WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 6 PM
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY AUDITORIUM
1030 N. Olive Road Tucson, Arizona 85721
MEDIATING INDIGENOUS IDENTITY: A PANEL ON REPRESENTATIONS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN MEXICAN FILM
This panel examines how indigenous people in Mexico have been represented in Mexican film by considering stereotypical representations and how they have been mobilized for nation-building purposes. In particular, the panel will discuss the double discourse of making indigenous people visible on the screen to wider audiences while at the same time relegating the actual lived experiences to the margins of society or to a grand mythified past. Clips from films will highlight discussion points. This panel will also move forward and highlight some recent videos made by indigenous people, creating their own self image, and asks what it means in contemporary Mexican discourse.
PANELISTS: Carlos Gutierrez, Director, Cinema Tropical; Elena Fortes, Director, Ambulante; Omar Foglio, Filmmaker and Artist; Paola Rodríguez, Filmmaker and Artist; Martha Uc, Filmmaker; Panel Facilitator: Laura Gutierrez, Associate Professor, UA Department of Spanish and Portuguese
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 7 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary
TIERRA BRILLANTE/BRILLIANT SOIL
Presented in association with Ambulante, Mexico
IN PERSON: Producers Omar Foglio and Paola Rodríguez
Best Film, International Festival of Indigenous Film and Video, Mexico, 2011
Mexico, 2011, 91 mins.
Directors: José Luis Figueroa Lewis and Sebastián Díaz Aguirre
Producers: Omar Foglio and Paola Rodríguez
Cinematographer: Juan Eduardo
Navarrete Pajarito
Editor: Sebastián Díaz Aguirre
In Spanish, English, and Purépecha with
English subtitles
Thousands of artisans in Mexico traditionally use lead in their glazed pottery, not realizing the health damage that this toxic element causes. Herlinda, a Purépecha indigenous potter in Michoacán, is one of the few artisans in her community who uses alternative lead-free glazes. Together with Victor, a social activist, they work to educate potters, businesses, and customers. Once achieving health and better living conditions for her family, Herlinda faces the difficult task of finding a market for her impressive pieces. All the while she dreams of having her shop thrive and her brothers return from the United States to rejoin the family tradition.
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 7 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary
MORIR DE PIE/DIE STANDING UP
Co-Presented by Lesbian Looks and in association with Ambulante, Mexico
This screening is made possible with support from the UA Gender and Women’s Studies
Department Anti-Racism Task Force.
IN PERSON:
Winner, Best Documentary, Guadalajara Film Festival, 2011
Mexico, 2011, 74 mins.
Director: Jacaranda Correa
Producer: Martha Orozco
Cinematographer: Dariela Ludlow
Editor: Rodilfo Santa Maria
In Spanish with English subtitles
“Conceptually striking and emotionally piercing…”-Variety
The directorial debut of renowned Mexican journalist and anchorwoman Jacaranda Correa, this is the inspiring story of Irina Layewska, a tireless fighter and advocate for personal freedoms and progressive causes. It is also the love story of Irina and her partner Nelida, whom she married as a man. Born to Mexican communist militants and raised on a staunch diet of communism, Irina fought in the Cuban solidarity movement, idolizing Che Guevara as a father figure. Since her early youth, Irina suffered from multiple sclerosis, which confines her to a wheel chair. Now blind, and with the support of her life partner, Irina continues her battle against discrimination and prejudice.
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 7 PM • FOX TUCSON THEATRE
Romantic Comedy
AQUÍ ENTRE NOS/BETWEEN US
IN PERSON: CARMEN BEATO AND JESUS OCHOA
Winner, Golden Palm Award, Mexico Film Festival, 2011
Winner, Best Actor (Jesus Ochoa) Guadalajara International Film Festival, 2011
Mexico, 2011, 95 mins.
