Bicentennial Theater, in León. The Identity and Belonging University Documentary Contest opens the face-to-face activities of the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF). The theater would be full were it not for the sanitary impediment. Minutes earlier, the line outside this complex was considerable. Family members and friends of the filmmakers and protagonists of the films make up the bulk of the public for this screening session and announcement of the jury’s decision.
Four projects directed by young people from Guanajuato are exhibited: El torito, by Roberto Antonio Salazar; Esperanza, by José María Melchor; Submerged Memory, by Juan Salvador Ybarra, and All Life, by Orlando Salvador Terrones. They have been working on their shorts since 2019 and finally there they are, in a great theater, with an audience that applauds the result of two years of work, now projected on a big screen. The festival asks them as a requirement that the stories be linked to their place of origin, with their people, with all those reasons that make them feel part of a social group, their identity traits. And the creative response from all four is poignant.
Juan Salvador Ybarra does not exceed twenty years. He has just presented Submerged Memory, a work that collects the voices of the oldest inhabitants of Chupícuaro, Acámbaro municipality, who share the memories of a town whose natural beauty has been deposed over the years.
Antonio Salazar’s work, El torito, portrays one of the most emblematic syncretic traditions of Silao, a dance that has been fundamental for the acceptance of sexual and gender diversity in the Guanajuato city. For their empathic power, both documentaries are winners.
Generate tissue and professionalize young people
“The requirement is that the story told be connected with the personal story (of the filmmaker). If my people are sick, I am sick, it is my problem, it is my violence and my poverty, they are my issues. And when we see it that way, we tell the story differently, we make it more human, we reflect more on how we participate or if we don’t. When it’s your story, it becomes universal and resonates across cultures. So that contest is usually cathartic. It is almost a psychological therapy and it can thunder you. Now we celebrate their stories and they are spokespersons and ambassadors for their communities. I think GIFF has always been very human. We have used cinematographic art to leave the messages that seem relevant to us to create spaces for dialogue ”, shares Sara Hoch, who also serves as executive producer of the films in the contest.
There is an agreement between the GIFF and the Cannes Festival to exhibit the documentary works of Identity and Belonging each year. The success of the contest is such that the universities of Guanajuato involved in the projects have made up professional filming and editing teams to support and encourage their students. As if that were not enough, GIFF is fully involved in the meticulous production of the tapes to deliver products that by themselves can move around the world.
“Now all the universities in Guanajuato have good teams. And that is ultimately what we are looking for, because it stops being something from GIFF and becomes something from Guanajuato. You want that need to tell stories to spread. In addition, we take the kids to network at festivals. If you can network in Cannes, you can do it anywhere. It is the most difficult festival, of the highest quality and there we put them: ‘your first festival is Cannes, fuck it’. So, what remains for them afterwards becomes easy for them because we started with the most complicated ”.
Hoch argues that “there is not enough money in the world for Mexico to be well. Mexico has to be good from the inside, with itself first, it has to be proud of its stories and its culture. That is the true wealth of the country. But you see thousands and thousands of kids dying, entering drug trafficking, violence, what for, to have money for a few months? Are we really that hollow and a whole generation bought it? “
All this effort, he explains, has detonated a small industry in the state. A large part of the young people who have taken part in the productions now work in the media as producers or directors. Some have been able to leave the country to continue their film education. It is another effect of the decentralization of the seventh art.
In contrast, he declares, “there is a government whose banner is the culture, the Mexican identity, and it has taken away its support for projects like this. In our case, the cut has been 90%. It is a pity that the Imcine is tied up, because they are the voice, they are the ones who have to advocate for us, because they are movie people. It is understandable that in times of pandemic resources are channeled into health, but there it is not so clear either “.
Organize and preserve the GIFF collection
After Ernesto Herrera’s death, the Guanajuato International Film Festival began reviewing the co-founder’s files. The graphic and audiovisual material is being classified for the 25th edition, where the meeting plans to make a retrospective edition. In addition, confirms Hoch, the video material, memory of the 24 editions, will be backed by Kodak in 35 millimeters to guarantee its preservation throughout the years.
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