Two graduate students from the LBJ School are using cinema to unite friends and peers in advocacy, amplifying community voices and engaging in conversations. The second annual Cine-Activism film festival was hosted by the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Lorenzo Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the end of September.
The co-organizers of the event were Larissa Costa, dual-degree masters student in Global Policy Studies and Latin-American Studies, and Geraldine Fandiño, dual-degree masters student in Public Affairs and Latin-American Studies.
Costa and Fandiño envision the festival as a platform for their community within LBJ and LLILAS to engage in meaningful discussions about the social and policy issues that matter most to them, they said.
“This is not our project. This is not mine, this is not hers. It's part of the community,” Costa said.
Each night of the festival highlighted a different short film, conversation topic and call to action. Issue areas addressed included the rights of domestic workers and migrants in the U.S., the need for humanization in the Brazilian prison system and the challenges faced by transgender women in Bogotá, Colombia. The festival included Spanish, English and Portuguese dialogue and translators for the audience joining virtually and in-person, consisting of community members, students, faculty and staff from UT Austin.
The festival’s purpose was to bring together an alliance of vulnerable or criminalized communities, Fandiño said.
“All of us, we share vulnerabilities, we share problems,” Fandiño said. “We can be together to support each other and speak in a [university setting] about our problems.”
Rosario Nava, founder of the nonprofit MISMA, (Women Inspired by Dreams, Goals and Actions,) protagonist of the film “Nana” and speaker for Tuesday’s discussion on the rights of domestic workers, reflected on the importance of the festival.
“MISMA nació por compartir historias, compartir necesidades, pero, si yo necesito algo, pero si no existe quien me ayude, quién se lo ve?” Nava asked. (English translation: “MISMA was born to share stories, to share needs, but, if I need something and there isn’t someone to help… how can I be seen?”)
Costa is a participant in the RGK Center’s Nonprofit Studies Portfolio program. Nonprofits like MISMA, she said, are the “skeleton” of many social movements today, providing essential structure and support for organized advocacy.
“The skills that the nonprofit sector has been developing, [including] communication with members, fundraising, lobbying tactics, strategy, growing numbers – social movements benefit from that.” Costa said. “But we also believe that nonprofits have to learn a lot from the communities.”
Both Costa and Fandiño bring significant experience in advocacy and community engagement to their work. Costa’s background is grounded in championing migrant rights and mobilizing labor movements in São Paulo, Brazil. Meanwhile, Fandiño has a history of involvement in the sex workers’ rights movement in Bogotá, Colombia, and has conducted research on police violence in both Bogotá and Uganda.
Fandiño emphasized the opportunity for engaging in conversations with Latin American advocacy groups at the LBJ School.
“The people who are in LBJ, most of them will probably be people who take power positions in our society, whether that be in Congress or in other spaces of power,” Fandiño said. “They cannot go into those spaces without knowing about the kinds of social problems that we are building into our festival."
It was important for this event to be hosted by the LBJ School, said Director of Student Access and Civic Education Christopher Cutkelvin. On the opening night of the festival, he shared a few words.
“Tonight’s focus on the lives and rights of domestic workers is a vital part of the broader commitment to social justice and policy that the LBJ School wants to make sure that we're a leader in,” Cutkelvin said. “We at the LBJ School are proud to support this festival and its mission to illuminate the stories that demand to be heard.”
On Wednesday night, 18-year-old Ivan Ramirez and his mother Hilda Ramirez, of the film “Ivan’s Story”, shared their challenging experience migrating to the U.S. from Guatemala nearly 10 years ago. Ivan spoke of the deep responsibility he feels for his immigration story to create change.
From the audience, PhD student Denise Braz thanked Ivan for sharing his story.
“Academics maybe cannot understand exactly how much was painful for you, how much was difficult for you,” said Braz, who is a student in the LLILAS program. “You are to me right now, not a subject of our study. You are for me, a person, a human, and I have super respect for your history and for your person.”
LBJ professor Dr. Sergio I. Garcia-Rios closed out the night with a final word for Ivan and a takeaway for the audience.
“Now, [Ivan,] your story is no longer your story. It’s my story, it’s their story,” Dr. Garcia-Rios said. “It’s not your responsibility, but you have left all of us with some homework. The homework is to share this story, because even though it’s deeply personal, deeply unique, at the same time in some weird way, in some painful way, it's also commonplace.”
The festival rounded out on Friday with a celebration. Around 50 students, professors and community members gathered for live Latin American music and food catered by local Austin vendors.
“It was a very special moment, and we stayed there for almost two hours, enjoying the company and reflecting on the success of the event,” Fandiño said.
Click here to view the YouTube playlist showcasing recordings from each night of Cine-Activism 2024. The festival booklet, which you can view here, contains valuable insights and ways you can support the causes discussed at this year’s event. To learn more about the festival and to stay up-to-date on information on next year’s event, you can check out their website or follow @cineactivism on Instagram.
