DOCUMENTARY FEATURES 499 Dir. Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico / USA, 87 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Documentary)
3/17 / 7:15 PM / Virtual Screening To reflect on the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 2021, director Reyes offers a bold hybrid cinema experience exploring the brutal legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico. CACHADA Dir. Marlén Viñayo (El Salvador, 81 min., 2019, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Documentary)
3/16/2021 / 6:30 PM / Virtual Screening 3/20/2021 / 4:15 PM / Virtual Screening Five Salvadoran street vendors and single mothers form a theatre company to bring their harsh life stories to the stage. During the rehearsal process of their play, they will discover themselves as victims and victimizers in a cycle of violence that has persecuted their families for generations. 18TH & GRAND: THE OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM STORY Dir. Stephen DeBro (USA, 83 min., 2021, English; Spanish w/ English subtitles, Documentary)
LANDFALL Dir. Cecilia Aldarondo (Puerto Rico, 91 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Documentary)
3/14/2021 / 4:15 PM / Virtual Screening 3/20/2021 / 5:45 PM / Virtual Screening A kaleidoscopic portrait of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane María, LANDFALL investigates a storm of much greater magnitude: the economic crisis crippling the island long before María arrived. LUCINDA URRUSTI. PINTORA. Dir. Juan Francisco Urrusti (Mexico, 90 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Documentary)
3/14/2021 / 3:30 PM / Virtual Screening 3/17/2021 / 5:45 PM / Virtual Screening Lucinda Urrusti, the acclaimed painter, arrived in Mexico as a child, with her parents and brother, as refugees from the Spanish War (1936-1939). Art and her family are for her the most important things in life. This is a testimonial documentary, in her words, which also offers a critical analysis of her works by Eduardo Espinosa Campos, Jaime Moreno Villarreal and Manuel Felguérez.
3/19/2021 / 6:30 PM / Virtual Screening 3/21/2021 / 5:00 PM / Virtual Screening 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story chronicles the turbulent history of Los Angeles through the story of the Olympic Auditorium—a 10,000-seat fight palace—and the remarkable woman who ran it. BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB Dir. Wim Wenders (United States, 105 min., 1999, Spanish w/ English subtitles, Music Documentary)
3/20/2021 / Around 8:30PM / Drive-In Screening - Westfield Mission Valley Traveling from the streets of Havana to the stage of Carnegie Hall, this revelatory documentary captures a forgotten generation of Cuba’s brightest musical talents as they enjoy an unexpected encounter with world fame
DREAMS OF CHONTA Dir. Monica Cohen (Colombia / USA, 87 min., 2020, Spanish w/ English subtitles; English, Music Documentary)
3/13/2021 / 4:15 PM / Virtual Screening 3/16/2021 / 5:45 PM / Virtual Screening Diego Obregón, an Afro-Colombian undocumented musician, sacrifices everything to achieve his dreams becoming an ambassador of his culture and rarely heard rhythms in New York City. 12
MAIJA AWI. CONCIERTO CAMPO ALASKA Dir. Ángel Estrada (Mexico, 42 min., 2020, Concert Film)
3/14/2021 / 5:00 PM / Virtual Screening Pepe Mogt, the celebrated Mexican electronic musician and founder of the Nortec Collective, returns to MUTEK with the presentation of a concert film that captures an audiovisual installation and performance filmed in the Baja Californian desert. Inspired by the Yuman legend of the Maija Awi snake, the founding myth of the Kumiai people of this region, Pepe Mogt creates an ethnographic and auditory journey that transits the textures and colors of the La Rumorosa region, culminating his presentation within a Museographic space called Campo Alaska, where ambient music, electronic rhythms, kraut beats and monolithic illuminations flood the sky and the night of the Baja California desert.
