The Hispanic Studies program hosted the U.S. premiere of two films by Oneyda Gonzalez in October. “The Elf” and “Waiting for the Wild Boar to Fall” were screened in the Botetourt Auditorium. The newly reconfigured space was filled to capacity. Students had several opportunities to meet with the Cuban filmmaker, scriptwriter and poet during her week-long visit to W&M. “Introduction to Hispanic Studies” sections learned of her experiences writing and filming and living in Cuba; “Mapping Cuba” sophomore seminar participants filmed an interview that will become part of the Cuban Cinema Classics DVD
series; and Translation students conversed with the guest about her book of interviews with filmmakers and script writers. Professors Buck, Cate-Arries and Stock deemed the experience exceedingly productive, noting two exciting follow-on projects. In faculty-student research collaborations, W&M Hispanic Studies teams will translate Ms. Gonzalez’s book for publication in the U.S., and will subtitle her short film, “The Elf”, for circulation at international film festivals. Oneyda enjoyed her stay immensely, and even took time out to celebrate Hispanic Heritage at the LASU event. This visit was sponsored by Hispanic Studies, Film and Media Studies and Swem Library.
October was a busy month for Professor Ann Marie Stock and Latin American Studies student Emma Rodvien as they worked to submit the completed manuscript for the Havana volume in the “World Film Locations” series. Stock signed the contract to edit the book, and then invited Emma, a student in her freshman seminar who had expressed an interest in Cuban culture, to assist. With support from a faculty-student research grant (Christianson, administered through the Charles Center), Emma was able to devote the summer to collaborating with Dr. Stock. She translated submissions from Spanish into English, selected the screen shots that will illustrate the volume, and wrote four original “scene description” essays. Watch for more news when the volume appears in print in 2014 (Intellect, U.K.)