Ambulante, the Mexican traveling documentary film festival created in 2005 by Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Pablo Cruz, will arrive in Los Angeles, California in the fall of 2014, the organization announced. Leading Ambulante California will be Christine Davila, an independent film programmer and curator for various film festivals and film series, including her role as Programming Associate for The Sundance Film Festival since 2008.
The Ambulante California Film Festival tour, presented by the Ford Foundation, will run from September 21 to October 4, 2014, and each day it will screen at a different venue, from universities, highs schools, museums, community centers, to outdoor venues and makeshift spaces. Filmmakers will be invited to present their films at each screening event in order to exchange dialogue and share context with the public.
Ambulante California will feature a 15-feature film program which will be a selection of documentaries reflecting the social cultural realities of Mexico, as well as innovative stories and perspectives from all parts of the world exploring themes of transnational identity, underrepresented voices, and global social impact.
The symbolic crossing of Ambulante into the U.S. will kickoff with special border screenings in Tijuana, and there are plans to have a precursor event on May Day prior to its full launch on September 21. Director of Ambulante California, Christine Davila says, “Ambulante California will have all of what makes Ambulante radical; the mobile and social engagement aspect, focus on the local community, and intervention of public spaces. What will uniquely define Ambulante California is its targeted programming objective. Our goal is to curate films which reflect a spectrum of niches and subcultures, and place them in front of their specific audience, as well as making them accessible to a critical and broader mass”.
