10 · 12 · 07

Jonás and Alfonso Cuarón present Shock Doctrine

Édgar Pérez Vargas - Cortesía Periódico Provincia/Translated by Vicente Castañar.

Alfonso and Jonás share the same last name, Cuarón, and even though they are together they aren’t the same. Each one has taken a different path, Alfonso is well recognized, while his son’s name is just beginning to be heard, the father came yesterday to Cinepolis to give his son a further push.
Among comments and events Jonas’ short film and long feature film were introduced in the biggest theater at Morelia.

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel, vice-president of the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia was the first one in the podium, he welcomed the audience wile the photographers tried to take snapshots of the Cuarons.

Among applauses, Alfonso, who directed Harry Potter and the Azkabán Prisoner (2004), Los niños del Hombre (2006), Y tu mamá también (2001), among other films, stood up and reached the microphone to say that his presence there was only to introduce La doctrina del shock.

Naomi Klain, Canadian author of the book The shock doctrine, invited Alfonso to participate in the film, they later on decided to make a short film with the same themes.

Cuarón senior wasn’t able to work on the project so Jonas asked permission to shoot the short feature film.
The three of them got together to plan the structure. Alfonso wrote the script and Jonas designed the rest and he stayed as the director.

¡Voilá! Yesterday this animation and video short feature film was presented, which includes an echo voice which briefly explains how the US and other governments have taken advantage of their citizens when they are in shock, how the citizens are vulnerable and their decisions are kidnapped by their governments and decisions which only benefit the people in power are taken, either rising prices (as in Sri Lanka after the tidal wave), or modifying their laws or taking actions against other countries (Afghanistan, after September 11th 2001).

At the next show Cuaron senior passed the microphone to Jonas, he explained that Año Uña, a long feature film, is a project that emerged from a long series of pictures he took during a year, pictures with no apparent topic.

Together with Eireann Harper, his girlfriend, they put Jonas’ brother’s photographs in order. Together Diego, Jonas’ brother, and Eireann became the main characters of this fiction photograph story that would become a film.

It is the love story of an American woman, a 21 year old woman from New York and a 14 year old teenager who does the impossible to conquer her through his young Mexican style, sometimes screwing up because he is a horny teenager.

By pure luck, Molly (Eireann) lives at Diego’s house, they take a trip together and he is trying to hook up with her. She then later on goes back to NY and Diego escapes to NY to visit her and show his love towards her.
This is Jonas’ fourth film; he also shot 8 Stories (2001) and Un disparejo (2003).