Category: Mexico

¿Quien Diablos Es Juliette? / Who In The Hell Is Juliette?

Shot in Cuba and the US over a period of three years, this film features remarkable cinematography by first time director Carlos Marcovich. Winner of the Latin American Cinema Prize.

Cuba, Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, USA

A Long Journey To Guadalupe

The mystical story of the Virgen of Guadalupe unfolds as Huan Francisco Urrusti identifies and explores an important aspect of Mexican culture. Through interviews with historians, priests, anthropologists, and psychologists, the role of religious syncretism in Mexican culture is analyzed, explaining the relationship between the collective unconscious and the history of the country.

Mexico

Aborto sin pena

In Mexico, the voices of the woman who have chosen to have an abortion are virtually absent from public debate. Aborto Sin Pena will introduce you to three of these women, from distinct cultural backgrounds. What they say will surprise you.

Health, Mexico, Women's Studies

Absences

Lulu's husband and 8-year-old son Brandon disappeared from Monterrey Mexico five years ago when a group of armed men hijacked their car. Though she has heard nothing since that time, Lulu, who now lives alone with her daughter, continues to hope for their return. This short documentary gives her platform to narrate her family's experience, one shared by many in a region plagued by violence.

El Salvador, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Acosada: de piel de vibora / Cornered: Made our of snakeskin

Eugenia Ramírez, a young dentist, returns home from a congress, only to find that her apartment has been ransacked. Furious, she tries to recover her childhood photo album at any cost, demanding that justice be done. However, she is unaware that this interferes with the interests of a gang of delinquents who turn her into the pursued instead of the pursuer.

Drama, Mexico, Social Issues

African Mexicans of Costa Chica And Padre Glyn Jemmott

African Mexicans of Costa Chica And Padre Glyn Jemmott: Strengthening the Dialogue of the Daughters and Sons of the Diaspora. An interview with Father Glyn Jemmott about his trajectory, his work in Costa Chica and Afro Mexicans communities.

Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Mexico

Al otro lado

Border, Country/Region, Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Americas: Part 3

"Continent on the Move" This program examines the causes and effects of one of the most important forces transforming the Americas: the migration of vast numbers of people within the region. The program is set in Mexico, where migration has moved people across borders, and from rural villages to congested cities.

Border, Latin America, Mexico, Migration/Immigration

Americas: Part 7

"Builders of Images" This program explores the arts throughout the Americas, celebrating the extraordinary creative ferment that has attracted global acclaim and given rise to a distinct and increasingly influential Latin American and Caribbean artistic voice.

Argentina, Art, Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, Puerto Rico

Amores Perros / Love’s a Bitch

This film is a bold, intensely emotional, and ambitious story of lives that collide in a Mexico City car crash. Inventively structured as a triptych of overlapping and intersecting narratives, Amores Perros explores the lives of disparate characters who are catapulted into unforeseen dramatic situations.

Drama, Mexico, Social Issues

Angel de Fuego

A tragic urban story about the unfortunate life of a 13-year old circus girl in Mexico City. She is expelled from her job when the official of the circus finds out she is pregnant. She meets a troupe of traveling puppeteers preaching the word of God and joins them, eventually entrusting her son to God.

Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Animaquiladora

A collection of mostly hand drawn animation, this film brings to reality a life of toling for the cartoonist. Includes: Why Cybraceros?, Dia de la Independencia, Sign of the Times, Latinos on TV, Mysterious, and Apparitions on Tortillas

Animated, Mexico

Art and Revolution in Mexico

Part I is a documentary dealing with the art of the Mexican revolution as a political movement and a revolution in art. Text by Octavio Paz. Part II examines these monumental creations not only for their great aesthetic value, but also as an essential and fascinating part of Mexico's history. The murals are examples of the marriage of art and political thought. Includes works by Rivera and Siqueiros. Part III is an insight into the elements of the life experiences of Tamayo, a Zapotecan Indian and a famous Mexican painter.

Art, Biography, Mexico

Asaltar los Cielos / Storm The Skies

The documentary is about Jacques Monard/Ramón Mercader, the KGB agent who assassinated León Trotsky in Mexico. It is an account from the people who knew him during his childhood, and up to and after the crime. This film reconstructs his motivations and his destiny. Starring Elena Poniatowska, Carlos Moniváis, and Guillermo Cabrera Infante.

History, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, Spain

Bajo El Tacaná

Bajo el Tecaná is a short documentary about a group of women migrants, who are interviewed by a group of researchers, before heading to the north. The film takes place in the village of Soconusco, Chiapas on the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Made with the support from Mexican Commission on Human Rights and the OIM ( International Organization for Migration), this film combines text, testimonials and images.
Subject: Border, Migration/Immigration

Border, Country/Region, Gender/Sexuality, Guatemala, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Subject, Women's Studies

Batalla de Tepoztlan, La

This documentary is not only a chronological description of the controversy between the town and the group KS but a much more complex and critical description. It is a contrast between modernity and backwardness, richness and poverty, and what is legal and what is not in present civilization.

Economics/Development, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues

BETTY Y PANCHO

Art, Country/Region, Mexico, Music/Dance, Subject, USA

Blossoms of Fire

This documentary introduces us to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, home to an indigenous Zapotec society where gender and sexual preference are a fluid concept. The women dominate the home and businesses, while the men do much of the heavy hauling and seem happy to let women rule. The matriarchy also fosters the area's progressive politics, which include standing up to the PRI and warding off the global market.

Gender/Sexuality, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Women's Studies

Boda, La / The Wedding

You are invited to the wedding of Elizabeth and Artemio in Nuevo León, Mexico. The video introduces a young couple whose lives and community have roots in Mexico while they encounter the challenges of migrant life in the United States.

Border, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Border Brujo

The acclaimed performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña directs himself in this video focusing on issues of cross-culturalism along the U.S.-Mexico border. In his performance he switches in and out of various characters reflecting different aspects of border culture.

Art, Border, Cinema/Theater, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Borderline Cases

Nearly 2000 maquiladoras have been built in Mexico by companies from the US, Asia and Europe. As a result, the border has become a 2000 mile-long open sewer, a vast toxic waste dump. Filmed in three border regions, (Matamoros and Brownsville; Tijuana and San Diego; Ciudad Juarez and El Paso), Borderline Cases reveals the complexity and magnitude of the clean-up and gives a sense of energy and imagination found in the diverse mix of people of both countries who are re-thinking traditional notions of borders as they engage in the search for solutions.

Border, Economics/Development, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, USA

Borders Trilogy

Borders tells three small stories to illuminate a much larger one: the consequences of a world order in which products freely cross borders that people may not. Borders is a succinct and powerful meditation on the contradictions of U.S. border and trade policy. PART 1: LOVE ON THE LINE: Families divided by the U.S./Mexico border reunite for transnational picnics. PART 2: CONTAINER CITY: The metal containers that bring products to the US make Newark, New Jersey a different kind of bordertown. PART 3: A VISIBLE BORDER: An x-ray image shows the way 21st century workers are responding to borders that are open to products but not to them.

Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Bulto, El

El Bulto is a young photographer who is beaten and loses consciousness during a 1971 student protest. He wakes up twenty years later to find a new and different world of computers, new illnesses, and the absence of Communism. His family has also changed, and he is no longer 20 years old. Trying to make up lost time, he learns that his long sleep may have been for the best.

Drama, Mexico

Cabeza de Vaca

Freely adopted from the book Naufragios by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (written in 1542). The film portrays the saga of the adventures of a group of Spanish soldiers in Mexico. Their leader, Cabeza de Vaca, is considered to be one of the first Spaniards to come to some appreciation of the native Indians.

Biography, Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Callejón de los Milagros, El (Midaq Alley)

Film adaptation of the Naguib Mahfouz novel. Set in downtown Mexico City, the film portrays three neighbors: Rutilio, whose emerging homosexual orientation destroys his marriage; Susanita, an old maid who falls prey to a thief; and Alma, a virgin (Salma Hayek) who becomes a cocaine addict and prostitute. The film is among the most awarded films of Mexican cinema, having received some 49 international prizes.

Drama, Mexico

Cananea

Story of the revolt at the American-owned Cananea mine in the years preceding the Mexican revolution. This revolt led to the eventual nationalization of Mexican mines. The film is told from both the miners' viewpoint and the American viewpoint, as personified by Colonel Green, the mine owner.

Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

Canoa: Memoria de un hecho vergonzoso

One of the first powerful statements about the repression of the student movement in 1968 in Mexico. This documentary-style film depicts the case of five young employees of the Autonomous University of Puebla attacked in the small town of San Miguel Canoa by locals who believed the group consisted of dangerous Communist agitators given the anti-student propaganda circulating at the time. Villagers killed two of the students, and almost burned the remaining three alive.

