Spanish department announces 13th annual Hispanic Film Festival

Argentina's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film to the Academy Awards, this is a refreshing drama about a law professor trying to live up to the expectations of his father, a successful attorney, and his own family.

The ghost of 1970s Argentina haunts 1980s Texas in this perceptive and beautifully acted drama. After eight years of exile in Spain, Natalia, a restless journalist, has traveled to Texas to visit her sister, a suburban wife and mother struggling to distance herself from her family's turbulent past. But as the women seek reconciliation across a chasm of political discord, the discovery of a novel written by their father raises specters neither can ignore.

A Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance, Quinceañera is a story fueled by the racial, class and sexual tensions of Echo Park, a Latino neighborhood in L.A. undergoing gentrification. It's a smart, charming and perceptive look at what happens when teenage sexuality, age-old rituals and real estate prices collide. As Magdalena's big 15th birthday party nears, she's fixated on the idea of arriving in a stretch Hummer. Trivialities such as this are swept aside, however, when she finds out she's pregnant.

Pedro Almodovar's triumphant return to female-centric melodrama stars Penelope Cruz as Raimunda, a steadfast, saucy woman who lives in a small Spanish town with her daughter, a despicable husband, and a large network of confidantes. Almodovar counters the film's bright color scheme and vibrant characters with elements of tragedy, suspense, and murder, not to mention the living, breathing ghost of Raimunda's dead mother come to take care of unfinished business. Cruz was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her lovable performance.