Program

In recent years, Mexican cinema has experienced a revitalization, with new productions gaining increased visibility and receiving international acclaim. The Guggenheim’s ¡Acción! series highlights a new generation of exciting filmmakers in addition to new works from seasoned directors,
offering vivid portraits of a cosmopolitan and conflicted Mexico charging into the new millennium. This series, which presents films all produced in the past several years, explores many of the social, political, and economic issues confronting contemporary Mexico.

¡Acción! Mexican Cinema Now is presented by Cinema Tropical, GuggenheimFilm, the Film and Media Arts Exhibition Program of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Mexican Cultural Institute.

A concurrent part of this series is being shown at the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim Musuem. Please visit www.guggenheim.org/film for more information.

All screenings on Wednesdays, 8:00 pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300. Films are in films in Spanish with English subtitles, except as noted.

Also see the program of video screenings at Americas society.


March 2002 Program ¡Acción! Mexican Cinema Now	In recent years, Mexican cinema has experienced a revitalization, with new productions gaining increased visibility and receiving international acclaim. The Guggenheim’s ¡Acción! series highlights a new generation of exciting filmmakers in addition to new works from seasoned directors, offering vivid portraits of a cosmopolitan and conflicted Mexico charging into the new millennium. This series, which presents films all produced in the past several years, explores many of the social, political, and economic issues confronting contemporary Mexico. ¡Acción! Mexican Cinema Now is presented by Cinema Tropical, GuggenheimFilm, the Film and Media Arts Exhibition Program of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Mexican Cultural Institute. A concurrent part of this series is being shown at the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim Musuem. Please visit www.guggenheim.org/film for more information. All screenings on Wednesdays, 8:00 pm at Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300. Films are in films in Spanish with English subtitles, except as noted. Also see the program of video screenings at Americas society.
	Wednesday, March 6, 8:00 pm La Ley de Herodes / Herod’s Law Luis Estrada, 1999, 120 min. In this controversial black comedy, when a dump supervisor with good intentions is installed as mayor of a small town, each upwardly mobile step sinks him downward into the politics of corruption. “(An) angrily hilarious film” - A. O. Scott, The New York Times “Robustly directed (…) and set to a percolating mambo beat” - The Village Voice
	Wednesday, March 13, 8:00pm Rito Terminal / Terminal Rite Oscar Urrutia, 1999, 110 min. The celebration of the patron saint of an indigenous community is the context within which a young photographer loses his shadow. To get it back, he has to follow a path of initiation along with the inhabitants of the community, sharing a different way of approaching their surroundings. “The message of Mexican Oscar Urrutia Lazo's debut -- that modern life is beginning to separate us irredeemably from our cultural roots -- is always worth repeating.” - Variety
	Wednesday, March 20, 8:00 pm Un Mundo Raro / A Rare World Armando Casas, 2001, 95 min. New York Premiere In Mexico City, two kidnappers abduct a man who turns out to be a well-known comedian and variety show host. One of the kidnappers, Emilio, an aspiring comedian himself, is more interested in gaining access to the world of television than gaining access to the victim’s bank account. “(An) amusing comedy that takes aim at Mexican commercial TV and the way it creates a false set of social values.” - Variety
	Wednesday, March 27, 8:00 pm Perfume de Violetas / Violet Perfume Maryse Sistach, 90 min. 2001 Yessica and Miriam, two young high school students in Mexico City, develop a friendship that binds them against the vicissitudes of adolescence made even more difficult by abuse and indifference in this intense drama which is Mexico's entry for Oscar consideration (Best Foreign Language Film, 2001). "This tale of how little things have changed in modern Mexico, and how lower class girls are still victimized is absorbing" - Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times.
	All screenings at: Two Boots Pioneer Theater 155 East 3rd St. (at Avenue A) Tel. (212) 254-3300
Cinema Tropical is proudly presented by Jameson, Irish whiskey. It is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Additional funding provided in part by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the US/Mexico Fund for Culture. Additional support provided by Latin American Video Archives and the Consulates of Argentina and Chile in New York. Special thanks to: Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE), Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC - UNAM), Altavista Films, Dirección de Asuntos Culturales de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE), Salvador Beltrán del Río, Consul General of Mexico in New York, Hugo Hiriart, John G. Hanhardt, Maria-Christina Villaseñor, Rajendra Roy, Susana López Aranda, Jorge Magaña, Rosa Carrillo, Moisés Jiménez, Alejandro Pelayo.