Drama, History, Mexico, Social Issues

Caracoles: New Paths of Resistance

This is a celebration of the death of the “Aguascalientes” and the birth of the Caracoles and the Good Government Assemblies. Zapatista leaders discuss how changes will affect internal political and economic processes, gender relations, and their relationship to international civil society. The video is an open call to join the Zapatista communities in their struggle for recognition of their autonomy and in their fight against neo-liberal economic policies and globalization.

Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance

Carlos Fuentes

An interview with the renowned Mexican novelist for World Monitor--a television presentation of the Christian Science Monitor.

Biography, Mexico

Castillo de la Pureza, El

An educated man tries to keep his family closed off from the outside world while he goes mad from the ideologies contained in books. The film is based on a true story related to the suppression of the student movement in Mexico in 1968.

Drama, Mexico

Castro Pacheco, El Artista

Part of the series "Races and Expressions of the Yucatán" produced by the Autonomous University of the Yucatán. This film portrays Yucatan culture through the paintings of Fernando Castro Pacheco, the Yucatán's most celebrated painter.

Art, Mexico

Chac, The Rain God

This film, based on ritual and legends from the Popul Vuh, as well as Tzeltal and Mayan stories, and shot in the Chiapas region of Mexico, focuses on a small Tzeltal village during a terrible draught. Desperate for relief, thirteen men set out on a quest to save their people from starvation.

Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Chiapas: El Sureste En Dos Vientos

This video describes Chiapas through the eye of Subcomandante I. Marcos from the Selva la Candona, August 1992. It is a journey into the region where 3.5 million Chapanescos live, describing their living conditions, and their movement for peace and justice. Text by Subcomandante I. Marcos.

Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

Chicana

Made by Sylvia Morales. Chicana traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It covers women's role in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their involvement in the US labor strikes in 1872, their contributions to the 1910 Mexican revolution and their leadership in contemporary civil rights causes. A classic film by a leading Latina filmmaker.

Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA, Women's Studies

Chulas Fronteras y Del Mero Corazon

Documentary films of the borderland between Texas and Mexico. Norteña music filled with the poetry of daily life-love songs, passion, death, humor, and loss is explored from dancehalls, small towns, and family gatherings.

Cinema/Theater, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Music/Dance, USA

Ciudad De Mexico Imaginada Por Los Viajeros, La

One could never admit to having seen enough of Mexico City." This innovative documentary is a collection of photographic images from Mexico City newspapers of the last ten years which people who travel through Mexico City daily identify as those which best typified the City. Using Nahuatl texts from Montezuma and, the poetry and music of Jim Morrison, the video explores the history of the use of Mexico City by its inhabitants.  A collaboration by Nestor García Canclini and researchers at UNAM.

Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 1

This collection of short films is part of the series “Corto metraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La suerte de la fea a la bonita no le importa; Benjamín; Adiós mama; Noche de bodas; Espías en la ciudad; Sr. X; Hombre que no escucha boleros; Pasajera; Ligerita.

History, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 2

This collection of short films is part of the series “Corto metraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: De mesmer, con amor ó té para dos; Sístole diástole; El agujero negro del sol; ¿Que hora es?; El milagro; De jasmín en flor.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 3

This collection of short films is part of the series “Corto metraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La maceta; La historia de I y O; Sus demonios; A la otra; Circuito interior; El columpio del diablo; Gertrudis Blues.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 4

This collection of short films is part of the series “Corto metraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Azar; Rogelio; Ponchada; E pur si muove; Me voy a escapar; Una bala; Malos presagios; Peor es nada; El pez dorado; Juego de niños.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 5

This collection of short films is part of the series “Cortometraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: ¿Qué me va a hacer?; Cita en el paraíso; Otoñal; Malos hábitos; El árbol de la música; El valor de la amistad; Brusco despertar; La cumbre; Mantis religiosa.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 6

This collection of short films is part of the series “Corto metraje, más que un instante” from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Veneno; La tarde de un matrimonio de clase media; Lávelo y úselo; Un arreglo civilizado para el divorcio; Día de suerte; Encrucijada; El héroe; Contratiempo; El excusado; Pronto saldremos del problema.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's Studies

Colores De Rufino, Los

This video is part of a series that seeks to provide developmental and educational materials that engage the cultural heritage of Latin America. Los Colores de Rufino teaches about colors while exploring the work and words of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo as well as the poetry of Alfonso Reyes and Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz.

Art, Mexico

Como Agua Para Chocolate

From the literary world of magic realism, this award-winning film adapted from the book by the same title chronicles life in Mexico near the Texas border in the early twentieth century. Unrequited passions, changing political situations and even madness emerge in this highly entertaining and endearing story. The cooking scenes and the portraits of food are spectacular, as are the romantic scenes.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, Women's Studies

Cooperative Without Borders, A

This informative piece begins with a presentation of the struggle of Mexican men crossing the U.S. border in search for better economic opportunities. It narrates the crossing of U.S. border in search for better opportunities. It narrates the creation and accomplishments of the Cooperativa sin Fronteras, a fund for economic development. Through this fund money is transferred from employers of migrant workers in Arizona to create and encourage the economic development necessary for the amelioration of conditions in 6 Mexican states. In this way, the Cooperative strives to reduce the problem of illegal migration to the United States. Inter-American Foundation.

Economics/Development, Mexico, USA

Corazon Indio

Part of a video series of the Taller Miradas Antroplogicas, which seeks to recognize the indigenous peoples of Mexico and their participation in Mexican society. This episode documents the presence of indigenous youth in university life.

Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Corazon Sangrante / Cuerpos De Papel

 Corazon Sangrante is a short film that uses various mythic elements of gender - the sacred heart, saints, la china poblana - all set to the music of an old Mexican ballad. Cuerpos de Papel, also set to music, explores the relationship between two lesbians.

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Music/Dance, Religion, Women's Studies

Cracking the Maya Code

This documentary tells the story of how, after centuries of inaccessibility, the Mayan hieroglyphics were finally decoded by archaeologists. Through many discoveries by people of all ages, including Michael Coe and David Stuart, the Mayan Civilization is brought to life during this fascinating account of how the Mayan "code" was cracked, and the ways in which this newly available script has reshaped our understanding of Mayan civilization.

Colonial, Guatemala, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Crimen del Padre Amaro, El

Father Amaro is a new priest assigned to the small rural town of Los Reyes, Mexico. He soon discovers that a conspiracy of corruption, sex, and lies has consumed the local parishes. Though he tries to resist falling into the corrupt actions of his colleagues, temptation eventually draws him in.

Drama, Mexico, Religion

Cronos

An ingenious alchemist creates a device that grants him eternal life. Four hundred years later an elderly antique dealer discovers the properties of this unique invention. Though he grows younger every time he uses the device, there is a terrible price to pay.

Drama, Mexico

Crosses / Cruces

In 1995, the U.S. Border Patrol instituted Operation Gatekeeper, which has caused the death of about 1800 migrants since its implementation. CROSSES documents the efforts of artists and activists to bring the disastrous effects of Operation Gatekeeper to the conscience of the people of both the U.S. and Mexico, and to pressure the governments of both countries. By representing every death with a cross bearing the name of the victim, mounted directly on the border wall, they keep the issues alive. Crosses are still visible today.

Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Cucaracha, La

This very first three-color, live action film production is a comic short about a volatile tempered cantina girl trying to regain the love of a fellow dancer. The piece has lots of dancing and music, marking the debut of Technicolor.

History, Mexico, Music/Dance

Danzantes Nahui Ollin

In these changing times we find a dance group in the Mayan Riviera that through their perspective fights to conserve the customs of the dance, to live differently than society. Get to know their lives and discover the philosophy of the dancers.

Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Music/Dance

Danzon

Julia, played by María Rojo, works by day as a telephone operator in Mexico City and at night turns to her real passion, which is dancing. Once a week she goes to a ballroom to dance with Carmelo, a fifty-year-old, well-groomed man and excellent dancer of danzón. One day Carmelo disappears and Julia's search for him is transformed into a search for her own self-identity.