Director: Patricia Martínez de Velasco
Producer: Roberto Sneider, Patricia Martínez de Velasco, Laura Imperiale
Writer: Patricia Martínez de Velasco
Cinematographer: Paula Huidobro
Editor: Oscar Figueroa Jara
Cast: Jesús Ochoa, Carmen Beato, Diana García
In Spanish with English Subtitles
A true comedy about a family (the movie) explores the twists and turns that family relationships experience over time… Rodolfo feels that the family sees him as a necessary evil. He knows that they need him but he mostly gets in the way of their lives. Humorous at every step, Rodolfo breaks from the family routine and finds himself as a stranger in his own home. As he begins to untangle the intrigues and lies which he has been living with, he begins going deeper to discover the truth. Funny from beginning to end, the film is a War of the Roses with a mariachi band, love and the everlasting feeling that life will turn out OK…- Sydney Levine
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 4 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Political Thriller
COLOSIO: EL ASESINATO
COLOSIO: THE ASSASINATION
IN PERSON: DIRECTOR CARLOS BOLADO
Mexico/Spain/France/Columbia, 2012, 100 mins.
Director: Carlos Bolado
Producers: Monica Lozano and Hugo Rodríguez
Writers: Hugo Rodríguez, Carlos Bolado, and Miguel Necoechea
Cinematographer: Andrés León Becker
Editors: Luciana Jauffred, Francisco X. Rivera, and Carlos Bolado
Cast: José María Yazpik, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Kate del Castillo, Odiseo Bichir
In Spanish with English Subtitles
A Mexican box office hit, this fictional thriller is based on the true story of Luis Donaldo Colosio, handpicked successor to President Carlos Salinas, who was shot dead at a campaign rally in March 1994. The movie starts with the assassination and the arrest of an assassin, but nobody knows who’s behind the murder, and rumors of a conspiracy swirl. Intelligence officer Captain Andrés Vázquez is appointed to lead a secret investigation running parallel to the official one. Meanwhile, military officer El Seco, who specializes in selective murders, receives orders to eliminate all witnesses and forensic evidence. The closer Vazquez gets to piecing the puzzle together, the more he endangers his life and the life of his girlfriend.
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 7 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary Short
BRIAN
U.S.A/Mexico, 2013, 8 mins.
Director: Rafael Gomez
Cinematographer: Taylor Thoenes
A day goes by for Brian, a physically disabled, nine-year old boy who lives with his family on the outskirts of Imuris, Mexico. This restrained documentary balances a melancholic existence with small enjoyments in Brian’s life and leaves an indelible memory.
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 7 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Drama
EL LENGUAJE DE LOS MACHETES/MACHETE LANGUAGE
IN PERSON: DIRECTOR KYZZA TERRAZAS
Official Selection, Venice Film Festival, 2011
Special Jury Award, Cartagena Film Festival, 2012
Mexico, 2011, 82 mins.
Director: Kyzza Terrazas
Executive Producers:Gabriel Nuncio, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna
Producer: Rafael Ley
Writer: Kyzza Terrazas
Cinematographer: Christian Rivera
Editor: Yibran Assuad, Miguel Musalem
Music Composer: Jessy Bulbo
Cast: Andrés Almeida, Jessy Bulbo
In Spanish with English Subtitles
Ray and Ramona (real-life punk rocker Jessy Bulbo) are in their 30s, in love and angry at the world. Ramona leads an anarchic all-girl band, but self-destructive Ray struggles to find his calling. Their lives fluctuate between commitment and excess partying. Caught in a downward spiral, the revolutionary couple are increasingly drawn to commit a shocking act of terrorism. The debut feature from Kyzza Terrazas (former head of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna’s production company) is a gritty portrait of all-consuming love. Jessy Bulbo makes an unforgettable acting debut in this dark but highly original film.
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 9:30 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Horror
HALLEY
Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2013
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2013
Mexico, 2013, 84 mins.
Director: Sebastián Hofmann
Producer: Julio Chavezmontes, Jaime Romandía
Writer: Sebastián Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes
Cinematographer: Matias Penachino
Editor: Sebastián Hofmann
Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores
In Spanish with English Subtitles
Just like Halley’s Comet, Alberto’s days are numbered. He has been dead for years, but can no longer hide the fact. Perfume and make-up don’t help to mask his physical decline; the end is now final for this silent zombie. He decides to withdraw from life, which for him primarily consists of working as a night watchman in a 24-hour gym and gazing at the TV in a cheerless flat. His manager Luly, however, takes an interest in him and takes him out. The rather stiff friendship that emerges ensures an unexpected upturn in Alberto’s condition in the autumn of his undead existence. Halley is a contemporary Gothic story without spectacle, but with plenty of compassion.- Rotterdam
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary Short
PARAÍSO
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival, 2013
Short-listed for the Academy Awards®, 2013
U.S.A, 2012, 10 mins.
