From September 15 to October 15 we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the centuries-long histories, cultures and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in your community, host an event to watch and discuss one of the following films. These films are available for free from the POV Lending Library for community or classroom screenings. Sign up in the POV Community Network to borrow these (and many more) films for free!
To facilitate dialogue at your events, be sure to check out POV’s educational resources: we produce a discussion guide, lesson plan, and reading list for each film. The film-specific webpages include even more resources such as interviews with the filmmakers.
POV discussion guides are an invitation to dialogue. They are based on a belief in the power of human connection, designed for people who want to use our films to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities. In contrast to initiatives that foster debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing viewpoints and listening actively. Check out the films and resources below – ¡qué tengan un buen mes!
Memories of a Penitent Heart | Filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo investigates a mysterious chapter of her family’s history: the untimely death of her uncle Miguel. Through interviews with family members, friends, and Miguel’s former lover, she pieces together a story of religious conflict,immigrant identity, and love during the AIDS epidemic. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
No Le Digas a Nadie (Don’t Tell Anyone) | In a community where silence is used as a means for survival, undocumented immigrant activist Angy Rivera joins a generation of Dreamers ready to push for change in the only home she’s ever known — the United States.| Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Kingdom of Shadows | Emmy-nominated filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz takes an unflinching look at the hard choices and destructive consequences of the U.S.-Mexico drug war. Witness the human side of the conflict through the eyes of a U.S. drug enforcement agent, an activist nun in Mexico and a former Texas smuggler. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Al Otro Lado: To the Other Side | The proud Mexican tradition of corrido music provides both heartbeat and backbone to this rich examination of songs, drugs and dreams along the U.S./Mexico border. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Calavera Highway | Two brothers set off to carry their mother’s ashes to south Texas, and find themselves exploring their family’s secret past. Why was their mother cast out by her family? What happened to their father, who disappeared during the notorious 1954 U.S. deportation program Operation Wetback? Calavera Highway is the story of seven Mexican-American men grappling with the meaning of masculinity, fatherhood and a legacy of rootless beginnings. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Farmingville | The hate-driven attempted murders of two Mexican day laborers catapult a small Long Island town into national headlines, revealing a new front line in the border wars: suburbia. For nearly a year, filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini lived and worked in Farmingville, New York, to capture first-hand the stories of residents, day laborers and activists on all sides of the immigration debate. Farmingville challenges viewers to ask what the “American dream” really means. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
New Muslim Cool | Puerto Rican-American rapper Hamza Pérez pulled himself out of drug dealing and street life 12 years ago and became a Muslim. Now he’s moved to Pittsburgh’s tough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild his shattered family and take his message of faith to other young people through hard-hitting hip-hop music. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Sin País | Winner of a Student Academy Award, Sin País (Without Country) explores one immigrant family’s experience with deportation and American immigration policy. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández | In 1997, U.S. Marines patrolling the Texas-Mexico border as part of the War on Drugs shot and killed 18-year-old Esequiel Hernández Jr., mistaking the U.S. citizen for a drug runner. Narrated by Tommy Lee jones, The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández uses Hernandez’s tragic death as a lens to discuss the dangers of militarizing the border. | Screen the Film | Download the Discussion Guide | Explore the Lesson Plan | Check out the Reading List
Visit our local events calendar for a full list of events happening across the country and join our Community Network to host a screening of your own! Got a question or an idea? Follow POV’s Community Engagement and Education department on Twitter @povengage and we’ll help you find the right resources for your goals.