Drama, Mexico, Music/Dance, Women's Studies

Day Of The Dead In Janitzio, The

Experience the ancestral rituals of the Day of the Dead as it takes place in the mystic atmosphere of Jantzio. Watch as the people prepare themselves to receive their dead relatives as they clean and decorate graves and they set beautiful tables or altars in which they place offerings of food, liquor, cigarettes and flowers for the enjoyment of the visiting dead. In the evening the people go to the cemetery to bid farewell to the dead using thousands of candles to guide them on their long journey back.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Day Without A Mexican, A (1997)

"A Day Without a Mexican" is a "mocumentary" - a real documentary about a false event! California is shocked. One third of its population has disappeared and they are all Hispanics. Reporters take to the streets to capture the immediate effects of the crisis: "The Mexicans disappeared? That's great!" Have you been to the store...$6 for a head of lettuce, $8 for a pound of tomatoes." The film mixes facts and fiction with a touch of humor. Fact and fiction quickly begin to look alike, calling into question the idea of "objectivity" and "documentary as the truth."

Mexico

De Florida A Coahuila / From Florida To Coahuila

This documentary tells the remarkable story of a rebel people – the Mascogos, known in the United States as the Black Seminoles. This exceptional community is descended from escaped slaves who made common cause with the Seminole Indians of Florida. The exceptional Mascogo/Black Seminole culture combines African-American spirituals, Indian fry-bread, and Tex-Mex cowboy culture. Filmed on both sides of the border, this video documents the complex history of people of African descent caught between national boundaries, and the efforts of their descendants to maintain their culture.

Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico

De Nadie

Individuals who leave their countries in hopes of a better life in the United States have a rough road ahead of them. Mexican filmmaker Tin Dirdamal follows a number of refugees in a refugee center in southern Mexico, from whence they hitch illegal rides on freight trains to the northern border.

Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social Issues

Devoradora, La

Diana is a 'Devoradora,' a man-eater. Men who fall in love with her get chewed up and spit out without any regard for their feelings. Diana an ambitious and frivolous woman, committed a crime and tried to blame some one else for the murder, and succeeds in some way, but she never thought her punishment would be just as big.

Mexico

Diablo Nunca Duerme, El

When Lourdes Portillo receives a phone call informing her that her uncle was found dead she returns to Mexico. Her investigation of the circumstances of her uncle's death takes us deep into the land of Northern Mexico, inside the life of her family and her community, to a place between reality and fiction.

Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social Issues

Drug Wars: The Camarena Story

An undercover DEA stationed in Mexico exposed large-scale marijuana trafficking, which led to his own murder and a high-profile investigation into government corruption.
Parts 1-3 of the made-for-television Tom Brokaw report.

Mexico, Social Issues, USA

Eisenstein En México: El Círculo Eterno / Eisenstein In Mexico: The Eternal Circle

The great Soviet filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein went to Mexico in 1929 to shoot the film Qué vive México using surrealist and muralist influence. The project was never finished. However this documentary film follows the work of Eisenstein including stills of footage, interviews with collaborators, and photographs and studies of the project.

Art, Cinema/Theater, Mexico

El Compadre Mendoza

This rare example of classic Mexican cinema examines the corrupted ideals of the Revolution in the story of an opportunistic landowner who faces the choice of remaining loyal to a general in Zapata's army and being financially ruined or saving his own skin. The character of the general is clearly modeled on Zapata himself.

Classic, Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

En El Camino De Nuestros Antepasados

This film uses puppets to deliver lessons about Yucatec Maya language, culture, and history. It deals with issues of contemporary and ancient Maya heritage. The main characters travel to different sites including Chichen Itza, and learn about things such as traditional Maya farming practices, ancient Maya religion, and heritage site looting and preservation.

Animated, Anthropology/Archaeology, Country/Region, Environment/Geography, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Issues, Subject

En El Hoyo / In The Pit

In Mexico City, a second layer is being built atop the Periférico freeway, which inscribes a massive circle on the metropolis. Despite the project's enormity, the workers who are building the freeway are barely noticed by drivers who roll by endlessly. Rulfo's film places us among these workers. The film chronicles long days of arduous work, risk taking, joking, swearing, and philosophizing.

Economics/Development, Mexico, Social Issues

Erendira

Based on a short story by Gabriel García Márquez. A teenage girl is exploited as a sexual slave by her greedy grandmother. An erotic black comedy laden with sexual fantasy, bawdy humor and sly political allegory.

Mexico

Fabula De La Bella Palomera

Based on a fragment from his novel Love in the Time of Cholera, this film was conceived and co-written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. It tells the story of Orestes, a wealthy factory owner who falls madly in love with a married pigeon breeder. Part of the film series Amores Difíciles.

Drama, Literature, Mexico

Fiesta Quinceañera, La

This two-part video depicts a young Mexican-American woman's fifteenth birthday celebration. Set in Dallas, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico, the first part consists of a discussion of the preparations, planning, and logistics that have to be considered in planning this important social event. The second part observes the actual ceremony through various stages after the preparations are completed for the mass, the party, and the dance that traditionally follow.

Border, Gender/Sexuality, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA

Five Suns, The: A Sacred History Of Mexico

Patricia Amlin, the extraordinary animator who created Popol Vuh has taken authentic images from ancient Maya ceramics and turned them into a riveting retelling of the Maya creation myth. The story tells how Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca create heaven and earth, journey to the underworld to create humans and find sustenance for them, and finally create the sun and the moon.

Art, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Folklore Mexicano

A collection of songs in Folklore Mexicano

Mexico, Music/Dance

Food For The Ancestors: The Mexican Celebration Of The Days Of The Dead

This film documents the weeklong Mexican celebration known as Days of the Dead. This festival honors the memories of loved ones who have died. Food for the Ancestors explores this festival as it takes place in the culturally rich state of Puebla. The program is also very focused on the special food that is made for this celebration. The climatic portion of the film, and of the festival, occurs on November first when family members spend the entire night sitting at self decorated gravesites waiting for their ancestors to return.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Frescoes Of Diego Rivera, The

 "An artist must be the conscience of his age." In this way Diego Rivera, a leader of the Mexican mural renaissance movement of the 1920's and 1930's expressed the philosophy behind his work; in particular the spectacular series of murals he created for public buildings in the US and Mexico. Vividly exploring Rivera's evolution as an artist, his use of the fresco technique, and his explosive political beliefs; this stunning documentary reveals one of the true geniuses of the twentieth century. Actor Michael Moriarty narrates. From the "Portrait of an Artist" series.

Art, Biography, Mexico, USA

Frida

Taymor recreates the tactile passion and beauty of Frida Kahlo’s art as a backdrop for her life of romance and revolution. Frida chronicles the life of artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), from her upbringing to her worldwide fame. The film shows the turbulence and controversy that surrounded both Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera, throughout their lives as political activists, artists, and lovers. Frida received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and two Oscars.

Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, USA, Women's Studies

Frida Kahlo

Visually depicts the life of Frida Kahlo through her own paintings and the surroundings of her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City.

Art, Biography, Mexico

Frida Kahlo: Portrait Of An Artist

 A documentary about Frida Kahlo's painful life and creative process. Part of the series "Portraits of an Artist."

Art, Biography, Mexico, USA

Frida: Naturaleza Viva

On her deathbed artist Frida Kahlo (played by Ofelia Medina) conjures up images and memories of her life as a painter, revolutionary and woman of the world. Her stormy relationship with muralist Diego Rivera, her tender hospitality for exiled Leon Trotsky, her struggle for acceptance as an artist, and the travail of her illnesses and injuries are all recalled in a style reminiscent of her own work, simultaneously sophisticated and primitive, flamboyant and delicate.

Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, Women's Studies

Gallo De Oro, El

Based on a story by Juan Rulfo. A poor man is given a near-dead fighting cock and he nurses him back to life. While this brings him life, he finds that when he forgets his roots and he soon runs out of luck.

Classic, Comedy, Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

General, El

 In 1910 a revolution erupted in Mexico, among its rallying cries "the right to vote." Nearly a century later "Sufragio Efectivo" is heard again as thousands take to the streets. Through the legacy that filmmaker Natalia Almada inherited as the great-granddaughter of Mexican president Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928), one of Mexico's most controversial revolutionary figures accused of having been a "Dictator", "Iron Man" and "Nun-Burner", yet also acclaimed for having been the "father of modern Mexico," El General is a portrait of a family and a country under the shadow of the past. (synopsis by filmmaker)

History, Mexico

Geografias Suaves 1

A series of shorts from the 2004 Geografias Suaves regional film festival which feature Maya speaking peoples from Yucatan and Chiapas. The shorts include a video postcard documenting the lives and everyday experiences of children and their communities as well as stories based on folklore and oral tradition from the region.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Geografias Suaves 2

Part 2 of a series of shorts from the 2004 Geografias Suaves regional film festival which feature Maya speaking peoples from Yucatan and Chiapas. The shorts include a video postcard documenting the lives and everyday experiences of children and their communities as well as stories based on folklore and oral tradition from the region.

