World premiere of documentary filmed at Teatro Santa Ana
By José Luis Mendoza March 21, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Film Premiere A Sense of War Fri, Mar 28, 3pm Teatro Santa Ana 50 pesos, limited seating

As teenagers, Siobhan Bryne and Dagmar Hellman lived through the World War II in circumstances that their present-day counterparts could scarcely begin to imagine. Both lived in cities that endured massive aerial bombardments, with all the danger and accompanying economic deprivation. Bryne lived in London, Hellman in Berlin.

Fast forward 60 years and here they are, part of the international community of San Miguel de Allende. Two years ago, filmmaker and keen war historian Bill Gallacher was introduced to the ladies, independently.

He was immediately struck by the clarity of their recollections and how articulately they expressed themselves.

Combining interview footage of the women (shot in our local Teatro Santa Ana) along with personal photographs, archival material and wartime radio broadcasts, Gallacher created a 55-minute documentary which traces, chronologically, the major events of the time, beginning with Germany’s invasion of Poland and ending with the chaotic aftermath of postwar Europe.

Particularly, he captured the feeling of what it must have been like to have been there—living precariously on the edge, not knowing what the eventual outcome of the conflict would be or where it would lead—from a teenager’s rather than a historian’s point of view. What emerges is a unique portrait of an era that was by turns sad, happy, poignant and sometimes even funny. 

A Sense of War premieres March 28 with a single showing at 3pm. Bryne and Hellman will be present, along with the producer/director, to answer questions. Audience members are invited to participate in the discussion that follows and perhaps share their own experiences.

The sanctification of the ordinary
By Sheridan Sansegundo

Film
“Old Ways”
Tue, Mar 25, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

Those people who were turned away earlier this month from the sold-out showing of “Old Ways,” a documentary about the art of Anado McLauchlin, will have another chance to see the film.

Joe Gutowski, an Emmy Award-winning film editor whose credits include Working Girl, The Fugitive, The Bostonians and the ill-fated Ishtar, visited McLauchlin’s extravagant house and studio in Cieneguita, just outside San Miguel, and there and then decided to make a documentary about him—and about his mysterious alter ego, Jimmy Ray.

The film, having set the scene with a shot of San Miguel as a sepia photo which slowly comes to life in all its enchantment of color, pealing bells and crowing roosters, then leaps into a photo montage of McLauchlin’s assemblages. Images of skulls, beads, lizards and snakes, dolls and santos, rhinestones and George Bush in drag flash across the screen in a cornucopia as colorful and strange as the house itself.

The artist talks about the mix of mythical Mexican and Indian elements that can be found in his work, which has always, he says, been about “the sanctification of the ordinary.” He describes the discovery of the abandoned house in Cieneguita and its transformation, with the aid of his assistant Carlos, a local descendant of Chichimeca Indians, into the riotous, tiled extravaganza it is today.

As to Jimmy Ray, McLauchlin reveals how this mysterious doppelganger appeared one day in the seventies when he was sitting outside MOMA in New York City wondering how the hell he was going to make it as an artist.

“Suddenly I realized I could cut free from the baggage of a Midwest childhood and become instantaneously a sophisticated urban artist. This persona gave me license to be someone other than this kid from Oklahoma,” he said.

The film shows the ground-breaking ceremony for the Chapel of Jimmy Ray, a massive art project on the grounds of the Cieneguita house that will take years to complete. The chapel will be built of adobe with walls studded with green wine bottles—his friends provide an endless supply—and will have three apses around a central nave which will include the Thirteen Stations of the Groove.

During the ceremony, a masked figure enters on a burro who may, or may not, be Jimmy Ray. After inexplicably singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” he leaves as mysteriously as he came. Certainly neither the soi-disant Jimmy Ray nor the artist himself takes life too seriously.

There will be a question-and-answer session with the artist after the film, which has been entered in a number of festivals.

Sheridan Sansegundo is the former arts editor of The East Hampton Star, NY.

Genetically engineered food and a post-9/11 world

Snowbird Symposium Film Series

The Future of Food
Mon, Mar 24, 3pm
Noam Chomsky: Rebel without a Pause
Thu, Mar 27, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
50 pesos

The Future of Food and Noam Chomsky: Rebel without a Pause will be screened as the final two films in the Center for Global Justice’s Snowbird Symposium Film Series. The Future of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled US grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada, to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by new technology. The health implications, government policies and the push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the US, Canada and Mexico, the film examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world’s food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.

Called “the most important intellectual alive” by The New York Times and “a rebel without a pause” by rock star Bono, Noam Chomsky is one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century and the world’s leading voice of dissent.

In a post-9/11 world, Chomsky speaks openly about the US war on terrorism, media manipulation and social activism to intimate seminar groups and crowded venues. Chomsky analyzes the roots of anti-American sentiment, defines terrorism in the new millennium and examines the aftereffects of 9/11 in honest and forthright terms, providing a critical voice that many audiences feel is missing in the world today.

