Visiting scholar and Houston-based director Alex Douglas was on campus Wednesday night for a public viewing of his film “El Puente.”

TCU students, faculty and Fort Worth residents gathered in Moudy North to view the film and eat from a Caribbean buffet.

The event was a part of TCU’s KinoMonda World Cinema series.

“El Puente” follows Douglas as he interviews Panamanian citizens from various walks of life about how the expansion of the Panama Canal and related trade has affected their lives. “El Puente” is his first feature film. 

The film won the Best Cinematography award at the Harlem International Film Festival in 2013 and is currently being shown at film festivals throughout the country.

The film was also nominated for The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Director of TCU International Services John Singleton introduced both the film and Douglas to the audience last night. 

Singleton is also the Student Affairs implementation leader for TCU’s Discovering Global Citizenship program, part of TCU’s Quality Enhancement Plan initiative. He told the audience the event was a part of the program’s effort to provide all TCU students with an international experience.

Students said the film provided insight to the lives of others outside the United States and served as an educational experience.

Senior journalism major Janette Quezada was one such student. 

A member of the Global Academy initiative of Discovering Global Citizenship, Quezada, along with a group of about 23 students, was given the opportunity to work with various non-governmental organizations in Panama during spring break last spring. 

“I don’t just see this as a film, I actually know what’s happening and can get a better grasp of the core of it,” Quezada said. “I think KinoMonda, in general, is a great program because it allows you to travel the world through film.”

Though this was a joint effort with KinoMonda, the screening of “El Puente” is part of an ongoing series of on-campus events sponsored by Discovering Global Citizenship. 

Future events can be found on the Discovering Global Citizenship website.