Docudrama, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs

Gertrudis Bocanegra

 Gertrudis Bocanegra Lazo de la Vega--played by award winning actress Ofelia Medina--a criollo woman who participated in the Mexican war of independence, is the central character of this film. Gertrudis becomes acutely aware of the social injustice prevalent in Mexico in the late Colonial period and gets involved in the Hidalgo's movement for independence. Using the technique of flashback, she tells her story from her prison cell in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

Colonial, Drama, History, Mexico

Golpe De Suerte

A tragicomedy about the foibles of a petty Government official, who becomes a casualty of consolidation under the Salinas administration.

Mexico

Great Mojado Invasion, The

The director narrates this pseudo-documentary, fantasizing an invasion of mojados (wetbacks) who reconquer lost Mexican territory to create the “U.S. of Aztlán.” This new regime propagandizes by portraying Anglos with the same stereotypes employed against Latinos. Directed by Gustavo Vásquez and Guillermo Gómez-Peña.

Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA

Gringoton (Gringo-Thon)

During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a misplaced gringo in Mexico City helplessly watches the atrocities through Mexican television news. Taking a tip from his local neighbors, he begins to sell chewing gum and wash car windows in the streets...to raise money for a guerrilla army to take out Bush. "Gringo-thon" is a personal expression of protest of an expatriate living abroad and a meditation of the complexities of “gringo” identity.

Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USA

Grito, El: Ojos De Perro

Coerced into rebellion against the tyrannical regime of a ruthless landowner, the laborers of a sugar plantation form the first union in the country. The whole town faces the brutal repression of the ruling power headed by a young lawyer, who sacrifices his lover, his life and that of those who surround and support him, in his struggle for justice.

Mexico

Guestworker, The

Since 1986, thousands of Mexican men have entered the United States to work under the auspices of the H-2A guestworker program. These men are given temporary visas to come to the United States for several months a year and provide labor in sectors such as agriculture in which American citizens are increasingly unwilling to work. The Guestworker centers on the experiences of Candelario Moreno, who works on the pepper, cucumber, and tobacco fields of Wester Farms in North Carolina. It explores the need for labor that drives the program and examines the conditions experienced by those Mexicans who make the choice to participate.

Economics/Development, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Guestworker, The

Economics/Development, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Harvest Of Loneliness

In today’s weak economy, current immigration laws in different states of the country show hostility towards undocumented immigrants. This was not the case during and after World War II where the United States was in need of laborers who would work the fields of California and other states. This documentary explores the Bracero Program, and immigration reform that sought Mexican workers for temporal guest workers. These workers could not join unions, strike, or seek redress of their grievances, making them vulnearable for exploitation. The program was supposed to boost the economies of both countries, but Mexican wives and children were left behind as husbands traveled north in search of the American Dream. The documentary shows how the main reason for the program was to provide cheap labor without regard for the Mexican families.

Country/Region, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social Issues, Subject, USA

Historias De Gente Grande

 Based on the research of Felipe Vázquez Palacios and his team in the state of Veracruz. This documentary depicts the daily life of those whom society considers to be “old.” The testimonies of these men and women teach us that the process of growing old is a construction that combines biology with work, family and society. Due to their diminishing status and lack of social support, these older adults invent survival strategies while they wait for their death.

Art, Biography, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Issues

Images Of The Repression In Oaxaca (Imagenes De La Represion En Oaxaca)

Six short documentaries about the protests and populist movement taking place in Oaxaca. Interviews, photographs, and documentation of particular events, like the attempted takeover of Benito Juarez Autonomous University by the Federal Police on November 2nd 2006 are included. Various struggles and themes are analyzed in these short productions that document and present images of the current repression of Oaxacan citizens.

Mexico

Imperio De La Fortuna, El

 Based on a short story El Gallo de Oro by Juan Rulfo, this film tells the story of Dionosio Pinzon, a Mexican peasant living with his mother. Born with a deformed hand, and living a very meager life, Dionosio's luck turns around when he is given a losing gamecock which he nurses back to health. He trains the bird for fighting, begins to make money, and begins a relationship with a gold-digging singer. As he makes money, though, he begins to become more and more corrupt--and it becomes apparent that his winning streak will not last. Remake of the 1964 film El Gallo de Oro.

Comedy, Drama, History, Mexico

In Search Of The Mayas

Deep in the rainforest of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula are the lost Mayan Cities of Chichen Itzá an Palenque. Discover their magic and learn about the Mayan culture while exploring some of the region’s most exquisite examples of pre-Hispanic American architecture.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Incidents Of Travel In Chichén Itzá

This oringinal ethnographic video depicts how New Agers, the Mexican state, tourists, and 1920s archeologists all contend to “clear” the site of the antique Maya city of Chiché Itzá in order to produce their own idealized and unobstructed visions of “Maya” while the local Maya themselves struggle to occupy the site as vendors and artisans.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Inheritors, The

The most highly praised and awarded Mexican documentary in many years, THE INHERITORS by Eugenio Polgovsky immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. The film takes us into the agricultural fields, where children barely bigger than the buckets they carry, work long hours, in often hazardous conditions, picking tomatoes, peppers, or beans, for which they are paid by weight. Infants in baskets are left alone in the hot sun, or are breast-fed by mothers while they pick crops. The indelible impression conveyed by THE INHERITORS, in which everyone-from the frailest elders to the smallest of toddlers-must work reveals how the cycle of poverty is passed on, from one generation to another.

Mexico

Jesus

This feature film tells the story of the life of Jesus in Yucatec Maya language. It is a great resource for those who want to practice and master the language.

Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Religion

Julio Y Su Angel

An eight-year-old boy tired of living in an orphanage and working in a tortilla factory decides to search for the guardian angel his mother promised to send. The angel appears to him as a grumpy old Mexican man who teaches him the values of life, work, family, and friendship while they embark on an adventure through tropical paradises.

Drama, Mexico, Social Issues

Justicia Esta Con Ella, La

Laws against the violence towards women and their families. Prod: Dinamu-SNV.

Drama, Mexico, Social Issues

Knorosov: The Decipherment Of The Mayan Script

 This documentary retraces the decipherment of the ancient Mayan codices by an unknown Russian scholar, Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov. Due to the political tensions of the Cold War, Western scholars ignored his linguistic breakthrough. This film recounts the personal and intellectual journey that led to his discovery, and the subsequent struggle for recognition.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Mexico

Lacandona : The Zapatistas And Rainforest Of Chiapas Mexico

This is a film that documents the struggle of the people of Chiapas to reclaim their land and rights that were promised to them by the Mexican Constitution. Their land is full of natural resources, such as oil and precious wood. Their belief that they have a right to their land initiated a revolution. This is a brief overview of their struggle and conflict in Chiapas Mexico. Produced by Native Forest Network, Eastern North American Resource Center.

Environment/Geography, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

Land Belongs To Those Who Work It, The (La Tierra Le Pertenece A Quienes La Trabajen)

 This documentary discusses the situation in the town of Bolon Aja’aw, located in the north of Chiapas near the famous Agua Azul river system. The federal government sold the land in Bolon Aja’aw to a private company to create an eco-tourism center without the permission of the community members. The video documents a meeting between Zapatista authorities and Mexican Government functionaries, and offers a critical look at the practical implication of so-called eco-tourism.

Mexico, Social Issues

Land Of Mennonites

The Mennonites who arrived in Mexico in 1922 after a lengthy stream of immigration, converted the desert into farmable land, and were rewarded with an economic boom. Today 30,000 Mennonites live in Northen Mexico, and are caught in a struggle between isolation and opening up to the world. Through the testimonies of various Mennonites, we are given an insight into a community that is full of contradictions and conflicts, and in which the importance of tradition is questioned by voices of change and dissidence.

Mexico

Letters From the Other Side / Cartas del Otro Lado

This film interweaves video letters carried across the U.S./Mexico border by the film’s director with the personal stories of women left behind in post-NAFTA Mexico, giving voice to 4 amazing women who feel the effects of failed immigration and trade policies on a daily basis. Focusing on a side of the immigration story rarely told by the media or touched upon in our national debates, Letters from the Other Side offers a fresh perspective, painting a complex portrait of families torn apart by economics, communities dying at the hands of globalization, and governments incapable or unwilling to do anything about it.

Economics/Development, Mexico, USA

Ley De Herodes, La (Herods Law)

 La Ley de Herodes is a hilarious, outrageous satire set in a tiny Mexican town in 1949. Damián Alcázar stars as Juan Vargas, a junkyard operator is recruited as a temporary mayor following the demise of the latest corrupt town leader. At first, Vargas is the ideal politician: he’s honest, desperate and not terribly ambitious – or so it seems. But eventually, Vargas gives in to overwhelming temptation, bribery, and even violence in this brilliant, tongue-in-cheek story about government treachery.

