Clockwise from top: Lindsey Cordero, Bernardo Ruiz, Alejandro Mejía, Fernando Frías, Armando Croda, and Andrea Córdova
In the past few years, New York City has become a hub for Mexican film talent that has started to leave its mark in the international film world. Some of the filmmakers that have recently made headlines include directors Fernando Frías, Armando Croda, Lindsey Cordero, Bernardo Ruiz, and Andrea Córdoba, as well as cinematographer Alejandro Mejía.
Director Frías has recently made waves with the international release of his electrifying second feature film I’m No Longer Here / Ya no estoy aquí on Netflix. Winner of the Best Film Award at the Morelia and Cairo film Festivals, I’m No Longer Here tells the story of 17-year-old Ulises, leader of a Monterrey group hooked on cumbia music and cholo culture. After a terrible misunderstanding with a local gang, Ulises has to flee the city to save his life and is forced to migrate to New York City, where he tries to assimilate.
The film has been hailed by the New York Times as a “thoughtful portrait of cultural identity” and a “sensitively observed drama.” In a recent tweet, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro wrote “I urge everyone to see I’m No Longer Here—it articulates so much, with such beauty and power. Audiovisually disciplined- even rigorous- while remaining spiritually unchained. A jolting, timely, piece of cinema.”
I urge everyone to see I'M NO LONGER HERE- it articulates SO much, with such beauty and power. Audiovisually disciplined- even rigorous- while remaining spiritually unchained. A jolting, timely, piece of cinema. pic.twitter.com/EqzsL5JbvW
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 5, 2020
Frías, an MFA graduate in Directing and screenwriting from Columbia University, had won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival for his debut feature Rezeta.
And up-and-coming star in the cinematography world is the Mexican director of photography Alejandro Mejía, who recently received the Best Cinematography Award at the Tribeca Film Festival for his work in Rodrigo Reyes’ creative documentary 499. The film images a ghostly Conquistador who arrives in modern Mexico, upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest. As he journeys toward the capital city, he remembers events from his past while encountering the testimonies of real people, the survivors of contemporary violence. In its statement the Tribeca jury said: “The filmmakers did an incredible job of weaving this fictional story into what’s happening today with the disappeared and to marry such grand visions that cinema can only do.”
Mejía was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2019 Emmy Awards for his work in the series We Speak NY, and worked in the Jonathan and Elan Bogarín’s acclaimed Sundance film 306 Hollywood. He co-produced Gabriel Mariño’s 2012 feature film A Secret World, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Mejía recently finished the cinematography for Alexis Gambis’ upcoming feature film Son of Monarchs starring Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta.
I’m Leaving Now by Armando Croda and Lindsey Cordero
The directorial duo of Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda left their mark with the U.S. theatrical release of their documentary film I’m Leaving Now / Ya me voy, winner of the Best Mexican Film Award at DocsMX and a Special Mention at the Morelia Film Festival for Best Documentary. Released by prestigious distribution company The Cinema Guild, I’m Leaving Now is a searing and intimate portrait of one undocumented worker on the margins. A modern-day odyssey, it tells the story of Felipe—a charismatic, Mexican immigrant who has reached a crossroads: after 16 years in Brooklyn, working three low-paying jobs and sending the bulk of his earnings to his wife and children in Mexico, he's decided to return home to the family he hasn't seen in almost two decades.
Croda and Cordero co-directed the 2013 National Geographic Latino documentary feature Firmes, Mexicans in the Bronx (2013). Croda has also built a solid career as a film editor, having worked in the Sundance-winning film The Infiltrators (Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, 2019), Jay Myself (Stephen Wilkes, 2018), Out of Many, One (John Hoffman and Nanfu Wang, 2018) and Havana Motor Club (Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, 2015). Cordero, on her end, is the winner of the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for her work as producer in Jim McKay’s acclaimed En el Séptimo Día (2018).
Guanajuato-born Brooklyn-raised director Bernardo Ruiz, has been able to build a solid film career with four documentary feature films. A two-time Emmy nominated director and member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, his directorial feature debut, Reportero (2013) about attacks on the press in Mexico premiered at the Full Frame, IDFA and Ambulante film festivals. New York Magazine called it “a powerful reminder of how journalism often requires immense amounts of physical and psychological bravery.” His second feature documentary, Kingdom of Shadows (2016) premiered at SXSW in the U.S. and IDFA in Europe.
The Infinite Race by Bernardo Ruiz
Ruiz’s third film Harvest of Season, a timely and moving portrait of the Mexican-American influence and legacy on California’s premium wine industry was recently nominated for a 2020 James Beard Awards nomination, and his latest recent film The Infinite Race, was selected for its world premiere at the 2020 edition of the Full Frame film festival. The film centers around the 2015 Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco, an annual 50-mile race in Urique that celebrates the phenomenal athletic feats of the marathon runners of the reclusive indigenous Tarahumara group of Northern Mexico. Ruiz balances a nuanced and inspiring portrait of the Tarahumara people with a compelling look at the ways their endurance running has left a mark on runners across the globe.
New York-based Mexican director Andrea Córdoba was the top winner at the 2019 edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival winning the Grand Chameleon Award for Best film, as well as the Best Documentary Award for her debut feature film Sanctuary. The film tells the story of Amanda Morales, who walked into a church in New York City not knowing when she would step outside again. The Guatemalan mother of three U.S.-born children is the first immigrant since President Trump took office to claim sanctuary in New York, publicly resisting her deportation within a space that ICE recognizes as protected. Sanctuary gains rare and intimate access to Amanda and her family as they fight to remain together and adapt to daily life inside a church.
For the past 6 years, Córdoba has worked as a visual storyteller exploring the medium in relation to immigrant and Latinx voices. Andrea has worked for CNN, as well as Researcher for documentary 500 Years (2017), as Archival Coordinator for documentary Bones of Contention (2017) and worked as an Associate Producer for the documentary Harvest Season (2018). She received her BA in Anthropology and Journalism from NYU and an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts.
