11 · 07 · 12

Isela Vega and Lupita Peckinpah present "Imaginary Mexico"

At the first screening of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García (1974) at FICM on Tuesday, November 6, Daniela Michel, general director of the festival, and Jean-Pierre García, film critic and historian, presented Mexican actress Isela Vega and Lupita Peckinpah, the director's daughter.

Isela Vega, who participated in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García as an actress and composer of the theme "Bennie's Song," thanked the public for attending and confessed there is always the fear that no viewers will show up. "What if no one comes?" she asked. But the theater was packed and the public was interested in hearing the words of Isela, who said Peckinpah was one of the geniuses of U.S. cinema, along with figures like John Ford, John Huston and D. W. Griffith. "We owe him a lot," she said.

Jean-Pierre García pointed out Peckinpah's contributions to international cinema, as well as his cult status in the United States and Europe. But Lupita Peckinpah, who is also a director, said this is the first tribute in honor of his work her father has received in Mexico.

The Mexican public may not be that familiar with Peckinpah by name, but his work has left an indelible mark in our collective imagination. Just look at a shootout in the middle of the Mexican desert. The sound of the submachine gun is endless while the hero (or better said the anti-hero) of the film wipes out all his enemies: the bandits fall into the dust one by one, in slow motion. The survivor wipes the sweat off his brow, climbs into a run-down car, and takes off into the twilight.

Don't miss the following screenings of "Imaginary Mexico": The Getaway (1972), on Thursday, November 8, at 3:20 pm at Cinépolis Centro; Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), on Friday, November 9, at 11:30 pm at Cinépolis Centro; and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García, on Saturday, November 10, at 6:30 pm at Cinépolis Centro.

For more information about Sam Peckinpah, we recommend that you read "Bloody Sam in México" by Steve Seid (video curator at the Pacific Film Archive), which is in our catalogue. You can download it: here.