By Azadeh Farahmand
Daily Bruin Contributor
Those who cannot afford the time, expense and anxiety of air
travel to Latin America can instead enjoy free exposure to a
diverse range of Latin American stories and sceneries brought to
the UCLA James Bridges Theater.
A showcase of contemporary films from Latin America will open
this Friday, Nov. 16, with an evening of documentary films at 7:30
p.m. Following an opening reception at 6:30 p.m., the showcase
continues on Saturday with a series of short fiction films from 2
to 6 p.m.
The screenings, followed by a Q&A, will feature films from
countries all over Latin America, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
Like many countries around the globe, local filmmaking in Latin
America faces a challenge from Hollywood’s global dominance
and popularity of entertaining trends in commercial films.
“The truth is, most of the world wants to be entertained
and does not want to see anything serious,” said UCLA history
professor James Wilkie.
Wilkie chairs the program on Mexico and he is the associate
director of UCLA Latin American Center, which co-organized the
showcase together with the Consulate General of Mexico in Los
Angeles and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
The screening of “short” fiction films on Saturday,
starting with “Little Films, Big Ideas,” a series of
shorts produced by the Mexican Films Institute, bears unique
significance. First, it acknowledges and puts forth potentials and
values of short films, despite the dominant trend of foregrounding
feature films as noteworthy art works. Second, it offers exposure,
encouragement, and networking possibilities to talented and
aspiring filmmakers whose short films become a stepping-stone to
longer projects.
“A lot of film students graduate from their school without
a job and without the chance to make films. Producing and directing
a short film is the only way to start a film career. If the film is
good and wins prizes, they would have a chance to make feature
films.”
The showcase has selected films from among a diverse pool put
forth by each country. Wilkie, who applauded the high quality of
style and form in the films presented this weekend, noted
similarities across the diverse works in their approach to show the
daily life.
“It is not like they are from different countries anymore;
they are from a region that is becoming interconnected, at least
intellectually,” he said.
Latin American cinema builds on a rich and dynamic tradition of
documentary filmmaking.
“Documentary films reflect the reality of our
countries,” said Pelayo-Rangel. “The documentary (form)
is the mirror of reality and it is a tool for creating apolitical
conscience in the audience.”
For Garrick Wilkie, director, producer and cinematographer of
“Chan K’in Viejo: The Last of the Mayans,”
different worldviews from different parts of Latin America
highlight the great diversity of the Latin American experience
through the selected documentaries. His film, which will close the
documentary screening on Friday, was shot in the Lacandon rain
forest of Chiapas, Mexico. It explores the life and worldview of
the 104-year-old spiritual leader of the Lacandon Mayan Indians, as
told in his own words with English voice over.
“All of the films took a tremendous amount of work to
make, as I know from my experiences,” Garrick Wilkie
said.
FILM: The screenings will take place beginning
at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday. The
screenings on both days will be followed by Q&A sessions.