The Guatemalan-Mexican film Hasta el sol tiene manchas / Even the Sun Has Spots (pictured) by Julio Hernández Cordón won two special prizes at the 23rd edition of FID (Festival International de Cinéma) Marseille which took place July 4-9, at the Mediterranean city. The film was awarded the Marseille Espérance Prize, as well as a Special Mention of the Jury in the Official International Competition in the French film festival where it had its world premiere.
The third feature film by Hernández Cordón (after Gasolina and Marimbas from Hell) is a story of two men amongst the small group that plays out this fable. One has a mental disability, who works to persuade people to vote for a presidential candidate that promises to organize the first World Cup in Guatemala. The second is a masked troublemaker who scales buildings, threatening passerby with the hit of a ball. The two form an unlikely friendship, evoking the past and present of a country that does itself constant harm.
Staying true to the previous worlds of his past films, Hernández Cordón continues to outline themes of importance to him; neglected adolescents, stylistic documentary that organizes fiction, and using characters as allegories for a country’s destiny. Shot in 2D sets with vivid splashes of yellow, the use of masks and the schematization of characters to convey a direct political message, Hasta el sol tiene manchas presents the possibilities of a minimal script and making a film amongst friends.
Hernández Cordón just finished his fourth feature film back to back, his newest film untitled Polvo will have its world premiere at the upcoming Locarno Film Festival this August in Switzerland.
