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Presentation of Many Ways of Loving My Mexico

Clara Sánchez translated by Gobi Stromberg

The short films that were projected included: 200 años de mexican@s en movimiento (Alejandro Springall), ¿Verdad que yo no fui? (Antonio Urruttia), La marcha de Zacatecas (Juan Carlos Bolado), El Pozo (Guillermo Arriaga), Será por eso (Juan Carlos Rulfo), Sin miedo (María Novaro) and Una piedra del camino, Carlos Cuarón.

At the end of the projection, the directors had a brief exchange with the public. Springall spoke of the experience of filming shorts, given that his work has developed primarily through feature film; although the filmmaker said that he had greatly enjoyed the (short film) experience, in which he had been able to explore the themes of the mestizo and religious (practice) dimensions of 'Mexican ness.' "The first thing that went through my head was: what happens to the people who don't have anything to celebrate?"

Carlos Cuarón was questioned about his feature film, in which he presents a critical compilation of the more prominent ex-presidents of Mexico, that includes their respective politics regarding the economic disparity in the country. While this work could be censored by television, Cuarón mentioned that on Friday the directors of 'TV Azteca' had seen his work and had not indicated an intention to modify it.

Arriaga, whose short was shown in the past edition of the Venice Film Festival, explained that the idea of this story, which tells of a child who falls into a well and of his family who tries to rescue him, is slightly biographical. "During my adolescence, when I was in Coahuila in a place where there were many deep wells, they said to me: 'Be careful and don't fall in, because we won't be able to get you out.' This idea stayed in my head and I wanted to present it in the short as a reflection on the innocent victims of the violent holes, not of the epoch of the Independence or of the Revolution, but of the present."