The 2016 North Carolina Latin American Film Festival will launch a series of 30 films to celebrate its 30th anniversary around the theme “Abya Yala Connections” with a focus on films from Peru and Colombia as well as 10 other countries of the continent, Miguel Rojas-Sotelo reports.

Celebrating the power and artistry of Latin American cinema tradition, the festival will launch Sept. 15 and run through Nov. 1, with films in both Durham and Chapel Hill. The festival is organized by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Duke University. All films are free and open to the public.

The festival has continued its mission to broaden outreach to the community by placing films in new venues such as the Ackland Art Museum at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Carolina Theater in Durham and Silverspot Cinema of Chapel Hill.

The event will include a special series of short films for children and families at the Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in Carrboro Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

The three short films include an animated film, “Nuhuani,” a folk tale told by the Kogui people of Colombia, and a local documentary, “New Roots/Nuevas Raíces,” followed by a Q&A with its directors. The third film, “Truâbi / Canto / Song,” is about the journey of an indigenous child in Colombia.

Of special interest to festivalgoers this year is a documentary about the 43 missing students of Iguala, Mexico, titled “Mirar Morir: El Ejército en la Noche de Iguala.” The film will screen on Monday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in White Auditorium at Duke. A student roundtable, co-sponsored by the Duke Human Rights Center @ FHI and the Mi Gente student group will follow the film.

The festival week begins Monday, Sept. 29 with “Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel García Márquez,” at 6 p.m. in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at the FedEx Global Education Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. A reception and music will precede the film.

The complete list of films and dates can be found at http://bit.ly/2bjtRR4