Mexican films at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival, one of the most important and prestigious events in the world cinema calendar, will take place this year from January 21st – 31st. The festival’s program includes three Mexican productions: Maya Goded’s feature documentary Plaza de la Soledad, Diego Luna’s Mr. Pig and the short film Bajo las brasas / Beneath the Embers, directed by Jessamyn López Sainz and Andrea Fuentes Charles.

Plaza de la Soledad by Maya Goded, Mr. Pig by Diego Luna and Bajo las brasas by Jessamyn López Sainz and Andrea Fuentes Charles.

Plaza de la Soledad, the first feature-length film from Mexican director and photographer Maya Goded, will have its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary competition. The film was the winner of the first ever Impulso Morelia work-in-progress competition at the 13th edition of FICM last year, gaining guaranteed distribution through Cinépolis. It is also the only Mexican film in competition at Sundance. The film’s producer Martha Sosa said: “Ten years ago there wasn’t a single Mexican film in this prestigious competition section. We are extremely grateful to everyone who believed in and supported us, and who worked with us on this project, and we feel that our participation in Impulso Morelia was very important in paving the way for the fantastic opportunity that Plaza de la Soledad now has at the Sundance Festival.”

Mr Pig, the most recent work from actor/director Diego Luna, will have its World Premiere at Sundance, sitting alongside latest films from well-known directors like Asif Kapadia (Senna, 2010; Amy, 2013), James Schamus (producer, screenwriter and Director of Focus Features), and Todd Solondz (Happiness, 1998), among others. Mr Pig stars Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph, and tells the story of an American farmer who closes down his farm and takes a trip to Mexico in search of a home for his beloved last pig, Howard. The farmer’s daughter, who has a strained relationship with her father, feels obliged to accompany the two on their trip.

Finally, Bajo las brasas / Beneath the Embers, directed by Jessamyn López Sainz and Andrea Fuentes Charles, will screen in the festival’s shorts section. The film is set in a community of charcoal workers in El Laurel, Guanajuato, and tells the story of Isabel, a young girl who leans that in order to achieve her dreams, she must sacrifice part of her present.

The Sundance Film Festival has, since 1985, been recognized for its excellent selection of independent cinema from both the United States, and around the world. To learn more about the 2016 edition: click here