Spanish majors interview film stars

University of North Georgia (UNG) assistant professor Dr. Raphael Palermo Dos Santos taught a Latin American cinema class during the fall 2023 semester in which he and his 16 students interviewed directors and actors from the contemporary films they watched. 

The course theme was humor and comedy, relaying how humor could reinforce stereotypes and how humor could be used to convey a message in film.

Each student was able to ask two questions they created on their own and were tasked with expressing them in Spanish, as the upper-level class was made up of Spanish majors and minors. Each interview lasted around an hour.  

Palermo believes these formal conversations helped deepen their language skills while feeding into their personal interests. 

"That was very rewarding to them," Palermo said. "They were nervous before the interview because they were doubting their skills in Spanish. So, this gave them more confidence, both in language and communication skills." 

Brecklen Pavlich, a junior from Suwanee, Georgia, felt it was a positive experience.  

"It was insightful to develop creative questions about the Latin film industry, methods for character-building and casting characters, filming techniques, and questions about lifestyles and achievements," said Pavlich. "It was even more incredible that we interacted with the people who created and starred in an actual Latin film. Overall, it was a wonderful experience." 

Upper-level Spanish courses fall on a rotating schedule, so this course will not be available again until fall 2025. However, Palermo shared he plans to implement these interviews again when the class returns.