A new program is bringing free Latin American film screenings to neighborhoods across Charlotte, giving everyone a front-row seat to different cultures and experiences.
Puerto Rican native Giovanna Torres moved to Charlotte in 2015 and soon found out there were no screenings of Latin American films in the area. So, she decided to create Cine Casual.
“In 2016, I started the blog and we started writing film reviews,” Torres said. “We started interviewing filmmakers and traveling to film festivals to cover the film festivals.”
Cine Casual has grown from a blog to an annual film series, hosting the city’s first-ever Latino Film Festival, hosted at the Independent Picture House in April.
“We weren’t seeing ourselves represented in the arts and culture field here in Charlotte,” Torres said. “We wanted to do something for our community here, especially with Charlotte’s Latino community being among the fastest growing in the U.S.”
Cuban native Ailen Arreaza has long lived in Charlotte. She was excited when she discovered Cine Casual.
“Having these films in Spanish available to the community, I think it’s such a gift because for new immigrants, sometimes we’re limited in the things that we can do because of the language barrier,” Arreaza said.
Cine Casual is now starting a new initiative bringing free Latin American film screenings to neighborhoods across Charlotte: Cine en los Barrios.
“The idea with this was being able to bring the movies out of the theater, the auditorium, and breaking those transportation barriers, those economic barriers, those language barriers,” Torres said.
Stefania Arteaga first met Torres in 2016 and has since been a “super-fan” of Cine Casual. She is a strong supporter of the new initiative.
“I've never found a place in Charlotte that provided that opportunity to go to a physical location and be in community with folks who also appreciated film and the diversity within our Latin American culture,” Arteaga said.
La Suprema is the film that will be screened at Saturday’s event. Set in a remote village in Colombia, the film follows a teenage girl whose dream is to become a boxer. When she learns her uncle will box on live television, she and the community find a way to watch the match.
According to the University of Southern California, only 4% of films had a Latino lead or co-lead. The screenings expose viewers to the broader diversity of the Latino experience than Hollywood films usually portray, says Arteaga.
“What Cine Casual does is goes beyond just showing films,” Arteaga said. “It is a program that validates Latino community members who don’t feel like they’re seen or they’re valued or that our stories can’t get past the cleaning lady or janitor or farmworker.”
Arreaga says the films also create a sense of belonging for Latinos here in the United States.
“I’ve just always really loved Latin American film,” Arreaga said. “It’s just helped me feel closer to my culture, to my home.”
The film series’ first stop is Saturday evening at the Latin American Coalition in east Charlotte.
“We wanted to focus on east Charlotte and where most of our Latin community lives,” Torres said. “And of course, we don’t want to exclude anyone else. Everyone’s invited.”
Cine en los Barrios will open at 6 p.m., with a music and dance performance, and the film will start at 7:15 p.m. The plan is to screen films monthly. Torres is trying to determine the next stop.
