By Doris Alba
San Miguel de Allende saw the birth of the Expresion en Corto Film Festival, precursor to the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF), for which this year’s edition celebrates a quarter of a century exhibiting the best of world cinema in our city. On this occasion, San Miguel de Allende will host the festival from July 25 to July 28, with a program that includes short films, feature films, and virtual reality experiences in competition. The festival will also include world, national, and Latin American premieres, conferences, workshops, and special events. All performances are free, captioned, and open to the general public; consult the complete program and register on the website https://giff.mx/home2022/
GIFF arrives with a special spirit for its anniversary edition. The inaugural event will take place at the Ignacio Ramírez «El Nigromante» Cultural Center (Bellas Artes) on Monday, July 25 at 7pm. In this same venue, you can enjoy the photographic exhibition Un paseo a la fama, which features images of great personalities who have visited the festival throughout its history.
This year GIFF pays tribute to a pair of transcendental women from Mexico’s audiovisual industry: Blanca Guerra and Mónica Lozano. Blanca Guerra is one of the most recognized actresses in Mexican cinema and the top historical winner of the Ariel award, whose strong personality and professionalism continues to keep her as one of the public’s favorites. Mónica Lozano, for her part, is one of the pillars on which the scaffolding of Mexican cinema is sustained; Her work as a producer and official for more than 30 years has always been aimed at granting decent conditions to the industry. Mónica Lozano has produced several of the most popular Mexican films in recent decades: Amores Perros, Voces Inocentes, Arráncame La Vida, Presunto Culpable, and No se Aceptan Devoluciones. Both personalities will receive the Musa award, granted by the Women in Film and Television Association in recognition of their remarkable professional career starting at 1pm at the Ignacio Ramírez «El Nigromante» Cultural Center’s Miguel Malo Auditorium.
As part of the official selection for Documentary Feature Film, Mija, by Mexican-American director Isabel Castro, will be presented. It records the story of Doris Muñoz and Jacks Haupt, who navigate the music industry in the United States to fulfill the dream of seeing their family reunited. This documentary will be presented in Compartimiento Cinematográfico on Tuesday, July 26 at 8:30pm.
In addition, there will be a special showing consisting of two premiere films: The Revolt by Lucero González and I Got to Go to Juchitán by Sonja Aufderklamm. The Revolt, which will be presented at the Miguel Malo Auditorium of the Ignacio Ramírez «El Nigromante» Cultural Center, recapitulates and celebrates half a century of feminist struggle carried out by an invincible group of Mexican women. The appointment is Tuesday, July 26 at 6:30pm. For its part, I Got to Go to Juchitán examines the matriarchy-tinged daily customs in the city of Juchitán, Oaxaca, through the eyes of its Austrian director. I Got to Go to Juchitán will be screened on Wednesday, July 27 at 7pm at the Santa Ana Theater.
We recommend the screening of A Piece of Sky, which will take place on Wednesday, July 27, 5pm in Cinemex Plaza La Luciérnaga. It is a love story taking place in a remote alpine village whose strength will be tested by illness and community at the same time. In this projection, the protagonista, Michèle Brand, will be attending to present the film and answer questions from the audience.
Yamabuki, directed by renowned Japanese filmmaker Juichiro Yamasaki, follows the adventures of Chang-su, a former Korean Olympic jockey whose dreams were dashed too soon, and Yamabuki, a young student who stages silent protests to the dismay of her police officer father. Yamabuki will be screened on Thursday, July 28 at 6pm in Cinemex Plaza La Luciérnaga.
Directed by documentary filmmakers Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas, Naked Gardens is an in-depth investigation of Florida’s Sunsport Gardens resort, where people from all walks of life meet with one thing in common: their disdain for clothes. Enjoy this documentary at Ignacio Ramírez «El Nigromante» Cultural Center’s Miguel Malo Auditorium on Wednesday, July 27th at 6pm.
Within the Documentary Feature Film selection you will also be able to appreciate the film It Runs in the Family, where director Victoria Linares Villegas tells the story of her relative during Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic who, was also a queer filmmaker. The appointment to enjoy the projection is at the Santa Ana Theater on Tuesday, July 26 at 3pm.
You can’t miss the film What We Leave Behind, part of the Mexican feature film selection. In this film, Julián, an 89-year-old man, returns to Mexico from the United States and begins to build a house to be closer to his family. The exhibition of What We Left Behind is scheduled for Wednesday, July 27 at 5pm at the Santa Ana Theater.
Showing at the Miguel Malo Auditorium on Wednesday, July 27th at 8pm, enjoy the film 100 Ways to Cross the Border, which celebrates four decades of activism by radical Chicanx-Mexican artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña and his transdisciplinary organization La Pocha Nostra in her struggle to make all borders liminal spaces of trans-identity.
We recommend attending the screening of the film What’s in a Name by director Jon Tracy, in which you will learn about the impressive life story of performance artist Lady Zen. Beginning with their childhood in a Brasileña orphanage and passing rough the home of a missionary couple in Arkansas until reaching the international stage, where they share their story through song and poetry.
As part of its Residency program, GIFF invited the German actress and filmmaker Saralisa Volm to San Miguel de Allende, who will be developing her new project in the incomparable environment that our city offers. As part of the celebrations for its twenty-fifth anniversary, GIFF will present her film Schweigend steht der Wald (The Silent Forest): the narration of an afterlife reunion in the forest depths. The film will be exhibited as a special screening at Cinemex Plaza La Luciérnaga on Wednesday, July 27 at 9pm.
Happy to once again celebrate world cinema in the city where it was born, GIFF hopes to count on your participation to celebrate its first quarter of a century with these events and many more, held with an eye on art, culture, and the heart of the people who make each new edition of this film festival possible.
