Film series reflects 'Colors of the Mountain'

Admission to all films in the series is free. The series is supported in part by the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Endowment Fund and endowments through OCU and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

A soccer ball marooned in a minefield is the central image of Arbeláez’s quietly assured debut feature film set in a remote village in the Andean region of Colombia. It’s a symbol of the characters’ lives, which are menaced on one side by guerrillas and on the other by paramilitary groups.

The plot follows a group of boys led by 9-year-old Manuel. The group is obsessed with playing soccer even though minefields abound in the area.

The film was Colombia’s Oscar candidate submission and the first film from that country in the OCU Film Institute’s history. The Hollywood Reporter called it, “Breathtakingly scenic … nimbly captures the pleasures and pains of childhood bonds.”

This film’s screening is timed to connect with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams’ speech on campus in the OCU Distinguished Speaker Series event in the Freede Center at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24.