Comedy, Drama, History, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues

Life And Works Of Frida Kahlo, The

This Masterpiece Series provides a triple treat – a close-up look at the lives and works of the world‘s most famous artists plus three art lessons that focus on the style of each. These lessons reinforce the techniques and skills that the artist used and students will experience hands-on learning.

Art, Biography, Mexico

Linea De 3: Atenas 2004

This is a series of short film clips that tell stories about people who, in one way or another, are affected by the Olympics. These 11 short stories bring out a lot of different emotions in the viewer; they are comical, sad, and informative. The “cortometrajes” range in length from 4 to 20 minutes.

Mexico

Living Juarez

After Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on drug cartels in December 2006, thousands of people have died in Mexico. Juarez is now considered the deadliest city in the world and where most of the casualties of the War on Drugs have occurred. Among those killed were youths from the neighborhood of Villas de Salvárcar, whom the government had described as gang members. Living Juarez follows the families of the victims as they speak out against Calderón and the violence in this area.

Country/Region, Mexico, Social Issues, Subject

Lolo

Dolores Chimal--known as "Lolo"--lives on the outskirts of Mexico City. He lives a normal life with his family, until one day he is assaulted upon leaving the factory where he works. As a result of the beating, he remains in the hospital for a week and loses his job. This unleashes a series of violent events which causes "Lolo" to lose his sense of right and wrong.

Mexico

Los de abajo / The Ones from Below

Considered one of the best Mexican war films of all times. This tale of the Mexican Revolution follows the peasant hero Demetrio Macias and his band of outlaw as they go against the Federals. Featuring renowned actor Eric del Castillo.

Drama, Mexico

Los Que Hicieron Nuestro Cine

A collection of video shorts that examine the history of Mexican cinema. This volume examines recent movies that have addressed issues concerning power, analyzing particularly the movie Morir en el Golfo (1989).

Cinema/Theater, History, Mexico

Macario

The talents of top director Roberto Gavaldon, novelist B. Traven (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa combined to produce this gentle, moving fable on human morality. Macario is a young peasant, despondent over his inability to provide for his family. On the Day of the Dead, he meets Death, disguised as another peasant, who trades him the power to cure the dying for a portion of turkey. Macario’s fame spreads around the country, and he soon has a flourishing business until a local doctor decides to call in the Inquisition.

Classic, Drama, Mexico

Maquila: A Tale Of Two Mexicos

This film examines the impact of corporate globalization on Mexico, focusing on the maquiladoras, U.S.-owned factories employing cheap Mexican labor. Archival footage and interviews provide historical background to the present crisis.

Economics/Development, Mexico, Social Issues, USA

Maria Candelaria

This classic of Mexican cinema begins when a young woman reporter interviewing a world-famous artist, asks him about a painting of a nude Indian girl he had done years before and which he never revealed. The painter replies that it was the cause of a tragedy and proceeds to tell its story. Maria, a woman who lives in Xochimilco, struggles with the owner of the general store, to whom she owes money, her love for Lorenzo, and the artist who tries at all costs to paint the portrait of the beautiful woman who he had noticed at the market.

Classic, Drama, Mexico

Mariachi, El

The critically-acclaimed film debut from Robert Rodríguez, shot with no second takes using borrowed equipment and a talented cast of unknowns. A case of deadly mistaken identity leads the protagonist, who aspires only to be a mariachi, to trade his guitar for a gun and play for his life in this vision of bandido violence in Mexico.

Border, Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, USA

Masks Of Mexico: The Art Of An Enduring Culture

This documentary goes on location to rarely seen gatherings in remote villages where masks are still an essential part of festivals such as Day of the Dead, Corpus Christi and Winter Celebrations. This video traces the ritual use of masks, beginning with Aztec priests and warriors, and explores the influence of Spanish friars who used masks to spread the teachings of Christianity. The result is a vibrant blend of indigenous and European traditions that gives this art form its distinctive flavor.

Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Music/Dance

Maya, The

This great exhibit shows the expressive aesthetic language and historical testimony of an admirable civilization. This is the first presentation of the maya civilization that has covered all the regions of their geographical extension, all the periods of its history and all the diversity of the people who forged it.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Mayas U Su’ut Ka’ansah

Filmed in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán, "U Su'us Ka'ansah (The Cycle of Teaching) depicts the living ancestral science within Mayan communities. We are given the opportunity to partake in their cultural practices, experiences, and knowledge, as well as their unique ways of thinking. In addition, the documentary reveals ancient Mayan principles which are still present in Yucatán communities today. We are presented with the problems surrounding their language, customs, ceremonies, traditional medicinal practices, products, and land, and how these endanger their cultural identity and ancestral knowledge.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Country/Region, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, Subject

Memorias De Un Mexicano / Memories Of A Mexican

The pioneer film maker Salvador Toscano portrayed the key events and figures of the Mexican Revolution from 1904 to 1924. Capturing the flavor and reality of war-torn Mexico, the film presents the political and military upheaval that shaped present day Mexico using exclusive, authentic footage. It also describes the women's role in Mexico during this period.

Biography, Literature, Mexico

Merida Proscrita

Made by Raul Ferrera-Balanquet. An exceptionally lyrical and visual video about the encounter of two young gay Mexican men in the city of Mérida

Gender/Sexuality, Mexico

Mexican Prehispanic Cultures

This film takes a look at the cultural wealth of prehispanic Mexico: the civilizations of the Toltecs, the Aztecs, the Mayas, and their legacies are explored. Intended for younger audiences. An Educational Video Network film.

Anthropology/Archaeology, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Mexico For Children. Vol 2 The Geography Of Mexico

This volume focuses on how Mexico’s geography has shaped its history, society and culture. Travel through a variety of land formations and regions from the desert in Sonora to the lush rainforests of Chiapas, and see how location and climate have impacted the settlement patterns and lifestyles of Mexicans. Learn about the major industries like silver mining and tourism, and appreciate the exceptionality and diversity of the Gulf Coast region’s animal and plant life.

Mexico

Mexico For Children. Vol 3 The History Of Mexico

This volume focuses on the obstacles that Mexico has overcome throughout history to become an independent, self-governing nation. Explore history topics from the time of the Olmec through the time of independence fights as well as other more contemporary events. Understand the Father Hidalgo and Benito Juarez, and see why freedom has been so important to this proud nation.

Mexico

Mexico For Children. Vol1. The Culture Of Mexico

This volume focuses on the rich cultural heritage of Mexico and how it affects the daily lives of its citizens. Students will find that Mexico’s indigenous people and Spanish rule have influenced the ceremonial dress, folktales, foods and holidays of Mexico. Explored topics include the music of Tejano bands, the artwork of Diego Rivera and Talavera pottery from Puebla.

Mexico

Mi Niño Tizoc

Based in Mexico, a poor man struggles to make ends meet while facing the adversity of socioeconomic prejudice. Finances become worse once his ten-year-old son becomes seriously ill, and the man must find the means to heal his son.

Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Mil Nubes De Paz / A Thousand Clouds Of Peace

Gerardo, a gay teenager, roams the streets of Mexico City in search of someone able to reveal the secret, hidden between the lines of a goodbye letter from his ex-lover. In his journey through barren alleys and roadways, he is haunted by images: each masculine body he sees reminds him of his lover.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues

Milagro De Tepeyac, El

Released in 1917, this silent film focuses on the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. Lupita, a young woman in Mexico is concerned about her fiancée's trip to Europe because of the war. The woman asks for the intervention of Guadalupe to protect him.

Art, Cinema/Theater, Classic, Drama, Mexico

Momias, Las

This film documents “The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato” exhibition which appeared at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, NC in 2012. The history of the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, through the lens of its “accidental mummies”, is explained by historians, architects, anthropologists, and forensics teams. The mummies and crypts are carefully preserved and contribute to the city’s rich cultural heritage.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Colonial, Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Morristown: In The Air And Sun

This film is the working classes' response to globalization. It engages the audience in the issues of immigration, factory flight, and the organized demand for economic justice. Filmed over an 8-year period in the mountains of east Tennessee, interior Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, this documentary is rooted in the authentic expression of workers who speak about their lives, work, disappointments, and hope. These conversations are combined with scenes in factories, fields, union halls, Mexican stores, city parks, and employment agencies. The documentary travels to the U.S.-Mexican border (El Paso – Juarez) to create deeper understanding of factory flight out of Morristown, and to interior Mexico to look at the forces that cause immigration. The film ends with a stunning union victory at a large poultry processing plant in Morristown, Tennessee.

