UNA PASIÓN POR EL CINE

A Passion For Cinema

BY SARAH NEESE, PHOTOS PROVIDED

IF YOU WERE TO ASK members of the UCO community about Rogelio Almeida, coordinator for multimedia services in the UCO Office of Information Technology, they’d likely tell you about a technological problem that he’s helped them fix, about his undeniable work ethic or his contagiously positive attitude. However, Almeida is known in the greater Oklahoma City community for something other than HDMI cables and multimedia saves: his passion for culture and film.

It all started in the basement of El Nacional newspaper, located in Oklahoma City’s historic Capitol Hill. Almeida saw an opportunity to shine a light on Latino representation within the community, and he took it. And so, the Oklahoma Cine (OKCine) Latino Film Festival was born.

OKCine highlights Latino cultural influence by featuring Latino filmmakers and their films, including short films, feature-length films and documentaries. Submissions have come from artists from around the United States, Mexico, Spain and South America.

The festival started small, showing just a few film submissions from the community on a single film screen in the El Nacional basement, but people were receptive.

In March 2020, OKCine hosted its sixth annual event, premiering at the newly remodeled Yale Theater in Capitol Hill.

“The festival was a huge success, screening more than 20 international films,” Almeida said. “This year, the festival featured international filmmakers from Spain, Brazil, Latin America and Mexico, as well as filmmakers from Texas and Oklahoma.”

In addition to showcasing Latin film talent, this year’s event featured

Class IV of the Youth Film Workshop. The film workshop spans five weekends and teaches high school students how to make a movie, including script writing, casting, lens selection, lighting, video editing, sound recording and post-production. The workshop is free and encourages students to use their creativity to incorporate Latino culture into their films. Almeida serves as one of the workshop’s instructors.

“This year’s film was called ‘Tomorrow,’” Almeida said. “It told the story of a family struggling through hard times and a daughter seeking to pull her family together.”

Almeida’s passion for the festival has only grown, motivating him to travel across the U.S. in search of ideas to support the event. OKCine Latino continues to grow as it gains recognition and support from the Oklahoma City community, and Almeida has no plans of stopping.

“It’s important because it’s a great platform to launch new talent at the Youth Film Workshops, bring international and local filmmakers together and bring awareness about the Latino community’s impact in our society and the arts,” Almeida said.

While Almeida makes a difference at UCO daily, it’s clear that his hard work and passion reach beyond the boundaries of Central’s campus, furthering the legacy of his culture and changing the surrounding community for the better.