“La Jaula de Oro,” a dramatic film based on the reality of migrants who make their way from Latin America to the United States, will be shown at Ithaca College on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The free public screening will take place at 6 p.m. in The Forum, on the second floor of the Peggy Ryan Williams Center, and will be followed by a discussion via Skype with director Diego Quemada-Díez.
Known in English as “The Golden Dream,” the film follows three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala as they travel to the U.S. in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico, they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn’t speak Spanish. Traveling together in cargo trains and walking on the railroad tracks, they soon have to face a harsh reality.
Quemada-Díez says his film is a fiction based on reality, reenacting it from a place of authenticity and integrity. “I want to give voice to migrants — human beings who challenge a system established by impassive national and international authorities by crossing borders illegally, risking their own lives in the hope of overcoming dire poverty.”
Born in the Iberian Peninsula, Quemada-Díez has lived in the American continent for most of the past two decades. He graduated from the American Film Institute and went on to work as a camera operator on “21 Grams,” directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, which opened the doors for him to work alongside such directors such as Fernando Meireles, Tony Scott, Cesar Charlone, Oliver Stone and Spike Lee. He has written and directed several short dramas and documentaries, with “La Jaula de Oro” being his first feature film.
The presentation is part of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (CSCRE) Discussion Series, which this year is titled “Imminent Generation: Coming of Age in a Time of Uncertainty.” Dedicated to youthful leaders, organizers and future makers who will provide some insight on their experiences, the goal is to foster a critical cross-generational dialogue in hopes of developing strategies to address our ever-evolving challenges.
For more information, visit www.ithaca.edu/cscre.