Miami, FL, Jan. 21, 2021 – For the second consecutive year, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Koubek Center and the Cultural Center of Spain in Miami (CCEMiami) will present a selection of films from the 5th Madrid Human Rights Film Festival from Jan. 26-30. Due to the pandemic, this edition of the Festival will be offered online and is free and open to the public. All movies are in Spanish with English subtitles.
“We are delighted to partner again with the Cultural Center of Spain to showcase an excellent selection of short films from the Madrid Human Rights and Film Festival,” said Melissa Messulam, Koubek Center’s general manager. “We are also proud to collaborate with local academic and non-academic organizations to have a greater dissemination of such important issues around human rights.”
They include the Department of Communication, Arts and Philosophy, World Languages, Social Sciences and the Honors College at MDC’s Eduardo Padrón Campus, MDC’s Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy and the International Solidarity Institute for Human Rights.
Films include documentaries and shorts from the United States, Spain, Dominican Republic, and Mexico. The shorts feature Aitana Sánchez Gijón, Ana Otero, and Luis Bermejo in Volcánica by Alberto Velasco; Leonor Watling, who plays the leading role in Mi hermano Juan by Cristina and Mariajosé Martín Barcelona; and Emilio Buale, in Tournées by Israel González, among other talent.
The featured documentaries contribute to the thematic diversity, including Bubisher: Art and Struggle, directed by Itoitz Guerrero Barbarin, which explores how the Saharawi people use art and culture to fight against injustice and oblivion; or Adrift, by Paula Cury Melo, which looks at teenage pregnancy in the Dominican Republic, where sex education is almost non-existent; and The Hive by Sheila Avellaneda, about the thousands of species of bees in the world and life in the hive.
“We are very proud to use our platform to shed light and draw attention to some of the human rights issues we face around the world today,” Messulam added.
Now in its fifth edition, the Madrid Human Rights Film Festival focuses on the dissemination of productions with themes following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “from a pluralistic vision, based on reconciliation and the culture of peace.” The selection criteria for the Madrid Festival is, in part, a response to the threat to human rights posed by the rise of authoritarian political trends in different regions of the world as well as the pandemic.
View a complete list of films and register at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5023283. A link and password will be sent via email on the day of the screening. Each viewing requires a different link, which will be available for two days only.
About MDC’s Koubek Center
A South Florida landmark with a long and rich history as a cultural center, Koubek Center is dedicated to building community through the arts. For several decades, the center has offered various activities, including workshops, art exhibits, plays, literary readings, and concerts. It is a place where local artists and arts organizations can explore and experiment, collaborate, and share their work with the community. Koubek Center has a 200-seat theater, a large garden, classrooms, and multipurpose and rehearsal spaces. It was built in 1929 by Austrian businessman John J. Koubek as a gift to his wife. The site was later donated to the University of Miami and acquired by Miami Dade College in 2011. www.koubekcenter.org