World Premiere of Natalia Almada's EL VELADOR at New Films/New Directors


The world premiere of Mexican director Natalia Almada's (pictured) most recent film El Velador was held last night to a sold-out house at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of the 40th edition of New Directors/New Films festival. The film has been receiving a very positive response from US film critics, AO Scott writing for The New York TimesTime Out New York hailed it as "mesmerizing", The Wall Street Journal as "hypnotical detailed", and Variety as "an exquisite study of a rapidly expanding cemetery." Almada offered a Q&A after the screening that was moderated by MoMA's film curator Larry Kardish. The film will have a second screening as part of the festival this Tuesday March 29th at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater.
described it as "an unsettingly quiet, even lyrical film about a world made and unmade by violence", whilst

Interviewed by TropicalFRONT, Almada said New Directors/New Films was an ideal place to premiere her newest work as the film was "silent, comtemplative and in that sense delicate. I feel that the film would have lost in the noise of a larger festival such as Tribeca or Sundance. The film has more room in ND/NF, and at the same time it's a great honor to be at MoMA and the Lincoln Center in New York.