out of the classroom.
More information on the film festival, including a schedule of screenings, can be accessed at www.courtsquaretheater.com.