En Español

A reemergence of Latin American films and filmmakers on the international scene in recent years has resulted in a wealth of vivid, groundbreaking work. From Argentina to Mexico, authentic new voices have garnered international awards and worldwide interest in films from south of our border. These contemporary filmmakers are the focus of Cinemateca, a new Walker series running in conjunction with the exhibition Frida Kahlo, which opens with seven films in November and resumes in January 2008.

The inaugural program spotlights work from the Nuevo Cine Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema) movement, which is fueled by a spirit of cooperation among such actors as Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries), credited on three films in this series, and directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel), Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también), and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), who are lending their support to help build new systems of production in Mexico. To close November’s Cinemateca offerings, director Francisco Vargas introduces a screening of his work The Violin, which del Toro called “one of the most amazing Mexican films in many a year.”

Alone and collectively, these dramas and documentaries breathe life into stories going far beyond our limited news coverage of immigration and the U.S./Mexican border. . . .

En Español

A reemergence of Latin American films and filmmakers on the international scene in recent years has resulted in a wealth of vivid, groundbreaking work. From Argentina to Mexico, authentic new voices have garnered international awards and worldwide interest in films from south of our border. These contemporary filmmakers are the focus of Cinemateca, a new Walker series running in conjunction with the exhibition Frida Kahlo, which opens with seven films in November and resumes in January 2008.

The inaugural program spotlights work from the Nuevo Cine Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema) movement, which is fueled by a spirit of cooperation among such actors as Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries), credited on three films in this series, and directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel), Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también), and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), who are lending their support to help build new systems of production in Mexico. To close November’s Cinemateca offerings, director Francisco Vargas introduces a screening of his work The Violin, which del Toro called “one of the most amazing Mexican films in many a year.”

Alone and collectively, these dramas and documentaries breathe life into stories going far beyond our limited news coverage of immigration and the U.S./Mexican border. With humor, irony, and satire, these films offer refreshing looks at the cultural, political, spiritual, and economic realities of a country in flux.