LA GRANDE — Lights, camera, action! Or in this case — luces, camara, accion!

Eastern Oregon University throughout April premieres its first-ever Hispanic Film Festival . The five films explore themes of identity, resilience and cultural heritage, according to assistant professor of Spanish Sandra Nava Nieto, who has her doctorate in Hispanic studies.

“We wanted to offer an event where we could showcase films that are in English, Spanish and Spanglish,” Nava Nieto said. “The movies — they vary a lot by theme and a lot of different topics are included.”

The festival runs from April 9 through May 7 with one movie from the lineup screening each week. Screenings will take place in person every Wednesday 7-10 p.m. at the Schwarz Theatre in Loso Hall at EOU’s campus in La Grande. Many of the films also will be available to stream online for one week following the in person screening.

It is open and free to the EOU community and the public. All movies will have English subtitles.

“For me it was important because I don’t want any barriers,” Nava Nieto said. “It’s a way for La Grande and the community to come to the university, to understand that university as an open space where any topic can be discussed.”

Nava Nieto and her colleague Jill Gibian, Ph.D., selected the five films — “Home is Somewhere Else,” “Cassandro,” “Boca Chica,” “Nadie nos mira” and “In the Heights” — from the 80 available through Pragda, an educational film distributor that specializes in offering the latest Latin American, Spanish and Latinx cinema.

Nava Nieto said the aim was to offer a selection of movies that would be interesting for the community and educational for students enrolled in Spanish film and literature courses.

The idea of hosting a Latino film series first came up last year, Nava Nieto said, when Bennie Moses-Mesubed, Eastern’s associate vice president of strategic equity initiatives, approached her  about a possible grant opportunity through Pragda, which also operates a Spanish Film Club grant that provides matching funds to help schools worldwide organize movie series.

Eastern’s Spanish Department applied for and received the grant, Nava Nieto said, which covered 45% of the film rights. The department then needed to raise the remainder of the funds, which came from the Vending Committee, the Multicultural Center, The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Diversity Committee.

When Nava Nieto began planning for the film festival in 2024, she had no way of knowing what the political climate in the United States would be like the following year.

“I was not expecting to do this festival with the climate that we have right now,” she said.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has aimed to reduce diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives, including ending government DEI programs and giving schools an ultimatum to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas.

“I also believe that this event is important in terms of DEI because even though the political climate is trying to erase histories and perspectives, that doesn’t mean that it’s a fact,” Nava Nieto said. “The fact is that these people exist. They have existed for so long.”

The president also signed an executive order March 1 that designates English as the official language of the United States. The order allows governmental agency heads to choose whether to continue offering documents and services in languages other than English.

It also rescinded an executive order from former President Bill Clinton in 2000 that required the government and agencies receiving federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.

After learning about the executive order, Nava Nieto said she believes it’s “important that these films are a representation that people that have been living in the U.S. not only speak English, but also Spanish and Spanglish.”

Film festival schedule and streaming

• April 9 “Home is Somewhere Else”
• April 16 “Cassandro”
• April 23 “Boca Chica”
• April 30 “Nadie nos mira”
• May 7 “In the Heights”

“Home is Somewhere Else,” “Boca Chica,” and “Nadie nos mira” can be streamed online for one week following the in person screenings.

To stream the films, go here and enter the following user ID and password.

User ID: SFC@EASTERNOREGONUNIVERSITY

Password: EASTERNOREGONUNISFC2025!