Lilly Collection Spotlight: Películas for Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrate Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana!

Honoring Hispanic Heritage – Explore our film collections

What is a película? A film or movie

Lilly Library presents a sampling of films in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which recognizes the contributions and influence of Hispanic and Latinx Americans. Creative members of this community include actors, directors, and screenwriters, represented in the vast array of films in the Duke Libraries collections. Lilly shines its spotlight on just a few of our many documentaries, dramas, and animated films to illuminate the perspective of this vibrant and vital community.

Documentaries

Dolores Lilly DVD 31366

Dolores Lilly DVD 31366

Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century–and she continues to fight to this day, at 87.

Symbols of Resistance Stream with Duke NetID
This documentary illuminates the untold stories of the Chican@ Movement with a focus on events in Colorado and New Mexico. Through interviews with those who shaped the movement and rare historical footage, the film opens a window into a dynamic moment in history and movement building.

Feature Films – Drama and Human Interest

Maria Full of Grace Lilly DVD 3895 or
Stream with Duke NetID

Lilly DVD 3895 and Streaming

Maria, a poor Columbian teenager, is desperate to leave a soul-crushing job. She accepts an offer to transport packets of heroin – which she swallows – to the United States. The ruthless world of drug trafficking proves to be more than she bargained for.

A Boy Called Sailboat Lilly DVD 33374
In a slanted dwelling beyond the outskirts of a drought-ridden town, a close Hispanic family accepts an impossible blessing and name their only son Sailboat. Sailboat stirs new love and hope in his family as they forge a simple but proud life in the American Southwest.

La Misma Luna / Under The Same Moon Lilly DVD 12186 or Stream with Duke NetID
This film follows the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. In Mexico, her mother cares for Carlitos.

Mosquita y Mari Lilly DVD 24518 or Stream with Duke NetID

Lilly DVD 24518 Mosquita & Mari

This film is an exquisitely crafted coming of age tale following a pair of Latina teens who fall gradually in love against the backdrop of East L.A.

Real Women Have Curves Lilly DVD 2281
Should she leave home, go to college and experience life? Or stay home, get married, and keep working in her sister’s struggling garment factory? It may seem an easy decision, but for 18-year-old Mexican-American Ana, every choice she makes this summer will change her life.

Animated Films

Coco Lilly 31094

Lilly DVD 31094 and Ford 7776

Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

The Book Of Life Lilly DVD 27605 and Ford 6902 or Stream with Duke NetID
Embark on a journey with Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart.

Many more films by, and about, the Hispanic and Latinx communities can be found in the Duke University Libraries collections. Honor and celebrate Hispanic and Latinx themes all year long and continue your exploration through our collections.