“Lost and Found in Mexico wins 1st place film awards
By Camie F. Sands

Caren Cross on the cover of Correo from July 30, 2007.

In a recent conversation San Miguel resident Caren Cross, writer, director and producer of Lost and Found in Mexico spoke of the tour of film festivals that she and her husband David traveled to in the US, “I am having a ball! The highlight so far? Winning “Best Documentary” at the Boston Film Festival!! I’m not kidding. A shock!!!”

San Miguel filmmaker, Caren Cross, at the Boston Film Festival.

Winning the Best Documentary in Boston was especially poignant for Cross. “I loved being back there. I graduated from Boston University 40 years ago this year and hadn’t been back since.”

Her award-winning documentary, the 53-minute Lost and Found in Mexico explores the question: What lies on the other side of the American dream? In a quirky, revealing style, Cross explores the lives of Americans who chose to leave their hard-working, successful, and fast-paced lives to live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There leisurely conversations take place in the main square, burros walk the streets and people find their hearts engaged in living once again.

Winning first prize in Boston should not have been such a surprise. Lost and Found in Mexico had already been named the best film in the Guanajuato category competition during the Expresion en Corto 2007 International Film Festival held in Guanajuato and San Miguel.

Sarah Hoch, Director of the Expresion en Corto Festival said of Cross’s win this summer, “It was kind of unusual because it was the first time for a North American to win in the Guanajuato section. Her win was a funny highlight of the awards ceremony because we had to keep calling her name. She didn’t get up, the crowd was pointing to her, and finally they turned the auditorium lights up to find her. The Mexican actors presenting her award kept calling, ‘Caren, Caren, come up here...you won!’ It didn’t dawn on her that she would even come close to winning the local category.”

Cross said of the evening, “Later that night at 2am, when my friends Virginia and Ty Roberts, the director of photography for the film, and I were driving home I asked them why, when they called out my name and then showed clips of the film on three gigantic screens, did they show these clips in black and white? Virginia and Ty were incredulous. The film was in color. I was having an experience where I had lost my senses from the shock.”

On Friday September 21, Cross and her husband met with the film department of George Mason University for a half-hour interview for a planned cable TV program modeled after Bravo’s Inside the Actor’s Studio. Cross said it was great fun and the students asked intelligent questions, making for a stimulating interchange. This show will be available in SMA online by next week. Their son Jordan lives in the D.C. area and assured them he would pack the 300-seat cinema when it was shown at George Mason University on September 24. Cross said it was packed, even though Jordan only brought 50 of his closest friends.

On September 25, they went to Philadelphia to meet with the Mexican Society of Philadelphia for a presentation and discussion of the film. On September 26, they flew to Birmingham, Alabama. As Cross said, “The festival was described in Filmmaker Magazine as ‘one of the top 10 filmmaker-friendly festivals in the US’ and it was! Talk about fun—four nights of parties, food, drink and three wonderful days of highly professional films. My film was shown to 160 people who were highly appreciative of the film’s message. And most importantly, I am learning to talk in front of people with less anxiety. It’s become so much fun.”

Prior to her recent film festival odyssey, Cross had shown her award-winning film at the Biblioteca and donated the ‘door take’ to the Biblioteca’s many community projects. The film is for sale at the Biblioteca and Casa de Papel. For more information about upcoming film festivals in which Cross will be showing, see: Boston Latino International Film Festival October 12–21 (http://bliff.org/) and Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival October 20. To learn more about her documentary, see www.lostandfoundinmexico.com .

Camie Sands, publisher of San Miguel Walking & Shopping Guide, proprietor of Simply San Miguel Tours, retired to San Miguel seven years ago after owning an advertising agency for 20 years in the Northwest. She works on charity boards here.

CINEMATECA

José Luis’ Pick and Tip

The Pick:Big Deal on Madonna Street 

This is a funny movie! From the baby that never stops crying but everyone agrees is cute to the final newspaper headline, this movie is a romp. Of course, it is a time piece, and the Italian comes fast and furious so you have to be a quick reader, but this just adds more flavor to the movie. This is a terrific film with perfect sight gags, likeable felons, excellent BW film transfer to video. The plot is simple enough: a group of bumbling small time crooks plan a jewel robbery and everything goes wrong (sometimes the subtitles speed by too fast, but even if you’re a slowpoke reader, you’ll get almost everything).

The Tip

Important: In order to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. I also want to remind you of our new ticket price: 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos.

Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to assure you a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out. … Nos vemos en el Cine.…

You want to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you.



The Talent Given Us (2005)
Tuesday, October 23 at 5pm
Wednesday, October 24 at 7pm
Comedy, English, 97 minutes
Director: Andrew Wagner
Cast: Allen Wagner, Emily Wagner, 
Judy Wagner, Tom Hines, Judy Dixon.
A retired couple journeys from New York to Los Angeles to reconnect with their son in this quirky comedy. After Judy and Allen learn that there’s an open teacher position for their son at his old school, they decide to tell him the news in person. Along with their two daughters, the couple sets off on a cross-country drive in which family secrets are revealed. Director Andrew Wagner stars along with family members Allen, Judy, Emily and Maggie.




Seduced and Abandoned (1964)
Tuesday, October 23 at 7pm
Thursday, October 25 at 5pm
Italian Comedies, B&W, 
Italian with English subtitles, 117 minutes.
Director: Pietro Germi
Cast: Lando Buzzanca, Stefania Sandrelli, 
Leopoldo Trieste, Aldo Puglisi, Saro Urzi.
When his 16-year-old daughter (Stefania Sandrelli) is seduced – and impregnated – by her sister’s flirtatious fiancé, Peppino (Aldo Puglisi), the enraged Don Vincenzo (Saro Urzi) sets out to salvage his family’s honor. But when Peppino runs away, Vincenzo promptly sends his son (Lando Buzzanca) on an errand to kill him. Pietro Germi directs this outrageously comic follow-up to his internationally successful Divorce Italian Style (1961).



Big Deal on Madonna Street 
(I soliti ignoti, 1958)
Wednesday, October 24 at 5pm
Friday, October 26 at 5pm
Favorite Italian Comedies, 
Italian with English subtitles, 106 minutes
Director: Mario Monicelli
Cast: Claudia Cardinale, Carla Gravina, Vittorio Gassman, Memmo Carotenuto.
Director Mario Monicelli delivers this deft satire of the classic caper film Rififi, introducing a bungling group of amateurs – including an ex-jockey (Carlo Pisacane), a former boxer (Vittorio Gassman) and an out-of-work photographer (Marcello Mastroianni). The crew plans a seemingly simple heist with a retired burglar (Totó), who serves as a consultant. But this Italian job is doomed from the start.