Sheldon's Havana Summer continues with four-part Cuban film series

It's a scorcher outside this summer, and the Sheldon Museum of Art welcomes visitors to cool off inside with its four-part Cuban Film Series, part of the museum's Havana Summer event schedule.

The series begins July 6 with Sydney Pollock's "Havana," starring Robert Redford. The film depicts Cuba in 1958, on the eve of revolution, and tells a story of love, chance and political challenge.

The series continues July 27 with "Hello Hemingway" directed by Fernando Perez. A young girl's academic career clashes against her family's struggle with poverty; the story unfolds at their home just outside Havana, which has a clear view of Ernest Hemingway's mansion inside the city.

The third film Aug. 10, "Soy Cuba," won critical acclaim at both the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals when Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese presented it in 2005. The 1964 film, directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, features four vignettes in Batista's Cuba that dramatize the need for revolution.

"Cuba: Illogical Temple," the final film in the series Aug. 31, is a 2004 documentary produced by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln journalism department. The film won a 2004 Student Academy Award. An additional short film, "La Solidaridad," will follow the feature length film. Local filmmaker Brent Meier, who works at El Centro De Las Americas in Lincoln, created the short documentary, which takes a look at mobility issues in Cuba. Meier will

The final screening is also part of El Centro De Las Americas' summer bike tour program, which focuses on exercise and community integration for Latinos. The bike tours will visit Sheldon on July 6, Aug. 21 and Aug. 31. For more information on the tours, visit elcentrodelasamericas.org, or the Sheldon Web site.

The screenings are free and open to the public. All the screenings take place in Sheldon's Abbott Auditorium. A full schedule of times and dates follows.

* "Havana," July 6, 7 p.m.

* "Hello, Hemingway," July 27, 7 p.m.

* "Soy Cuba," Aug. 10, 7 p.m.

* "Cuba: Illogical Temple," Aug. 31, 7 p.m.

Sheldon Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects, primarily focusing on American art. Sheldon, located at 12th and R Streets on the UNL City Campus, is open free to the public during regular hours. The Museum's hours are: Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Monday. For information or to arrange a tour, please call (402) 472-4524. Additional information is also available on the Sheldon Web site, www.sheldon.unl.edu. Writer: Sarah Baker-Hansen