On this episode, we talk with the people behind Iowa's two Latino film festivals. The Des Moines Latino Film Festival just held its sixth annual event on April 11. Antonio Romero of the Latino Center of Iowa and Ben Godar of Varsity Cinema, who co-present the festival, share how their partnership has reshaped the festival the last couple years, and their hopes for the future.
Then, we get a preview of the inaugural Aqui y Alla Latin American Film Festival happening May 1-3 at Filmscene in Iowa City with programming director Ben Delgado and festival committee member Ariana Martinez.
Later in the episode, as National Poetry Month wraps up, poets JD Schraffenberger and Sean Thomas Dougherty join to discuss their recently published "chapbook" of golden shovel-formatted poems that were inspired by the work of James Hearst.
Varsity Cinema and Filmscene are sponsors of IPR.
Guests:
- Antonio Romero, vice president, Latino Center of Iowa
- Ben Godar, executive director, Varsity Cinema
- Ben Delgado, programming director, Filmscene
- Ariana Martinez, freelance film critic, MA student in film studies, University of Iowa
- JD Schraffenberger, professor of English, University of Northern Iowa
- Sean Thomas Dougherty, poet, author, and UNI's David C. and Patricia A. Meyer Visiting Writer
