April 7th, 2010
Texas State to hold Spanish language documentary festival

STAFF REPORT

The Center for the Studies of Latino Media & Markets (CSLMM) at Texas State is preparing the organization’s first international Spanish language documentary festival, “Puntos de Vista” (“Points of View” in English), which will be held at the LBJ Student Center of Texas State Thursday from 9 a.m. to  6 p.m.

CSLMM targeted more than 300 universities and colleges in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Central America, South America and the Caribbean to invite their students to participate in the festival.

A total of 16 documentaries from student filmmakers in Latin American countries were submitted for entry to the festival and will be showcased on campus during the event. The documentaries focus on various societal issues affecting individuals in Spanish-speaking countries, such as environmental policies, crime, immigration, music, politics and technological advancements. The format requirements are that each documentary must be 15 to 20 minutes long, and in Spanish.

The festival will present three awards ranging from $500 to $2,000. To determine a top-prize winner, the CSLMM is encouraging people to watch the documentaries online at the “Puntos de Vista” Web page (http://www.masscomm.txstate.edu/cslmm/puntosdevista.html) and vote for their favorite documentaries.

More than 6,000 votes have been cast since March 26, the first day the voting process was made open to the public.

“Students are motivated through this type of documentary competition to express their ideals, perceptions, hopes and ‘points of view; on life, thus the title selected,” said Sindy Chapa, Texas State professor and associate director of the CSLMM.

In addition, the festival will include an extensive filmmaking workshop for the participating student filmmakers from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. An exhibit of the best documentaries will be shown to the public on the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN-TV), as well as on the Internet.

Viewing of the documentaries will take place in two rooms (LBJ 3-3.1 and 3-5.1) and will be divided into five sessions, 90 minutes long.

A complete schedule of films is available at http://www.masscomm.txstate.edu/cslmm/puntosdevista/programs.html.