The Utah Film Center and Grand County Public Library will host a free screening of “Gloria” on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at Star Hall.
Gloria is a divorced Chilean woman in her late 50s working a dull office job and craving adventure. Her two grown children are too busy for her, and, while Gloria feels young at heart, she is lonely and, as she says, sometimes sad in the mornings, and in the afternoons too.
“Gloria” follows the heroine character as she finds love in a social dance club for singles, experiences the hopes and despair that come with intense passion, and finds a new strength hidden within herself.
“The film’s director, Sebastian Lelio, is up to all kinds of mischief, the least of which is Gloria’s abundant hairdo and outsized spectacles, which give her a slight, but unmistakable, resemblance to Dustin Hoffman in Sydney Pollack’s beloved 1982 comedy, ‘Tootsie,’” said Ella Taylor, movie critic for National Public Radio. “The movie puts her through hell, but make no mistake: ‘Gloria’ is a celebration.”
The film, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2013, received several nominations for best-film awards and was Chile’s submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, although it did not receive a nomination.
The film won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Hawaii International Film Festival for Paulina Garcia’s performance as Gloria. Garica, who started her acting career on television in Chile, has been nominated four times for the Altazor Awards, a Chilean annual award for accomplishment in the arts, winning it in 2008. She has also won two Chilean Arts and Entertainment Critics Awards.
The film also stars Sergio Hernandez as Rodolfo Hernandez, Gloria’s love interest from the Santiago dance club. Hernandez has starred in over 60 films and has been acting in Chile since the early 1980s.
The Utah Film Center is a non-profit organization that collaborates with organizations throughout the state of Utah to help bring “the world of film to local audiences through free screenings and post-film discussions, outreach programs, and visiting artists and professionals.” Sallie Hodges, the outreach coordinator for the Utah Film Center, said the committee picked “Gloria” because of its lighter feel.
“The film circuit in partnership with Grand County Library has of late been screening some hard-hitting social-justices documentaries and films and we were looking for something on the lighter side when “Gloria” showed up on our radar,” she said.
Hodges said the screening will be something everyone can enjoy.
“This is a warm, witty, earnest film reveling in vitality and humor which I think Moab is going to adore,” she said. “It’s not often we get to watch a 50-year-old female protagonist, unless of course it’s Meryl Streep, but Paulina Garcia’s performance is spectacular. This is a heartwarming comedy that everyone is going to love.”
“Gloria” is rated R. The film will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 22 at Star Hall, 159 E. Center St.
Late 50s woman, young at heart, finds love in singles dance club
“This is a warm, witty, earnest film reveling in vitality and humor which I think Moab is going to adore.”
What: “Gloria” film screening
Where: Star Hall, 159 E. Center St.
When: Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m.
Cost: Free
