A Reel Look Inside ‘Latin America’ : Film: Touring collection of shorts from 12 countries stops at Newport Harbor museum in five-week series.

NEWPORT BEACH —  When the film “Dracula” is screened on Friday at the Newport Harbor Art Museum, don’t expect to see the current Hollywood blockbuster with its high-priced stars and dazzling special effects.

This decidedly different version of the classic horror tale is a 10-year-old Cuban export from filmmaker Noel Lima. And no need for popcorn: Lima’s version runs only one minute.

The film short--typical of three dozen such Latin American works to be shown at the museum during the next five weeks--offers the audiences uncommon perspectives on the 12 countries in which the films originated.

The shorts range from a sober documentary about Argentina’s “Dirty Wars” to an irreverent look at the life of a tomato. Some works contain a hard political edge, while others are downright bizarre.

“You get a view and an understanding of (Latin America) that you are not going to get reading a dry newspaper narrative,” said museum spokeswoman Maxine Gaiber. “It’s like looking at a culture from the inside out.”

The Newport Beach tour stop marks the first Southern California appearance for this traveling collection of shorts, which are rarely seen outside the countries that produced them.

Compiled by UC Santa Cruz literature professor Julianne Burton for the American Federation of Arts’ Media Arts Program, the series strives to find in the films clues about Latin America’s future.

The films are divided into categories and shown in groups, each program running about 90 minutes. Weekly topics include “The Land,” “People at Work,” “Change and Conflict,” “Heroes and Healers” and “Creativity and Expression.”

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Many of the works are documentaries chronicling sad realities of Latin American life.

“Throw Me a Dime” (1958), screening Jan. 22, follows a group of poor children in Argentina who risk their lives running along railroad tracks seeking money from passengers. In “Missing Children” (1985), to be shown the same day, filmmaker Estela Bravo looks at a group of mothers and grandmothers searching for relatives who were abducted by the Argentine government.

Others profile veterans of Cuba’s war of independence from Spain, a day in the life of a Venezuelan family and the secret lives of undocumented workers living in Canada.

“The Brickmakers” (1972) from Colombia combines political commentary with fantasy in a 42-minute film that deals with priests, soap opera characters and radio advertisers. It screens Jan. 15.

Brazil’s “Island of Flowers” (1989), screening Friday, chronicles the life of a tomato from garden to garbage.

Gaiber said, “Short films can experiment because they are not produced for a commercial-art audience.”

“Short Films From Latin America” opens Friday at 6:30 p.m. with a six-film program titled “The Land” at Newport Harbor Art Museum, 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. The series continues Fridays through Feb. 12. $3 to $5 per program, includes museum admission. (714) 759-1122.