First edition of the Mexican Jewish Film Festival
.The Mexican Jewish Film Festival is a retrospective of Mexican films created, directed, written, performed or produced by Mexican Jews.
.It will be held from April 2 to 5 at the emblematic TriBeCa Synagogue in New York.
He Mexican Jewish Film Festival (MJFF, for its acronym in English, Mexican Jewish Film Festival) will open on April 2, 2023 in the magnificent TriBeCa Synagogue in Manhattan, which was known in the 1960s as the synagogue of the arts, and whose president , Deborah Koenigsberger Gutiérrez, a great friend of DiarioJudio and a tireless promoter of Jewish values and the culture of Mexico
The objective of the festival is to offer the public a retrospective of the best films produced by Mexican Jewish artists.
Until April 5, fundamental feature films of Mexican cinematography of the last 100 years will be screened in the concave wooden room of the temple, accompanied by presentations and debates.
Eleven feature films will participate in this first edition of the festival, nine fiction and two documentary films, all of them related in some way to relevant Jewish-Mexican creators or characters.
“Our mission in selecting these feature films is to recognize the trajectory of Jewish creators in the history of Mexican cinema without necessarily dealing with Jewish themes,” explained Mauricio Valle, the person in charge of the festival’s programming. “Really, it’s just about celebrating the creativity of the Mexican Jewish community.”
President Koenigsberger, “proud Jew and Mexican in New York,” recalls acclaimed film director Guillermo del Toro once telling her that all Mexicans abroad are ambassadors for Mexico. “A lot of excellent Mexican cinema doesn’t make it to international arenas and Mauricio and I want to help make it happen,” she said.
The opening screening will be with the film dying is in hebrewby Alejandro Springall, “a very Mexican black comedy acclaimed by the Jewish community”, in the words of Deborah.
Among the other films will be essential as trial of a crime (The criminal life of Archivaldo de la Cruz), directed by Luis Buñuel in 1955. “One of the most important directors in the history of cinema who made a large part of his film career in Mexico,” Valle recalled. Also Miroslava, of Alejandro Pelayo, 1983. “A biopic in which the most important photographer in Mexico and the world, Emmanuel Lubezki, worked,” in the words of the program selector.
Mauricio Valle, the programming director of the MJFF, expressed that the objective of the festival is the celebration of the artistic legacy of the Mexican Jewish community: “Our mission in the selection of these feature films is to recognize the trajectory of Jewish creators in the history of Mexican cinema, without necessarily dealing with Jewish themes.”
Among the list of programmed films there are classics from the history of cinema, such as trial of a crimedirected by Luis Buñuel in 1955, but also more recent projects, such as in the last drinkby Jack Zagha Kababie, a film released in 2014.
The public will also be able to attend a special screening of girlfriend to see you. Its director, Guita Schyfter, will be present to answer questions at the end of the show. The first film of this first edition of the MJFF was My American ShivaDirected by Alejandro Springall.
The organizers have wanted to touch many genres and interest various audiences, so among the films there is, for example, a comedy about three friends in the elderly, in the last drink (One for the road), directed by Jack Zagha Kababie, in 2014, fantasy and horror films, with the similar y The evil eyeby Isaac Ezban, documentaries, such as the Storm by Tatiana Hueso produced by Jim Stark, and The secret of Dr. Grinberg by Ida Cuellar, Mexican classics such as Five days without Nora and a film that Valle regrets that it went unnoticed, 3:19 directed by Dany Saadia, and that it is a collaboration with Spain. “It’s interesting because, in my opinion, Mexican cinema is divided into two: the one that copies Hollywood and the one that confirms the European vision of Mexico,” says Mauricio Valle. “Those genres are accepted and celebrated at festivals. However, 3:19 is a comedy that does not fall into those categories, it is not Spanish or Mexican, it is international”. And it is that, according to Valle and Koenigsberger, Mexican cinema is not a genre, and this festival wants to prove it.
For the inaugural Function April 2, 7:00 p.m.:
The film will be shown My American Shivaby Alexander Springall.
Special guests:
The festival will feature several guests of honor, including Ariel Award-winning filmmaker, Guita Schyfterwhich will present girlfriend to see you (Like a Bride) with a Q&A at the end of the function. It will be on April 3
Isaac Ezban will present The evil eye (Evil Eye, 2022) with a Q&A at the end of the show. Tuesday April 4 at 11:00 and the similar (The similars, 2015) with a Q&A at the end of the show, also on Tuesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Isaac Ezban He will also give a talk on the evolution of genre cinema in Mexican cinematography. Monday, April 3, 4:00 p.m.
Films:
trial of a crime (The Criminal Life of Archivaldo de la Cruz)
Directed by Luis Buñuel, 89 minutes, 1955
Miroslava
Directed by Alejandro Pelayo, 100 minutes, 1983
dying is in hebrew (My Mexican Shivah)
Directed by Alejandro Springall, 98 minutes, 2007
in the last drink (One for the road)
Directed by Jack Zagha Kababie, 93 minutes, 2014
Storm (Tempest)
Directed by Tatiana Hueso, 105 minutes, 2016
girlfriend to see you (Like a Bride)
Directed by Guita Schyfter, 90 minutes, 1966
the resemblances (The Similars)
Directed by Isaac Ezban, 89 minutes, 2015
3:19
Directed by Dany Saadia, 90 minutes, 2008
The secret of Dr. Grinberg (The Secret of Doctor Grinberg)
Directed by Ida Cuellar, 91 minutes, 2020.
The evil eye (Evil Eye)
Directed by Isaac Ezban, 100 minutes, 2022
Five days without Nora (Nora’s Will)
Directed by Mariana Chenillo, 91 minutes, 2008
You can check the schedules here:
