The 27th annual Guadalajara Film Festival opens this week, bringing hundreds of films, industry professionals, press and public together in a week-long celebration of cinema.
Of course, with all of the documentaries, shorts and feature films screening at this year’s event, it would be impossible for The Reporter to make comprehensive recommendations but we’ve chosen a little variety each day to get your journey started. All of the films in this brief guide are playing either in English or with English subtitles unless otherwise noted.
In addition to all the films playing at the Expo Guadalajara, Cine Foro, Teatro Diana and the many outdoor festival locations, Cinepolis Centro Magno will fill their screen capacity with festival films during the event. To peruse the full schedule, point your internet browser to ficg.mx/descargas/Programa_de_mano_FICG27.pdf and open the PDF with Adobe Reader. A word of caution to your planning: any of the events with a little blue “Funcion Prensa e Industria” symbol are restricted to just those groups.
If you plan to see several films, consider investing in a CineBono pass. These tickets can be used to see four shows (normally 35 pesos each) at Cine Foro or Cinepolis Centro Magno during the film festival for 120 pesos. Currently for sale at both of those locations.
If you buy this newspaper in time, on Friday, March 2, head to the Cine Foro at 4 p.m. for a double feature of “Bleak Moments” and “Naked” from this year’s Mayahuel prize recipient, English director Mike Leigh. Or, forgo the second feature in favor of last year’s popular documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” by famously anonymous English street artist Banksy, playing in the open air at 8 p.m. at the Rambla Cataluña (Escorza, between Av. Vallarta and Lopez Cotilla).
On Sunday, March 4, check out acclaimed British documentary “Senna,” covering the decade leading up to the death of Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, 3:45 p.m. at the Expo Guadalajara. Alternatively, you can see one of the films in this year’s new Maguey Prize competition for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual cinema “Todo el mundo tiene a alguien menos yo” (Everybody’s Got Somebody … Not Me) at 4 p.m., also at the Cine Foro. Follow it up with Mike Leigh’s “Secrets and Lies” at 7 p.m. at Cinepolis Centro Magno.
Monday, March 5 highlights include another Mike Leigh film, “Vera Drake,” 1 p.m. at Cinepolis Centro Magno and “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town,” a documentary about the making of the award winning Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band album playing at 8 p.m. at Plaza Liberacion, downtown.
Tuesday, March 6 would make a good day to check out a couple of Mexican films, for the brave (both without subtitles). “El fantastico mundo de Juan Orol,” (The Fantastic World of Juan Orol) about the infamously bad titular Mexican film director, 4 p.m. at the Cine Foro, followed directly by “Mariachi Gringo” at 6:45 p.m., in which a small town man seeks renewed life down in Mexico. Finish off with “Calvet,” a documentary about the life of French painter Jean Marc Calvet, 9:15 p.m. at Centro Magno.
The Expo Guadalajara is showing two more Mike Leigh films on Wednesday, March 7: “All or Nothing” at 3:45 p.m. and “Happy Go Lucky” at 8 p.m. Or, see “La Cebra,” about a mysterious Zebra that leads two men on a surreal journey during the Mexican Revolution, 6:45 p.m. at the Cine Foro.
Switch gears on Thursday, March 8 and take in a program of Maguey films starting with “Call Me Troy” and “No Secret Anymore” at the Teatro Diana, playing at 2 and 4 p.m. respectively. Follow those with your choice of “Screaming Queens,” also at the Teatro Diana, “The British Guide to Showing Off” or “Caravaggio,” all playing at 6 p.m., the latter two at the Expo Guadalajara. Thursday night, don’t miss Meryl Streep in her Oscar-winning portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” gala event at 9 p.m. at the Teatro Diana (tickets 100 pesos).
The festival slows down a bit on Friday, March 9 but you can still catch the Finnish film “Veljekset” (Brothers) about three brothers meeting for their father’s 70th birthday, 4 p.m. Centro Magno. Later, see the Mexican documentary “El ingeniero” (The Engineer), a look inside Mexican politics and the failed 2000 presidential campaign of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas at 9 p.m. at Cine Foro.
Wrap up the festival Saturday, March 10 with “Los viejos” (The Parents), a Bolivian mediation on the passage of time at 8 p.m. at Cinepolis Centro Magno or “Death of a Superhero,” a humorous treatment of classic teen preoccupations with dark undertones, as 14-year-old Donald struggles with cancer, 9 p.m. Cine Foro.