Mexico, USA

Mujer de Benjamin, La

Seventeen-year old Natividad is bored with her life in her village. Meanwhile Benjamin, fifty something, fat, and the fool of the village, is in love with Natividad. Incited by his friends, Benjamin decides to kidnap her. Leandro, Natividad's boyfriend, interferes in the kidnapping and unleashes a violent episode which determines the fate of Natividad and restores the deteriorated image of Benjamin in the eyes of the villagers.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

My Filmmaking, My Life

An intriguing documentary on the life of the renowned and vibrant filmmaker. Landeta is seen in her 70's remembering her productive years. Includes interview with filmmaker Marcela Fernandez Violante.

Biography, Cinema/Theater, Mexico

Natives: Immigrant Bashing On The Border

This film depicts the disturbing increase in racism, violence and intolerance along the US-Mexican border in recent years. NATIVES examines the concerns of some of the individuals involved in San Diego's anti-immigrant movement. Relying principally on a cinema vérité style and avoiding explanatory narration, the film seeks to critique the nativist position by contrasting their professed love for their country with their racist and anti-democratic attitudes.

Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Nazarin

Buñuel's greatest depiction of religious hypocrisy. This adaptation of the novel by Benito Perez Galdos Nazarín tells the story of a simple priest who tries to live by Christian precepts and becomes an outcast and an outlaw. Considered one of the most controversial of Buñuel's works.

Mexico

Negra Angustias, La

Daughter of a rebel, Angustias is ostracized for her refusal to marry, her independence, and her scorn for men. She falls in love, only to be rejected because of her race and class which cause her to return to her role as a revolutionary.

Classic, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, History, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance

New Audiences For Mexican Music

A three-part documentary. Part I describes the phenomenon of banda dance music sweeping the Unites States and Mexico. Part II provides a history of mariachi music and its fusions with country-western and other styles, while Part III profiles Tejano music.

Mexico, Music/Dance, USA

New World Border

New World Border documents the rise in human rights abuses along the U.S.-Mexico border since the implementation of border blockades, which have been erected in populated areas throughout the border region during the last decade. This film includes interviews with immigrant rights organizers, testimony from immigrants, analysis of “free trade” policies & current efforts to build a vibrant movement for immigrant rights.

Border, Country/Region, Economics/Development, Environment/Geography, Mexico, Subject, USA

Niños De Zapata

 A documentary about the Zapatista National Liberation Army's struggle to attain justice for the Maya Indians of Chiapas. The film includes footage of various figures in the movement, including the elusive subcomandante Marcos. Produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance

Norte, El

Mayan Indian peasants organize in an effort to improve their lot in life. After the army destroys their village and kills their family, a teenage brother and sister decide they must flee to “El Norte”. After receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant on strategies for traveling through Mexico, they arrive in Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.

Border, Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Nosotras Tambien

This is a story based on real testimonies about women and AIDS.

Mexico

Novia Que Te Vea

Two young Jewish girls, born Mexican, shape their lives under the pressures of the early sixties and their own awareness of conflicting loyalties. The subject of the life of the Jewish community within the ethnic complexity of modern urban Mexico is new to the Mexican cinema. Novia que te vea reveals the cultural diversity of the Jewish community and the social and political attitudes that flourish in it.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Religion

Oaxaca (y otros mas)

The video collection that takes you on a trip to Oaxaca to see the sites of the immensely beautiful country of Mexico. Contains 5 clips: Oaxaca, Las Monarcas de Mexico, Prohibido no tocar, La eterna seducción de la plata, y Donde el Pasado Revive.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Environment/Geography, History, Mexico

Olvidados, Los

This 1950 masterpiece, directed by Luis Buñuel, portrays the misery of poverty with an astounding starkness. Poor children of Mexican slums are the primary subjects of this unconstrained vision of poverty. In many big cities, behind the large buildings are areas of complete misery. Children are malnourished, there are no schools, sanitation is not up to par and delinquents abound. Los Olvidados has been called a work of free art, a testimonial, an aesthetic expression of moral conscience. The film is an effective protest against human cruelty.

Economics/Development, Mexico, Social Issues

On The Case Of Rosalie Evans

A historical discussion among North American and Mexican historians about the diary and life of Rosalie Evans, a disgruntled North American property owner who lost her land during the Mexican Revolution

Gender/Sexuality, History, Mexico, USA

Otra Conquista, La

The synthetic cultural identities resulting from the forcible conversion of Mexico's indigenous people by the Spanish are explored through the eyes of Cortes's mistress Tecuíchpo and a fictional half-brother, the illegitimate son of Montezuma II

Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Otro Lado, El

Americans simply pass through the turnstiles for cheap thrills in Tijuana. Mexicans on the other side, however, face endless barriers of barbed wire, attack dogs, and armed border patrols. Alex Webb captures the odd panorama of the border.

Border, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA

Pasado Verde 1850-1915

The story of the Henequen plant and its practical uses, including fiber for clothing. The documentary begins with the incidental discovery of the Henequen and moves forward in time to the development of factories for mass production of fiber.

Mexico

Pedro Páramo

Based on one of the masterpieces of Spanish American literature, the novel by Juan Rulfo was adapted for the screen by Carlos Fuentes. Juan Preciado travels to the town of Comala to find his father, Pedro Páramo (John Gavin); instead he finds a phantom town where death is the reigning presence.

Classic, Drama, History, Literature, Mexico

Perfume De Violetas

This film portrays the true story of Yessica and Miriam, two teens from Mexico city that start a profound friendship in middle school. The friends share notebooks, games, likes, make-up, and perfume… until Jorge and El Topi, two violent accomplices, kidnap Yessica. The indifference and selfishness of the adults break the friendship of the two young girls and carry them to the brink of tragedy.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues

Perla, La

Based on The Pearl by John Steinbeck, who also assisted with the cinematography, this stunning film portrays the struggles of a poor Mexican family. Set in a community in Baja, the film centers around the family's efforts to survive and save their baby by diving for pearls. A disturbing vision of poverty and racism, and a visual masterpiece, due to the direction of Emilio Fernandez and the photography of Gabriel Figueroa.

Classic, Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Literature, Mexico

Presumed Guilty / Presunto culpable

In December, 2005, Tono Zuniga was picked up off the street of Mexico City, Mexico, and sentenced to 20 years for a murder he knew nothing about. A friend of Tono's contacted two young lawyers, Robert Hernandez and Layda Negrete, who gained prominence in Mexico when they helped bring about the release of another innocent man from prison. Shot over three years with unprecedented access to the Mexican courts and prisons, this dramatic story is a searing indictment of a justice system that presumes guilt.

Docudrama, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, Subject

Prisionero Trece, El / Prisoner

El Prisionero 13 (Prisoner 13) is part of the trilogy of films made by Fernando Fuentes concerning the Mexican Revolution. The film centers on the drunkard Colonel Carrasco, whose wife Marta leaves him taking his young son.

Mexico

Proyecto Videoastas Indigenas De La Frontera Sur

Five short documentaries created by the the Indigenous Video Makers Project of the Southern (Mexican) Border: "Te xa wuil a va (Que tengas el poder de mirarte a ti mismo)," directed by Linda Lothe, Cecilia Monroy Cuevas and Roberto Chankin Ortega (10 minutes, Spanish). "K’in santo ta sotz’oleb (Dia de muertos en la tierra de los murcielagos)," directed by Pedro Daniel Lopez Lopez (33 minutes, Tzotzil). "Sq’uinal Ixim (Fiesta del Maiz: El Tercer Encuentro del Maiz Maya-Zoque)," directed by Jose Angel Lopez Dominguez and Roberto Alejandro Corzo Leon (16 minutes, Spanish). "Mas de mil años despues...," directed by Pablo Chankin Najbor, Axel kohler and Tim Trench (19 minutes, Lacandon Maya). "La tierra es de quien la trabaja: Keremetik busca autonomia," directed by Pedro Daniel Lopez Lopez and Jose Miguel Hernandez (10 minutes, Spanish).
The objective of the project is the development of a collaborative decolonized anthropology that permits intercultural dialogue and self-representation

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, Social Movements/Resistance

Pueblos Indigenas Hoy, Los / Five discs set.

Los Pueblos Indigenas Hoy is a ten part series that is an educational resource about the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Sponsored by the Mexican government, the series aired on Mexican national television in 2010 in honor of the Bicentennial celebration of Mexican independence. It features studio interviews with indigenous people, including rights advocates and leaders. Each program is 55 minutes and is presented in Spanish and using Spanish subtitles to translate interviews, with two programs on each DVD.
DISC 1
Episode 1: "Contribucion indigena en independencia y revolucion" translates to contribution of indigenous peoples to independence and revolution. The episode places emphasis on the current state of indigenous people in Mexico and what can be done to improve. Episode 2: "La lengua como construccion" translates to language as a means of construction. The episode deals with the significance of the native languages of the indigenous peoples and the importance of preserving them.

