Jody Murray

"Flora," the latest film by Yehuda Sharim, will have its world premiere later this spring at a festival in Philadelphia, according to the UC Merced global arts professor.

Sharim describes "Flora" as a collective memoir of post-teen daughters of immigrants who must teach themselves about love and tenderness in a world dominated by unnecessary suffering and pain. Filmed in a Mexican restaurant in downtown Merced, "Flora," blends elements of reality and fiction while telling the story of immigrants through music.

UC Merced’s Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) is among 95 programs recognized and supported by the Mellon Foundation in an initiative called Affirming Multivocal Humanities.

CRES will use a $100,000 grant from the foundation to kick-start several student-led activities designed to raise awareness about race, ethnicity and social justice both in the campus community and in the surrounding Merced area.

UC Merced researchers are shedding light on a little-explored aspect of cross-cultural communication that involves no spoken words but sometimes can cause confusion and anguish for children acting as interpreters for older family members.

The 12^th edition of the Bobcat Art Show, which debuts this week in a new space, is further proof that creativity can come from anywhere in the UC Merced community.

“In addition to the amazing work done by our Global Arts Studies students and faculty, we have some incredible pieces by engineers, finance managers, anthropologists and more – demonstrating how the power of art truly knows no bounds,” said Collin Lewis, the university’s executive director for the arts.

The unflinching demand for justice drives the moving images and impassioned ideas packed into the agenda of this year’s UC Merced Human Rights Film Festival, presented by the university’s Global Arts, Media & Writing Studies department.