MEXICO: Mexican film stars Gael Garc����a Bernal and Diego Luna kick off Mexico's 2007 traveling film festival

Record ID: 1526570

  • Title: MEXICO: Mexican film stars Gael Garc����a Bernal and Diego Luna kick off Mexico's 2007 traveling film festival
  • Date: 8th February 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, GAEL GARCIA BERNAL, SAYING: "I think the producers are those that instigate the making of these films. I think that this genre of films is made more than any other in Mexico. Documentaries are what Mexico makes mainly, and good fortune means that in many cases the films get a good reception and they have won many prizes. This year there are various examples and more from last year too. I think that the (popularity of this genre) is growing bit by bit, which is creating an audience for these films and thanks too to the attention that you have given us (by promoting the festival, popularity continues to grow). This generates more publicity and we are going to return to being a unique country in this sense." CAMERAMAN DIEGO LUNA BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN ACTOR AND DIRECTOR, DIEGO LUNA, SAYING: "(The festival) gives us great hope, because what is missing is traveling culture (talking of the fact that the festival will be rolled out nationwide). The public is there expectant and waiting, so I hope that they keep promoting projects like this one. We want to decentralize the festival; a film may have had more of an audience in Ciudad Juarez than in Monterrey. I want to say something; I want to say that there is an avid and excited audience because things are arriving on their doorstep. It's necessary to make the effort to have a traveling festival."
  • Embargoed: 24th February 2007 15:43
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9NFU07JL9QZMV99ZGME31KW04
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Acclaimed Mexican actor-directors, Gael Garc����a Bernal and Diego Luna, appeared on the red carpet at the launch of the Mexican "Traveling Film Festival" on Thursday (February 1). The festival will showcase documentaries and is being supported by duo's independent production house - "Canana."
    The festival kicked off with a screening of the film "Jesus Camp," which was nominated for the best documentary prize in the Oscars award ceremony. The film, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, was on show in Mexico City, just one of the locations where the festival is taking place.
    Organizers have arranged to screen national and international documentaries in 15 cities across Mexico from the start of February until the end of March.
    Garcia Bernal spoke enthusiastically about the increasing fan base eager to see documentaries across the Central American state.
    "I think the producers are those that instigate the making of these films. I think that this genre of films is made more than any other in Mexico. Documentaries are what Mexico makes mainly, and good fortune means that in many cases the films get a good reception and they have won many prizes. This year there are various examples and more from last year too. I think that the (popularity of this genre) is growing bit by bit, which is creating an audience for these films and thanks too to the attention that you have given us (by promoting the festival, popularity continues to grow). This generates more publicity and we are going to return to being a unique country in this sense," he explained.
    This traveling festival began life in 2006, with the aim of taking cinema to the people through showing documentaries nationwide in commercial cinemas, which normally do not show such films. The festival organizers intend to popularize documentaries and use this genre as a tool to provide information about different societies and cultures.
    Luna stressed the importance of reaching out to the people of Mexico through making the festival nationwide.
    "(The festival) gives us great hope, because what is missing is traveling culture (talking of the fact that the festival will be rolled out nationwide). The public is there expectant and waiting, so I hope that they keep promoting projects like this one. We want to decentralize the festival; a film may have had more of an audience in Ciudad Juarez than in Monterrey. I want to say something; I want to say that there is an avid and excited audience because things are arriving on their doorstep. It's necessary to make the effort to have a traveling festival," he said.
    Documentary and some experimental films from Mexico, the United States, Great Britain, Austria, Brazil, the Netherlands, Chile and Uruguay, will be aired as part of the festival. The film "Comandante" by Oliver Stone - about Fidel Castro and his government in Cuba - will also be screened.
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