10 · 09 · 07

Gael García Bernal: "AMBULANTE will transform cities”

Clara Sánchez/Translated by Vicente Castañar

[imagen]AMBULANTE’s directors Elena Fortes and Pablo Cruz, and cofounder Gael Gacía Bernal, gave the details for the documentaries that will take place from April 1st to the 24th, 2008.
Alejandro Ramirez, FICM president, was also at the press conference, as well as Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel, FICM vice-president and Daniela Michel, FICM director.

Alejandro Ramírez mentioned that this project was made together with Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, Cinépolis and Canana, and that more people come each year: “we are very proud about having our 3rd edition next year...”
Elena Fortes said: “this year we will have parallel shows at other theaters so we can attract people that don’t have access to Cinépolis.”

Fortes also mentioned that AMBULANTE will introduce the following festival sections: “Oficial, where the best quality international documentaries will be shown; Director´s Cut, which is dedicated to censored films; Injerto, experimental documentaries, shown together with Colección Fundación Jumex and Witness, videos from the rights foundation created by Peter Gabriel and Reebook Human Rights Foundations.”

Fortés said: “This year we worked closer with this organization, as a team we came up with the gala on August 11th, where we introduced the documentary Doble Injusticia, which is about the female-homicides in Chihuahua, we collected 270 thousand pesos and we donated the money to Witness and to the Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (Mexican Committee to Defend and Promote Human Rights). Witness will use its funds for its Latin America programs, in Mexico it is against torture, forced disappearances and female-homicides; in Brazil it is against slavery and in Bolivia it is for indigenous’ rights.
The committee will present its brief Feminicidio en Ciudad Juárez (Femal-homicide in Ciudad Juarez), on October 10th at the Comisión del Parlamento Europeo (Eurpoean Parliament Committee) and on October 30th they will present it in Mexico. They will also donate to organización Justicia para nuestras hijas en Chihuahua (Justice Organization for our daughters in Chihuahua).”

[imagen] Gael García Bernal said that this year AMBULANTE will attract everyone’s attention at every city it will run, it will transform every city to a Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, or like the FIL at Guadalajara: “a festival for each city is being organized, it will include specific events, each one will have its own identity and will have its own original projects and activities.”
The actor also mentioned that this year they will include three new sections: “Sonidero, a music related documentary; Ambulante Libre, free public shows at public spots like parks, plazas, soccer fields, markets, prisons and at the movies; and the third section is going to be Cine en Cambios, teaming up with Africala, the first African Film Festival in Mexico.”

Pablo Cruz mentioned some important details about the Gucci/Ambulante 2007 grant, the grant gave 400 thousand pesos to documentaries that were at the production stage and that were looking for funds to finish their work.

“This year’s winners were Trazando Aleida by Christiane Buckhard, documentary in which one of the many people who disappeared in the 70s is given a name and a voice to be heard; El Externante by Roberto Hernández, reopens the case of Antonio Zúñiga, who was kidnapped by the government and was forced to confess to a crime he did not commit; and El General by Natalia Almada.”
The awards will be given at the closing cere