Winner of the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2015 Berlinale—one of the most prestigious cinematic prizes ever received by a Central American production—the brilliant debut by Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante is a mesmerizing fusion of fact and fable, a dreamlike depiction of the daily lives of Kaqchikel speaking Mayans on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano.
Ixcanul tells the story of María, a 17-year-old Mayan girl, who lives and works with her parents on a coffee plantation in the foothills of a volcano. An arranged marriage awaits her, to Ignacio, the plantation overseer. A discouraged María seduces Pepe, a young coffee cutter, with plans to run away with him. When Pepe flees he leaves María pregnant, alone and in disgrace. Immersing us in its characters’ customs and beliefs, Ixcanul (which means “volcano” in Kaqchikel) chronicles with unblinking realism disappearing traditions and a disappearing people.
Drawing from real-life stories, director Jayro Bustamante wrote the narrative with the point of view of the mother. Using non-actor members of the Maya community, Ixcanul explores the arbiters of a fading way of life against a backdrop of a dominating and Westernized culture.
IXCANUL
A film by Jayro Bustamante
(Guatemala/France, 2015, 91 min. In Kaqchikel with English subtitles)
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