Cutting Edge Animation Leads to Award-Winning Latin Films

Take a trip to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the US-Mexico border or even the World of Make Believe while physically staying in Western Queens. The Museum of the Moving Image will host a screening/Q&A/ demonstration with legendary animation expert Glen Keane on Thursday, followed by a weekend series of the best Latin American films of recent years. More info on jump page.

After working on such movies as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast over a 38-year career with Walt Disney, Keane formed his own production company in 2012. His new short film Duet tells the story of Mia, Tosh, and how their lives weave together from birth to adulthood. Viewers choose to follow one of three characters, uncovering new environments and exploring alternative storylines. On February 5th, Keane will screen Duet and then demonstrate his creative process, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the technology he uses.

Over the weekend, the museum will host Cinema Tropical Festival 2015, a celebration of recent Latin America movies (in Spanish with English subtitles). The schedule follows:

• The Militant, February 6th, 7 pm: An Uruguayan/Argentine university student (top photo) with an idealist, leftist world view has to deal with difficult decisions after his middle class, bourgeois father dies, leaving him in charge of the family ranch.
• Purgatorio: A Journey into the Heart of the Border, February 7th, 3 pm: This award-winning film compares the U.S.-Mexican border to Dante’s purgatory.
• Las Marthas, February 7th, 6 pm: Director Cristina Ibarra will be on hand to screen and discuss this award-winning film about two Mexican-American debutantes who enter proper society in the Colonial Pageant in Laredo, Texas.
• The Quispe Girls, February 8th, 3 pm: This award-winning movie mixes actors and non-actors while depicting three goat-herding sisters (above photo) in rural Chile in 1974 as they deal with a fourth sister’s death and the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
• The Face, February 8th, 6 pm: Making a New York premiere, this black-and-white film focuses on a few humans and a lot of nature on the quiet, ever-flowing Paraná River in Argentina.

Details: The Duet of Animation and Technology: An Evening with Glen Keane, Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Street, Kaufman Arts District, February 5th, 7 pm, $15. 

Latin film details: The Militant, February 6th, 7 pm; Purgatorio: A Journey into the Heart of the Border, February 7th, 3 pm; Las Marthas, February 7th, 6 pm; The Quispe Girls, February 8th, 3 pm; and The Face, February 8th, 6 pm. Tickets are $6 to $12.

Photos: Museum of the Moving Image