10 · 20 · 06

Eva Aridjis Presents The Favor

Doris Morales

Her second feature film, The Favor, received an Honorary Mention at the Las Vegas Film Festival in 2006. The Mexican premiere will take place during the FICM’s fourth edition.

Aridjis grew up surrounded by books, and was always interested in literature. She’s drawn to the world of fiction, but also to documenting reality: “I’m very interested in the themes I document; documentary films allow me to explore and enter foreign worlds, places unknown to me,” she said.

“The Favor is a work of the imagination, like my documentaries. The fiction films I make are not autobiographical. My family is very close, so I’ve always wanted to tackle these types of characters: two strangers who suddenly find themselves living under the same roof. I wanted to explore these two characters: one of them is kind and generous, but his evil counterpart leads him to wonder, what would happen if I stopped being good?”

The director also said that the world is focusing its attention on Mexican films more and more, but that there aren’t enough women directing. “It’s still regarded as a man’s job. I’d like to change the view that Mexican women can’t make good movies.”

Aridjis said she admired documentaries such as Tin Dirdamal’s De nadie, and Juan Carlos Rulfo’s En el hoyo, as well as Ximena Cuevas’ experimental short films. She is also fond of the work of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s and of Gael García Bernal, who provided his voice as a narrator in her most recent documentary, La Santa Muerte.

The Favor will premiere in Mexico at the beginning of 2007 and is distributed by Azteca, a company owned by Ricardo and Elisa Salinas. It will also be shown in Brazil and Argentina.