Mesa Legend

Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: News

MCC instructor Maria Martell concluding the discussion.

Maria Martell, a Spanish instructor at MCC, concluded the Paul A. Elsner Community College Speaker Series by presenting a condensed version of her doctoral dissertation in which she analyzed four Latin American women filmmakers who broke down barriers of the male dominated field.

Martell was born and raised in Columbia. She moved to New Jersey in 1983, where she received her BA and MA degrees in Spanish from Mont Claire State University.

She moved to Arizona in 1998 and attended ASU, where she received a doctorate in Spanish.

With a Powerpoint presentation, combined with film clips and hand drawn illustrations, plus anecdotes from one of the filmmakers that Martell had met, the audience was led on a journey into the world of Latin American cinema.

Explaining the traditional roles of women in cinema, Martell then showed examples of how these women filmmakers changed those roles by presenting women in film from a woman's point of view.

Martell's knowledge of cinema was evident in her presentation, as well as her passion for the medium.

She impressed the audience when she enthusiastically demonstrated a dance scene from one of the films.

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