DISC 2
Episode 3: "Expresiones artisticas y artesanales" translates to artistic expressions. The episode focuses on objects crafted by the indigenous peoples of Mexico and their cultural significance as well as how the modern markets have changed how art is sold. Episode 4: "Pervivencia de una justicia propia" translates to preservation of self justice. The episode deals with the injustice faced by the indigenous peoples of Mexico due to corruption and their desire to govern themselves.

DISC 3
Episode 5: "Los Recursos Naturales y la Vida Indigena" translates to natural resources and indigenous life.The episode talks about the biodiversity in indigenous lands and and what can be done to preserve and honor it. Episode 6: "Musica y Literatura" translates to music and literature. The episode deals with the significance music and literature to the culture of indigenous peoples as well as its current state and what can be done to preserve it.

DISC 4
Episode 7: "Espirtualidad indigena y vida religiosa" translates to indigenous spirituality and religious life. The episode discusses various rituals and customs regarding religion and the effect Catholicism and tourism has had on them. Episode 8: "Salud y Medicina indigena" translates to indigenous health and medicine. The episode deals with the need for traditional medicine in indigenous communities and the clash between traditional and modern medicine.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs

Puño De Hierro, El

This is a silent film that focuses on opium addiction in early twentieth century Mexico. It is combined with stories of bandits and a poor detective who strives to be like the then famous Nick Carter. EL PUÑO DE HIERRO was the first movie that touched upon the issue of drug addiction in Mexico.

Mexico, Social Issues

Que Viva Mexico!

Sergei Eisenstein's lost masterpiece documents the history of Mexico and its people. With sequences devoted to the Edenic land of Tehuantepec, the savage majesty of the bullfight, the struggles of the noble peon and the hypnotic imagery of the Day of the Dead "Qué viva México!" is a vivid tapestry of Mexican life. The film was shot on location in Mexico by Edouard Tisse and financed by American novelist Upton Sinclair. It was later reassembled and restored by Grigory Alexandrov.

Art, Cinema/Theater, Drama, History, Mexico

Radio Chanul Pom, From The Heart Of The Highlands Of Chiapas

From the heart of the Altos in the Chiapaneco province of Chenalho, this community and indigenous oriented radio station broadcasts in Tzotzil and Tzeltal. The radio is an effort to strengthen their fight for justice and defend their culture and dialect. This documentary will take us on a journey through the Chiapas mountains with indigenous voices

Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Recuerdos

A remarkably complicated documentary that took more than five years to complete, Recuerdos centers on Luis Frank, a Lithuanian immigrant who serves as an American spy in Paris during WWI and a republican militant in the Spanish Civil War before seeking exile in Mexico. Taking a detailed journey through Luis Frank's rich and varied past, the film offers a remarkably personal journey through a century marked by war, remembrance, and rebirth.

Mexico

Reed: Mexico Insurgente

A dramatization on John Reed’s newspaper account of the Mexican Revolution. This film explores the young journalists adventures with Pancho Villa’s army in 1913-1914. Through encounters with Generals Villa and Urbina as well as ordinary soldiers, Reed sheds his journalistic impartiality and becomes a potent advocate of the Revolution.

Drama, Mexico

Reina De La Noche, La

Fictionalized biography about life of Mexican singer Lucha Reyes. Lucha Reyes was an unconventional and sexually liberated woman, most famous for her "cancion ranchera" style singing. Her story begins in 1939, when at 33 she still lived at home with her mother, then she marries the liberal Pedro Calderon and then buys a beggar's daughter, who becomes her only source of lasting love.

Biography, Mexico, Music/Dance

Retorno A Aztlan / Return To Aztlan

A depiction of the Aztec myth of the creation of the Fifth Sun. It also explains why the Aztecs were cast out of their "Eden" resulting in their eventual conquest.

History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Rio Escondido

The cruelty of one Mexican cacique has left his village completely without water, and the population is living in misery. The people of Rio Escondido will have to struggle for justice, and a newly arrived schoolteacher will help them find the courage to do so.

Cinema/Theater, Mexico

Rites Of The Day Of The Dead

Every November the Mexican people clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones, set beautiful tables or altars in which they place offerings so the visiting dead enjoy them. Experience these and other ancestral rituals of the Day of the Dead.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Mexico

Rojo Amanecer

A film about October 2, 1968, Mexico City -the day of the massacre of students in Tlatelolco--the Plaza of the Three Cultures. The story begins with two students returning to their apartment carrying a wounded friend. From that point, evolves a plot impregnated with anguish and fear that culminates in a heart-breaking end.

Mexico

Roots Of Migration

A journey by US citizens to Oaxaca, Mexico reveals the global forces that have pushed millions of people to migrate to the United States. Learn first-hand why people make the journey north, why they wish they didn't have to, and what effect their migration has on their communities back home. Shot entirely on location in Oaxaca, Mexico during a fact-finding trip organized by Witness for Peace co-founder, Gail Phares.

Border, Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Saastal: The Children Of The Sacred Grace

Alicia returns to the pueblo where she spent her childhood and adolescence after an absence of 15 years. Despite the many changes that her pueblo has undergone, she finds that everyday life remains much the same as it was when she left.

Mexico

Sacred Games: Ritual Warfare

Every year in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, in Southern Mexico, thousands of Maya Indians gather to celebrate Carnival, which they call "Festival of Games". This award winning film, which merges Catholicism and ancient Maya rights, beautifully captures the passion and mystery of the event and shows how Maya's symbolic world is renewed each year in the celebrations.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

San Patricios, Los

This documentary narrates the story of Los San Patricios, a Irish battalion in the war against Mexico in 1843 that deserted the United States army and joined the Mexican side. They are celebrated every year in Mexico, Ireland, and in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York. This video explores who they were and what convinced them to change sides by tracing their story from their origins in Ireland.

History, Mexico

Santitos

 Based on the novel by Esperanza’s Box of Saints by Maria Amparo Escandon. Santitos is a character-driven comedy about a young Mexican woman who has to come to terms with the loss of her teenage daughter. Esperanza's daughter Blanca suddenly and mysteriously dies in the hospital where she was having her tonsils removed. Shortly afterward, the vision of a saint appears on the greasy glass door of the oven, telling Esperanza that Blanca is not dead. Despite warnings from her best friend and the local priest, she embarks on an incredible journey across the country and over the border that helps her shed her inhibitions one by one. Out comes a different Esperanza, a liberated independent woman who is also sexually uninhibited.

Mexico

Second Voyage Of The Mimi?, What Is The

The crew of a converted French traveler studies ancient Mayan civilization and strives to acquire the science and mathematics expertise to understand it. Adventures develop observation, hypothesis formation, data collection, and analysis skills.

Mexico, USA

Secreto De Romelia, El

Three generations of women reflect the spiritual and social differences among traditional Mexico, the period of the Lázaro Cárdenas regime, and Mexico today. Based on Rosario Castellanos' short story El Viudo Román.

Mexico

Señorita Extraviada

This documentary investigates the kidnapping, rape and murder of over 230 young women in Juarez, Mexico. Using the testimonies of the families of the victims, the film boldly reveals a web of complicity that has contributed to the persistence of the killings. It serves as a frank portrayal of Ciudad Juarez and of the grime of the new global economy.

Mexico

Sentinels Of Silence

Filmed almost entirely from a helicopter, this film presents spectacular views of seven of the most important archaeological sites in Mexico: Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Mitla, Tulum, Palenque, Chichen Itzá and Uxmal. Narrated by Orson Welles.

Mexico

Serpientes Y Escaleras

This drama centers around the friendship of two young wealthy provincial girls of the 1950s to depict a tale of seduction and infidelity, intimacy and melancholy. Through the classic Mexican game of "chance and destiny," this film by the acclaimed director Busi Cortés seeks to portray women of another time.

Mexico

Sin Dejar Huella

Sin Dejar Huella uses drama and comedy in equal measure to tell the story of two women--one Spanish and the other Mexican--fleeing from their respective pasts. Ana, a con artist, and Aurelia, a young mother escaping from her drug-dealing husband, meet on the road by chance. Protecting one another from the dangers that pursue them, they travel from northern Mexico to Chiapas. Along the way they gradually learn the truth about one another.

Comedy, Country/Region, Drama, Mexico, Spain, Subject, Travel

Sin Nombre

Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra, joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin America countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper, who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past. Together they have to rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives.

