ASSASSINATIONS, MASSACRES & BIG BREASTED WOMEN… AY DIOS MIO! HOLA MEXICO REVEALS 2013 PROGRAM
From the weird and wonderful to the strange but true – get ready to experience the very best of Mexican cinema and culture as the 8th Annual Hola Mexico Film Festival returns to tour Australia next month.
From 24 October to 8 December, the festival will travel through Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth with 10 feature films, 6 documentaries and a series of special events marking the opening and closing nights in each city.
The event is more than just a film festival, striving to take Australians on a journey to Mexico, with tastes of culture, entertainment and food, while the silver screen gives audiences a glimpse into Mexico’s heart and soul.
International festival director Samuel Douek says, “I think Australian audiences connect really well with Mexican cinema, and fans will be right at home with this year’s program.”
The 2013 festival will open with the already announced Nosotros Los Nobles (We are the Nobles), the surprise Mexican comedy blockbuster of the year and #1 box office hit in Mexico cinema’s history!
Other highlights include La Vida Breve Y Precoz De Sabina Rivas (The Precocious And Brief Life Of Sabina Rivas), which was nominated for 11 Ariel Awards - Mexico’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. The film is based on the novel La Mara.
After Lucia and Post Tenebrax Lux are also huge award winners, with Lucia winning the Un Certain Regard at Cannes and Tenebrax’s Carlos Reygadas awarded Best Director at the same event in 2012.
Tlatelolco, Verano Del 68 (Tlatelolco, Summer Of 68) is a Love Story set against the backdrop of real events that took place in the lead up to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, where the government opened fire on student protesters; an event which Douek refers to as “one of the blackest moments in history of Mexico” and names as one of the must see festival screenings.
Keeping with the theme of the Tlaltelolco massacre, El Paciente Interno (The Convict Patient) sits amongst six documentaries and tells the story of the man who tried to assassinate the Mexican President as revenge for the massacre. The documentary follows his trails, locating him as a beggar on the streets of Mexico City.
But these strong themes aren’t all that the festival will have to offer say Douek “There’s a lot of good dramas, but I think it’s important we don’t only paint the dark, bad and ugly Mexico. The opening night film is a beautiful comedy that paints Mexico in a different light.”
He also points to El Santo Vs La Tetona Mendoza - which in English translates to The Santo versus The Big Breasted Woman – an animated film for adults, full of course language and drugs, based on a comic book and featuring the voices of some of Mexico’s biggest stars – not to mention an appearance from famed director Guillermo Del Toro.
The festival will kick off in Melbourne, where the festival will run at ACMI Cinemas from 24 - 29 October, before heading to Perth on 14 - 21 November at Cinema Paradiso then Sydney on 27 November - 4 December at the Paddington’s Chauvel Cinemas. The Hola Mexico tour will then end in Adelaide with screenings from 29 November to 8 December at the Mercury Cinema.
With tickets going on sale today, filmgoers have the option to purchase single tickets or all-inclusive tickets that will also provide access to the opening and closing night after parties, with Mexican beers, nibbles and live entertainment. Tickets are on sale now from www.holamexicoff.com