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: DIRECTOR JACARANDA CORREA

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.