Border, Mexico

Sixth Sun, The

 Just before dawn on New Year's Day 1994, armed Mayan Indians declared war on the government. They seized eight towns in Chiapas and set in motion events that ripped away a facade of prosperity and stability to reveal 'the other Mexico'. They demanded land, public services and Indian autonomy- the right to communally own and farm. They called themselves the Zapatista Army National Liberation (EZLN). This documentary features in-depth interviews with Subcommandante Marcos and Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, an outspoken practitioner of Liberation Theology. We meet other actors in the conflict: peasants on the estates they have occupied, angry ranchers forced from their land, church activists, conservative Catholics, government officials, and the notorious 'guardias blancas', the private army of the landowners. THE SIXTH SUN raises questions on what should be judged expendable in the era of global economic integration.

Mexico

Sleep Dealer

Sleep Dealer is a futuristic science fiction story set in a world not much different from our own, in which borders are closed, and a global, high speed network ties distant people and places together. The story centers on 3 characters who inhabit very different spaces in this world: a migrant, a soldier, and a writer. Sleep Dealer won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for both the Gotham and Independent Spirit awards. Geoffrey Gilmore, the festival director, describes the movie as "a combination of The Matrix, Blade Runner, and The Border". Already a Latino Sci-Fi classic, this film has been praised by critics and audiences alike.

Border, Cinema/Theater, Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USA

Sobada

Sobada is a documentary about the techniques used by midwives in Mexico in order to help a woman during her pregnancy. The specific technique discussed in the video is called sobada which is a type of abdominal massage. This technique is used by the indigenous midwives in order to make the process of birth easier.

Country/Region, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Subject

Solo Con Tu Pareja

Tomás loves women and they love him. However, Tomás has problems -he lives in the times of DC-10's, microwave ovens and AIDS, and this modern Don Juan doesn't use condoms! A wonderfully funny comedy faintly reminiscent of Almodóvar.

Mexico

Sounds Of Mexico

Music is an important expression of Mexico's cultural richness, and has always accompanied mostly all the activities of the Mexican people. Get to know through this program the most representative music, complemented with typical handicrafts and regional dresses of Mexico, in a magnificent colonial setting.

Mexico

Stepan Chemical: The Poisoning Of A Mexican Community

The moving account of the people of Matamoros, Mexico after the Chicago-based Stepan plant dumped zylene, a toxic solvent linked to birth defects, into open canals near their homes. The Sanchez family and their community, with the help of the U.S.-based Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, demanded an end to the contamination and a full accounting from Stepan.

Mexico, USA

Super Amigos

In this mix of live action and comic book style animation, five masked activists fight against corruption, homophobia, animal rights, pollution and poverty in Mexico City.

Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance

Tarahumara: A Cry From The Wilderness

A UNICEF style documentary showing the hardships of the Tarahumara Indians and how a local hospital attempts to remedy them.

Mexico

Teotihucan: City Of The Gods

When the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico 600 years ago, they found a mysterious city of great pyramids. With this video students will examine some of the theories and legends surrounding the mysterious civilization of Teotihuacán, see some of the existing artifacts and ruins of Teotihuacán, and study some of the unique cultural traits of the Teotihuacános, which include their architecture and their religion

Mexico

The Art of Mexico

Mexico is a land where varied cultural heritages have inspired an art that has a unique and compelling history of it's own. This boxed set is an indispensable guide to the understanding of Mexican art the past and present - from it's beginnings in the masterworks of the Aztecs and Mayans to the autobiographical surrealism of Frida Kahlo.

Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico

Tlateloco: Los Claves De La Masacre

This documentary represents the culmination of four years of investigation into the military operations behind the October 1968 massacre of students at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlateloco, Mexico. It incorporates all known film footage related to the events of October 2, 1968 and presents evidence that documents the steps taken by the government and other repressive forces against the student movement.

Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance

Todos Somos Marcos

A documentary about Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas.

Mexico

Tres Garcia, Los

 Ruled by a tough grandma (Sara García), the Garcías (Infante, Salazar and Mendoza) are three charro cousins who fall in love with young American-born Lupita (Marga López) and fight for her love until grandma quiets them. It is a Mexican classic.

Mexico

Turix Videorevista #5

Mexico

Una Enagua Llena De Mariposas

The story of five women's lives interwoven with festivities, music, poetry, and art in the historically matrifocal Zapotec region of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca.

Mexico

Uy In T’aan

This is a film about Mayan communities and the languages spoken in them. This movie shows the journey children make to become fluent in both Mayan and Spanish. True to its Mayan title, this move is about a community’s efforts to teach its children Mayan and to break the barriers the adults have of people who speak different languages.

Mexico

Vamos Con Pancho Villa

 The Mexican Revolution is on its way when six brave peasants, known as "Los Leones de San Pablo", decide to join Pancho Villa's army and help end the suffering in their community by assisting in the struggle.

Mexico

Ventana A Mi Comunidad (Window To My Community)

 This documentary narrated by three small children examines different aspects of indigenous communities within México. The indigenous groups portrayed are the Lancadones, Maxahuas and Otomies. In each community the children narrate their surroundings, traditional ways of making a living and other aspects specific to their communities, including how to make tortillas, how to make paper, etc.

Mexico

Verano De La Senora Forbes, El

Written by Nobel Prize winning Gabriel García Márquez, this is a wickedly black comedy about two children plotting to kill their authoritarian nanny, reminiscent of the work of the legendary film maker Luis Buñuel. Directed by Humberto Hermosillo. Part of the film series Amores Difíciles.

Mexico

Viaje Al Centro De La Selva, Memorial Zapatista

This documentary explores from the beginnings of the Zapatista uprising until the National Democratic Convention that took place in Aguascalientes, Chiapas in 1994. This periodistic documentary attempts to capture, form the middle of the jungle, a moment of contemporary Mexican history.

Mexico

Vida Sigue, La

 A docudrama originally produced for Mexican television. Based on true stories this beautiful film traces the life of a Mexican woman in a small town faced with the realization that she has AIDS. The film deals with the stigma attached to AIDS in contemporary Mexican culture and the efforts of the medical system in dealing with this growing crisis

Mexico

Voces del Alma de Nuestros Ancestros

Humans have always been narrators of stories, legends, fables and in places where there were no books or novels, stories have been passed down through word of mouth from one generation to the next. This social function is still alive in some communities in the Yucatan Peninsula where an elderly person has family-related stories or historical events that he/she experienced personally. Historical memory is in this kind of stories, the great compliment of temporality to bring unity to those basic aspects of the culture, traditions, beliefs and worldview of the Yucatecan Maya people.

Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

We Don’t Play Golf Here

Mexico serves as a Third World example of how “free market” economics distorts culture and environment. The construction of a golf course is more than the military trying to replace the democratic sport, soccer, with golf. It is how the golf course is going to affect the people in the surrounding area. Fertilizers and pesticides will pollute the nearby waters, Constructing the golf course would require the government to cut down trees, creating an environmental issue. People who believe in taking care of the natural forests around them were being punished by the military for not agreeing with their course of action. Without an individual voice the people of Mexico came together and had strikes against the golf company, the metal company dumping materials, in order to move toward a more democratic country. Despite globalizing efforts of the government, the people of Tepozitlan will always fight for what they believe in.

Culture/Festivals/Food, Economics/Development, Environment/Geography, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues

Y tu mamá también

Released in 2001 in Mexico, where it broke box-office records, director Alfonso Cuarón's sexy comedy follows two teenage boys who go out on the road with an older Spanish woman they both lust after. Sumptuous cinematography, wonderful performances by the young cast and a subtle glimpse into Mexican life and its politics.

Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues

Yanco

In this tale of fantasy and folklore, Yanco, a small Indian boy, is considered bewitched because of his hypersensitivity to sound. When his music teacher dies, the boy begins to play mysterious melodies during the night. His talent reaches such a peak that the villagers feel that it is the old teacher coming back to haunt the village.

Art, Cinema/Theater, Classic, Drama, Mexico

Young Bullfighter, The

An EVA film intended for younger audiences. Short documentary traces the career of a young Mexican man trying for a career as a torero in the ring.

Mexico

Yucatan: mas otros 4 lugares del pais

A fascinating travel view of the legendary ruins of Chichen Itza, Tulum, Uxmal and many other ancient Mayan sites, including visits to Merida, a city of contrasting sights, cultural blends and people.

Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico

Zapata’s Garden

In 1994 the Zapatistas reclaimed land in Chiapas' Lacandon jungle in southern Mexico to found the Autonomous Municipality of Emiliano Zapata. Since then, they have been building a new society in which there are neither servants nor bosses. Members of the community ensure their autonomy by tending to an organic vegetable garden and working collectively in all endeavors.

Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Movements/Resistance