FILM FESTIVAL: HOLA MEXICO

FILM FESTIVAL: HOLA MEXICO

BY AMELIA GROOM

With such an exciting new generation of Mexican film directors emerging, Samuel Douek saw a need for a film festival to showcase the rich array of cinema coming out of his home country. Now in its third year, he’s about to take the Hola Mexico program to five cities around Australia before running it in New York – and Sydney is first up.

Featuring two forgotten 1960s sci-fi gems and 13 new Mexican films that draw on issues as diverse as Catholicism in Mexico, immigration, crime, Mexico-US relations, the class system in Mexico and Mexican soap operas; the 15-film program is sure to include something for everyone.

‘I wanted to cover the artistic films, the popular commercial ones, documentaries, short films, kid’s films and new animation, to show the whole spectrum of Mexican cinema,’ says Samuel.

‘I also thought it was important to look back in time and give some historical context, with the retrospectives,’ he says. The Mexican Grindhouse night will feature the hilarious Ship of Monsters (1960) and Planet of The Women Invaders (1965), both refurbished in 35mm.

Other highlights include two films by multi-award-winning director Rodrigo Pla (The Zone and The Desert Within) and the directorial debut of Gael Garcia Bernal, Deficit, which uses a rowdy house party to look at the divide between rich and poor in Mexico.

For Short Shorts the most prestigious short film festival in Mexico presents their top 10 new shorts. The program also features two Mexico-Chile co-productions, The Toast and All Inclusive, and the directors of each will be in Sydney for Q&As following the screenings.

The Sundance Film Festival winner, Blood Of My Blood, will be screened at The Opening Night Fiesta on November 25. Alongside Mexican food, tequila and Sol beer, the event will also feature Uber Lingua DJs and VJs, a concert by Coly Ruiz and Victor Valdez, and a Mariachi performance from The Real Mexico.

‘Mexico doesn’t have a huge amount of cultural output that’s exported,’ says Samuel, ‘we don’t really win gold medals or anything like that, there’s not that much out there that represents us, but we do have a history of great films and there’s so much going on in film at the moment – that’s something that’s really being recognised.’

The fact that there isn’t much of a Mexican community in Sydney means the festival can’t just rely on people who have cultural ties there; they have to reach out further and attract a broader audience.

According to Samuel they tend to draw a younger crowd than other film festivals do. ‘Because cinema has always been strong in Italy and France, for example, the French and Italian film festivals have an established audience, but because the attention on Mexican film is new, our audience is a younger crowd. They are people who are looking for what’s now and what’s next, and they’re looking to Mexico’

Hola Mexico Film Festival
November 25 ‘ December 7
Dendy Opera Quays (East Circular Quay) and Dendy Newtown (261-263 King St, Newtown)
Tickets: $12-$14.50; Opening Night Fiesta $45; 10 films $120; 5 films $65
9550 5699 or www.dendy.com.au

 

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