A Special Online Festival of Contemporary Mexican Non-Fiction Cinema, Featuring MARICARMEN, RETREAT, WHEN I SHUT MY EYES, and WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEES?
Presented by Cinema Tropical and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University
Cinema Tropical and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University (CLACS-NYU) are thrilled to announce a special online program of recent Mexican documentaries, titled MexDocs, taking place December 10-16, 2020 on cinematropical.com.
Featuring a slate of four documentaries that have recently made their rounds of the international festival circuit, the program offers a nuanced perspective on contemporary Mexico by delving into the different social, political, and cultural issues currently at play in the country, with a particular emphasis on narratives of womanhood and indigenous resistance.
The virtual film series, available to audiences across the U.S., will present Maricarmen by Sergio Morkin, winner of the Audience Award for Mexican Feature-Length Documentary at the Morelia International Film Festival; When I Shut My Eyes (Cuando cierro los ojos) by Sergio Blanco and Michelle Ibaven, winner of the SIGNIS Documentary Feature Award at the Cinélatino Recontres de Toulouse Film Festival; Retreat (Retiro) by Daniela Alatorre, recipient of the Special Mention for a Mexican Feature-Length Documentary at Morelia International Film Festival, and What Happened to the Bees? (¿Qué le pasó a las abejas?) by Adriano Otero and Robin Canul.
A moving study of life with a disability, Maricarmen follows 52-year-old Maricarmen Graue, a musician, teacher, runner, and writer who, although completely blind, is uncompromising in her self-discipline. The film gives space to the complexities of living with a disability while also providing a meditation on the challenges of life, love, and femininity in general. When I Shut My Eyes probes another sort of isolation—that of native speakers of indigenous languages left adrift in legal proceedings without the assistance of interpreters. The documentary brings Adela and Marcelino, two people serving sentences for crimes they did not commit, to the forefront, and allows them the space to tell the stories that the judges never heard.
Another compassionate investigation of feminine life in contemporary Mexico, Retreat journeys with a grandmother and granddaughter on an annual pilgrimage to a Catholic, women-only retreat. Practicing their faith en masse, the women develop community, explore the contours of their own identities, navigate their independence in a patriarchal society, and learn their own self-worth. A study on both the power of faith and the power of feminine companionship, Retreat is a celebration of female strength gathered in unlikely places.
Finally, What Happened to the Bees? is a documentary that exposes the deadly effects of regularly used agrochemicals on millions of bees in the Mexican state of Campeche. Profiling a community movement against government authorities and Monsanto, the film explores the ways that the planting of monocultures threatens the health and environment of Mayan beekeeping communities.
MexDocs: Recent Mexican Documentaries will be streaming online to audience all across the U.S. from December 10 - 16, only at cinematropical.com/mexdocs.
Additional support provided by the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute at Lehman College, and the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, New York University.
Cinema Tropical's screening programs are made possible with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. They are also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowments for the Arts, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Full program:
MARICARMEN
(Sergio Morkin, Mexico, 2019, 76 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Maricarmen plays the cello, performs with a rock band, and holds a seat in a chamber music orchestra. She also teaches music, writes, and runs marathons. Maricarmen lives alone, and at 52, is completely blind. She copes with her condition by having a biting sense of humor and an unwavering sense of self-discipline; there’s nothing that she can’t do. Operating as both a moving portrait of womanhood and a stripped-back meditation on the very act of living, Maricarmen paints a picture of a woman determined to not be defined by her disability, all while navigating the demands of everyday life, love, and family relationships in contemporary Mexico.
Premieres Thursday, December 10
Tickets $7 — On Sale on Monday, December 7
WHEN I SHUT MY EYES
(Cuando cierro los ojos, Sergio Blanco and Michelle Ibaven, Mexico, 2019, 63 min. In Mazatec, Mixtec, and Spanish with English subtitles)
Adela and Marcelino share an isolation that is common among many native speakers of indigenous languages in Mexico. Processed without an interpreter before the Mexican justice system, both are serving sentences for crimes they didn’t commit: Adela, unjustly incarcerated for nine years for the murder of her brother-in-law, and Marcelino, serving thirty years for a homicide he had no part in. In their respective languages of Mazatec and Mixtec, they finally tell the stories the judges never heard: violence at the hands of corrupt police officers, forced confessions, and the signing of untranslated documents. Movingly illustrated through meditative and symbolic visuals, their two voices meld to express a mutual disorientation, to tell stories of their lands and loved ones, and to demand equal representation in the fight against injustice and exclusions in the legal system.
Premieres Thursday, December 10
Tickets $7 — On Sale on Monday, December 7
RETREAT
(Retiro, Daniela Alatorre, Mexico, 2019, 70 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Marina and Perla, grandmother and granddaughter, join thousands of other women on an annual pilgrimage to a Catholic mountain retreat. Practicing their faith alongside one another, the women gain a sense of community, navigate their independence, and learn to value themselves within a paternalistic society. Following three generations of women both during and after the pilgrimage, Retreat deftly explores the chapters of womanhood from coming of age to motherhood to old age, and the occasions that overlap in between. Daniela Alatorre's captivating debut feature delivers a portrait of female strength by quietly delving into the unexpected places where it’s gathered.
Premieres Thursday, December 10
Tickets $7 — On Sale on Monday, December 7
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEES?
(¿Qué le pasó a las abejas?, Adriana Otero and Robin Canul, Mexico, 2019, 67 min. In Spanish and Mayan with English subtitles)
What Happened to the Bees? is a documentary that exposes the deadly effects of regularly used agrochemicals — currently legal in countries like Mexico and the United States — on millions of bees in the Mexican state of Campeche. Following community organizers Gustavo Huchin and Leydi Pech in their fight against government authorities and Monsanto, the film explores the ways in which the planting of monocultures threatens the health and environment of Mayan beekeeping communities in the southeast of the country. More than just protect the bees, they’re fighting to safeguard their land from massive deforestation, groundwater table pollution and climate change. What Happened to the Bees? is a powerful investigation of the overlapping socio-environmental conflicts currently taking place in indigenous Mexican territories.
Premieres Thursday, December 10
Tickets $7 — On Sale on Monday, December 7
No comments:
Post a Comment