Director Antonio Méndez Esparza’s debut full-length feature, Aquí y Allá (Here and There), shows the complications faced by family members who go abroad and work to support their loved ones. The film’s lead character, Pedro, is a worker who lived in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant for several years before returning to his home in a Mexican village. His wife and children, who remained behind, have gone on with their lives and Pedro's transition back as husband and father is awkward for the family. While struggling to reclaim his role, Pedro faces the realization that his aspirations to play in a band are doomed unless he recrosses the border to work and make more money. Aquí y Allá is part of the Latin American Coalition's film series CineMás. Immediately after the screening, the Coalition's cultural events assistant, Jaime Villegas, will facilitate a panel discussion featuring, among others, Creative Loafing Editor-in-Chief Mark Kemp and CL contributor Pat Moran. "With CineMás, the objective is to create a setting where curious minds can meet and exchange ideas after watching a film they can connect with on a personal level," Villegas writes on the Coalition's blog. "To engage in conversations about our similarities rather than our differences." (For more information on the series, go to its web page.)

Anita Overcash

Price: $5