MESA, ARIZONA (By Marija Potkonjak, Tribune) August 24, 2007 — Ana, a sophisticated art dealer trafficking in forged Mayan artifacts, and Aurelia, a mother of two on the run from her drug-dealing boyfriend, embark upon a road trip together. Along the way they discover how much they have in common.

 

Bruno, an ex-informant for the East German secret police, is hiding out in Mexico when he falls in love with a young woman involved in the student movement of the 1970s.

"Sin Dejar Huella" ("Without a Trace") and "Francisca: De Que Lado Estás?" ("Francisca: Whose Side Are You On?") are the latest films from two of Mexico’s renowned female directors — Maria Novaro and Eva Lopez Sanchez. Their films, along with those of Marcela Fernandez Violante and Marisa Sistach, will be featured in Mesa Community College’s International Film Festival, which begins Sunday.

Novaro’s film opens the festival, and all four directors will answer questions after the screening.

"We have these directors working in a male-dominated profession in a maledominated society, and collectively they’ve directed over 30 films," says Don Castro, the festival’s director and a professor of English at Mesa Community College. "I think it’s just amazing."

Women have always worked in Mexico’s film and entertainment industry, but in traditional roles as actors, makeup artists and costume designers. The decision-making jobs as producers and directors went to men.

That began to change in the 1970s. Mexico’s film schools began admitting more women, and the unions, which banned women from working as assistant directors, disbanded. Now one-third of directors in Mexico are female.

Navaro, Lopez, Fernandez Violante and Sistach "are graduates of the university, distinguished for their professionalism, their determination and their commitment," says Ana Cruz Navarro, president of Women in Film and Television’s Mexico chapter. "They are an example for the new female Mexican directors, but also for the world in that they have shown a different Mexico in their films."

Their greatest contribution is the development of the female character, says Navarro. In classical Mexican cinema, women are divided into two groups — good and bad. Women were identified by their relationships to men — mother, sister, wife, daughter. Female directors challenged these stereotypes with nuanced characters in compelling situations.

"There are still a lot of stereotypes of women in traditional patriarchal families, that are submissive and in need of independence," says Navarro.

"But even in telenovelas we have female writers and producers experimenting with new approaches to this familiar context. . . . In some entertainment series we’re seeing women as in charge of their own lives and decisions."

Still, getting financing is still the biggest obstacle for these directors. Women are competing with men for what little money is available.

"It’s difficult to produce a movie for all Mexican directors, but it’s even more difficult for women," she says. "The decision-making positions are still held by men who don’t equitably distribute financing to women. It’s a problem in the United States, too."

Festival organizers hope this introduction to the works of Mexico’s female directors will help cultivate an audience for these films in the United States.

"We need the Harkins of the United States, the art houses to pick up their films," says Castro. "Let’s admit it. We think of Italian, Polish and French films because they have a certain haute couture about them. We don’t think of Mexican films in the same way."

Women in Film and Television in Mexico
What: A lecture by Ana Cruz Navarro, president of Women in Film and Television’s Mexico chapter
When: 3:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Library Reading Room, Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave.
Cost: Free
Information: (480) 461-7613 Mesa Community College

International Film Festival

The film festival begins Sunday and runs through April 14. Screenings are free. Showtimes are 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Tempe Cinemas, 1825 E. Elliot Road.

Sunday: "Sin Dejar Huella": Two women from different backgrounds — one running from the police, the other from her drug-dealing boyfriend — find out they have more in common than they thought. Directed by Maria Novaro.

Monday: "Objetos Perdidos": A young man and woman accidentally switch suitcases and set out to find each other and their belongings. Eva Lopez Sanchez directs.

Tuesday: "Francisca: De Que Lado Estas?": A spy thriller set in a tumultuous Mexico City of the 1970s. Directed by Eva Lopez Sanchez.

April 10: "Acosada": A divorced woman seeks justice and dignity from family and friends after she is robbed. Marcela Fernandez Violante directs.

April 12: "La Linea Paterna": Director Marisa Sistach uses her family’s home movies to show the traditions, customs, joys and sorrows of Mexican families in the 1920s through 1950s.

April 14: "Perfume de Violetas": A young girl’s family blames her when she is raped by her stepbrother and his friend. Directed by Marisa Sistach.