Don't miss these last two films in the Castleton University International Film Series:

Thursday, March 15, Herrick Auditorium, 6:30 pm
THE EMPTY CLASSROOM
Nearly half of all young people in Latin America never finish high school. To explore this dropout crisis, creative director Gael García Bernal gathered 11 award-winning filmmakers who have created a captivating anthology of short films, both narrative and documentary. There is no easy solution to this complex issue, and each short delves into the underlying reasons, from poverty to societal traditions, that students aren't graduating.

Tuesday, March 20, Herrick Auditorium, 6:30 pm
THE SECOND MOTHER
An excitingly fresh take on some classic themes and ideas, The Second Mother dissects with both impeccable precision and humor such matters as class differences and family. The film centers around Val, a hard- working live-in housekeeper in modern-day Sao Paulo.
Val (stunning performed by Regina Casé) is perfectly content to take care of every one of her wealthy employers' needs, from cooking and cleaning to being a surrogate mother to their teenage son, whom she has raised since he was a toddler. But when Val's estranged daughter Jessica suddenly shows up, the unspoken but intrinsic class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray. Jessica is smart, confident, and ambitious, and refuses to accept the upstairs/downstairs dynamic, testing relationships and loyalties and forcing everyone to reconsider what family really means.