Director/Cinematographer: Nadav Kurtz
In Spanish with English subtitles
Three immigrant window cleaners risk their lives every day rappelling down some of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers. Paraíso reveals the danger of their job and what they see on the way down.
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary
SILVESTRE PANTALEÓN
Presented in association with Ambulante, Mexico
IN PERSON: PRODUCER/CO-DIRECTOR JONATHAN D. AMITH
Winner, Best Feature-length Mexican Documentary, Morelia International Film Festival
Winner, Best Film, Montreal First Peoples’ Festival, 2011
Official Selection, National Geographic All Roads Film Project
Mexico, 2012, 65 mins.
Director: Roberto Olivares and Jonathan D. Amith
Producer: Jonathan D. Amith
Cinematographer: Roberto Olivares
Editor: Roberto Olivares
In Náhuatl with English Subtitles
Silvestre Pantaleón lives in a Náhuatl speaking village in Guerrero, Mexico. He is one of the few who still has the traditional skills to make rope and lattice from plants. Looking for relief from pain and numbness, he visits a card reader and is told to make offerings to the dead, the hearth, the ants and the river in order to be cured. The film delicately follows Silvestre as he makes ropes to raise the money necessary for the ceremony “Levantamiento de sombra,” lifting the shadow. A study of a fading world and disappearing rituals. – Lincoln Film Society
ARIZONA PREMIERE!
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 3:30 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Drama
DESPUÉS DE LUCÍA/AFTER LUCIA
Parental Advisory- Explicit sexual content. Not recommended for under 15 years of age.
Winner, Un Certain Regard Award, Cannes International Film Festival, 2012
Official Mexican submission to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
Mexico/France, 2012,103 mins.
Director: Michel Franco
Producers: Michel Franco, Marco Polo Constandse
Writer: Michel Franco
Cinematographer: Chuy Chávez
Editors: Michel Franco and Antonio Bribiesca
Starring: Tessa Ia, Gonzalo Vega Sisto, Tamara Yazbek Bernal, Hernán Mendoza
In Spanish with English Subtitles
“The brutal drama packs a wallop…”- The Hollywood Reporter
After the death of his wife, Roberto and his teenage daughter, Alejandra, move to Mexico City for a new start. Each coping alone with their grief and unfamiliar surroundings, father and daughter barely communicate and turn inward. When Alejandra becomes the center of repulsive bullying, she remains silent to protect her father from further pain. The cruel abuse and humiliation escalates. When the truth of her mistreatment is revealed, her silence exacts a dreadful toll. With his second feature, director Michel Franco elicits impressive heartfelt lead performances and convincingly natural turns from the non-professionals who play the teen tormentors.
US PREMIERE!
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 6 PM • HARKINS THEATRES
Documentary
TEATRO PENITENCIARIO-LIBERTAD
DESDE LA SOMBRA/
PRISON THEATRE-LIBERTY IN THE DARK
Presented in association with Ambulante, Mexico
IN PERSON: JORGE CORREA, DIRECTOR/PRODUCERS CARLOS GONZÁLEZ AND PABLO RAMÍREZ
Winner, 6th Call to Independent Producers, Channel 22, Mexico
Mexico, 2012, 87 mins.
Director: Carlos González
Producers: Carlos González, Pablo Ramírez
Cinematographer: Pablo Ramírez Durón
Editors: Carlos González, Roberto Bolado
Cast: Jorge Correa
In Spanish with English Subtitles
Jorge Correa was named the “Father of Mexican Prison Theatre” by UNESCO. For the past 35 years he has devoted himself to teaching drama inside more than 400 jails. From the vibrant streets of Mexico City to the dark rooms of prisons, the film navigates Correa’s personal journey as a witness to the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, a performer with an anti drug use message, and a teacher to men and women serving time. After many years of making and defining prison theatre, Jorge Correa reaches his dream of staging a play with ex-inmates allowing them to confront themselves and find an emotional freedom.
