As part of The Big Read, Columbia College Chicago will be sponsoring several film screenings related to the In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.  In the Time of the Butterflies transports us to the Dominican Republic in the mid-twentieth century when the country struggled under the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. A work of historical fiction, the novel honors the lives of Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal, who became icons of freedom and women’s rights when they were assassinated in the autumn of 1960 for their role in the underground movement against Trujillo’s regime.

There will be several screenings of the “In the Time of the Butterflies,” the feature motion picture, starring Salma Hayek, Lumi Cavazos, Marc Anthony and Edward James Olmos.

In the Time of the Butterflies
Upcoming Screenings

Wednesday, April 24, from 6:30-8:30pm 
Columbia College Chicago Film Row Cinema
1104 S. Wabash Ave, 8th Floor
Chicago IL

Wednesday, May 1, from 3:00-4:30pm 
Harold Washington College Library
30 E. Lake St., Rm 102
Chicago IL

Wednesday, May 8 from 7:00-8:30pm 
Cicero Public Library
5225 W. Cermak Rd.
Cicero IL

Code Name: Butterflies – Nombre secreto: Mariposas
The first documentary to tell the powerful story of the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic.  Directed by Cecilia Domeyko.

Code Name: Butterflies 
Wednesday, May 1 from 6:00-8:00pm 
NOTE LOCATION CHANGE:
624 S. Michigan Ave., Collins Hall, 6th floor
Chicago IL 

Trópico de Sangre
In 1960, The Dominican Republic’s historic heroine, Minerva Mirabal and her sisters were assassinated by dictator Rafael L. Trujillo for daring to oppose the dictatorship.  Their death gave life to revolution.  The film focuses on Minerva Mirabal and tells the true story of how she and her sisters came to represent the greatest threat to dictator Rafael Trujillo and his regime. The Mirabal sisters were involved in an underground movement against the government, and were assassinated in 1960 by men under the instruction of the Trujillo regime.  Starring Michelle Rodriguez.

Trópico de Sangre
Wednesday, May 8 from 6:30-8:30pm 
Columbia College Chicago Film Row Cinema
1104 S. Wabash, 8th Floor
Chicago IL

For more information about The Big Read at Columbia College Chicago, please visit the Columbia College Chicago Library Big Read website.   All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.