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“El cine en lenguas originarias en México” at the 22nd FICM

Alan Rodríguez

The 22nd edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), in collaboration with the magazine Gatopardo, held a discussion on “Cinema in native tongues in Mexico” (El cine en lenguas originarias en México) as part of its activities. The event was attended by journalist Maurizio Montes de Oca as well as filmmakers Yolanda Cruz and Dinazar Urbina.

The conversation revolved around the filmmakers' projects and the creation and screening of works made in native tongues in Mexico.

Yolanda Cruz, a filmmaker from the Chatina community of San Juan Quiahije, Oaxaca, is participating in this edition of the festival with her most recent work La raya, included in the Mexican Feature Film Section. Some of her works, including Sueños binacionales (2005), Reencuentros: entre la memoria y la nostalgia (2008) and Guenati'za: Los que vienen de visita (2003), have been part of FICM throughout its history.

Dinazar Urbina, originally from the municipality of Villa de Tututepec, Oaxaca, is a graduate in Social Communication from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). She was part of the workshop in documentary filmmaking Ambulante Más Allá and directed her first short film, Carrizos, in 2017. On this edition of the festival, she is part of the Mexican Short Film Section with Prólogo y epílogo.

Both directors spoke about the hierarchization of languages, which has historically generated a certain rejection towards cinema in native languages. “ They often ask you to justify why not to do it in Spanish, many colleagues have had to fight for the native language to be respected in their works,” said Dinazar Urbina.

Yolanda Cruz stressed the importance of language preservation: “I am trilingual, I love languages. It is important to make a film in your own language because that way you preserve it [...]. For me, it was very important to make La raya for the children of my community would feel represented,” she explained.

On the subject of the stereotypical representation of indigenous peoples in Mexican cinema, the filmmakers said that these stereotypes have been overcome to a large extent thanks to the resistance shown by indigenous filmmakers. This resistance has grown notably in recent years.

This conversation was carried out with the support of Lexus and can be heard through Semanario Gatopardo's podcast.