Filmic Representations of the Art of War and Survival

Maggie Boyd: Times of War and Alternate Existences in Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro (2006). Abstract: This presentation will analyze the movie in Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro (2006) to explore how war and violence affect the minds, psyche, attitudes, and character of adults and children alike. Themes, symbols, and messages carried common aspects of hope, justice, good vs. evil, defense mechanisms, selflessness and courage, and the power of the imagination to reconstruct the lost innocence. Rebecca McConnell: Europe under Fire: The Intricate Worlds of Survival. Abstract: This presentation will explore the impact of repression and survival in the movie The Girl of your Dreams by Fernando Trueba (1998). In Civil War torn Spain, Germany invites a group of filmmakers to shoot two versions of the Andalusian musical drama The girl of your dreams in Berlin. Soon they discover that they cannot leave the war and related conflicts behind them. The collaboration to produce a work of art will turn into a desperate plan to survive. Dolores Martín-Armas: Women in the Franco Regime: Prisoners, Guerrilleras and Tailors. Abstract: This presentation will analyze the role of the women who kept the republican cause and the fight for freedom alive. The film La voz dormida (The Sleeping Voice) 2011, based on the novel by Dulce Chacón, shows the life of a group of women who could not live their love relationship or experience their motherhood, but learned to trust and support each other against the repression and the violence inside and outside of jail