Academy Award-winning short film “Wednesday Afternoon,” starring Jose Yenque, will be screened at Cal State Long Beach’s Anatol Center today.
Yenque, who plays a lead role, will make a personal appearance with a question and answer forum for all students immediately following the film.
“Wednesday Afternoon,” is a 24-minute film based on the short story “Lazos de Familia” by Edmundo Paz Soldan. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized the movie in 2004 in the student short film category.
Yenque stars as a father who must deal with the difficulties of raising a son in East Los Angeles.
“I think Jose can give the students important insight on becoming an actor, overcoming personal hardship and working as a Latino in Hollywood,” said Dr. Bonnie Gasior, program director and Spanish undergraduate advisor at CSULB. “What I really like about Jose is his down-to-earth nature. He is the type of man our students can use as a positive role model.”
Gasior said a success story like Yenque’s is especially pertinent for students attending an institution that is one of only 212 U.S. universities to be designated as Hispanic-serving by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
Gasior is offering the film as part of the Spanish 310 Introduction to Literary Analysis course.
“I love the idea of connecting a speaker to the curriculum,” Gasior said. “I hope that the movie will reinforce certain messages as well as open their eyes to ones they may not have considered. The event ends up being a great supplement, as we take the text to the screen and then back to the classroom.”
Yenque has also starred in the film “Traffic,” in which he portrayed a corrupt Tijuana soldier known as the “Torturer,” opposite Benicio Del Toro. In 2010, he was awarded a humanitarian award for his work with youth at Casa Hogar Orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico and with at-risk teens in East L.A.
“My message to the students, and really to anyone, is that anything is possible,” Yenque said. “Sometimes, even in your youth, you have to take the wheel, ‘man up’ and make smart decisions.”
The event is hosted by Romance/German/Russian Languages and Literature Department (RGRLL), Partners For Success (PFS) and the Spanish club.
“Wednesday Afternoon” will screen at 2 p.m. and admission is free.
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