Rebel without a Pause features candid interviews with his wife and tour manager, Carol Chomsky, as well as activists and fans. The running time is 75 minutes, with a discussion to follow.

Cinemateca, March 24–30

José Luis Pick’n’tip

The Picks

“Searching for the Maya” 

For all our friends visiting Mexico, or anyone interested in our ancient cultures, this movie is a must and will be complemented with a series of great lectures by Professor Guillermo Méndez on “The Magnificent Maya.” The lectures will be on Wednesday, March 26 (Part I) and Wednesday, April 2 (Part II) at 3pm.


Refusing to be Enemies: the Zeitouna Story 

The film tells the personal stories of women affected by the creation of Israel, the loss of Palestine, the experience of being Jewish or Arab in the United States. It is very moving, funny at times, but also a wonderful depiction of the dialogue process and the closeness and intimacy it can bring.


The Tip 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 secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out…Nos vemos en el Cine…. Would you like to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you.


The Movies

Short Film Festival Award Winner
Lost and Found in Mexico
Monday, March 24 at 5:30pm
Documentary, English, 53 minutes.
Writer/director/producer: Caren Cross.
All proceeds will benefit the Mexican kid’s scholarships.

Lost and Found in Mexico explores the question: What lies on the other side of the American dream? This quirky documentary explores the lives of Americans who chose to leave their hard-working, successful and fast-paced lives to live in San Miguel de Allende, where leisurely conversations take place in the main square, burros walk the streets and people find their hearts engaged in living once again. While many Mexicans are leaving families behind and risking their lives to cross the border to a better life, this film focuses on the Americans who have decided to cross in the other direction—for a simpler life. Questions and Answers with the filmmaker following the show.



Back by Popular Demand
"Old Ways" 
Friday, March 25 at 3pm
San Miguel artist special, English
Cinematographer: Joe Gutowski.

The film is a chronicle of La Cieneguita-based visionary artist Anado McLauchlin and his relationship with his mythical muse, Jimmy Ray. “Old Ways” was shot in April 2007 at the time of the ground-breaking for McLauchlin’s gallery known as “The Chapel of Jimmy Ray.” Anado is interviewed throughout the film and gives the viewers a somewhat “guarded” account of his work with Jimmy Ray. Some light is shed on the comings and goings of this mysterious muse that McLauchlin met at the New York Museum of Modern Art in the early seventies. We get an insider tour of McLauchlin’s home and studio known as Casa las Ranas. Original music by local and international recording artists Jennifer Grais, Billy White, Takayuki Yoshida and Joaquin Jesus accompanies this lively look at one of San Miguel’s decidedly revelatory artists



“Searching for the Maya” 
From the series Ancient Mexico
Thursday, March 27 at 1:30pm
Friday, March 28 at 1:30pm
English with Spanish subtitles, 60 min.

Deep in the rainforest are the lost Mayan cities of Chichen Itza and Palenque. Discover their magic and learn about the Maya culture while exploring some of the region’s most exquisite examples of pre-Hispanic architecture. “Searching for the Maya” is part of the award-winning Ancient Mexico series, acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival and recipient of the National Cable Award. Excerpts from the series have appeared on the Discovery and Learning Channels, Time-Life Television, BBC, France’s Canal Plus and Belgium’s Planet. 



Refusing to be Enemies: the Zeitouna Story 
Thursday, March 27 at 5:30pm (limited seating)

The movie profiles the 12 women of an Ann Arbor dialogue group called Zeitouna (“olive tree” in Arabic) and documents their developing relationship over a four-year period. Six of the Zeitouna women are of Arab descent and six are of Jewish descent. Some are native born and some are immigrants. What they all have in common is their humanity and their desire to bridge the gulf that has developed between their two communities. They chose the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the focus of the group and use the dialogue process as a means of personal transformation leading to socio-political transformation. The film tells the personal stories of women affected by the creation of Israel, the loss of Palestine, and the experience of being Jewish or Arab in the US. It is very moving, funny at times, but also a wonderful depiction of the dialogue process and the closeness and intimacy it can bring.



World Premiere
A Sense of War
One show only, Friday, March 28 at 3pm
English, 55 minutes.
Producer/director: Bill Gallacher. Cast: Siobhan Bryne and Dagmar Hellman 

Combining interview footage of the women (shot in our local Teatro Santa Ana) along with personal photographs, archival material and wartime radio broadcasts, Gallacher created this unique documentary, which traces, chronologically, the major events of World War II, beginning with Germany’s invasion of Poland and ending with the chaotic aftermath of postwar Europe. Particularly, he has captured the feeling of what it must have been like to have been there, living precariously on the edge, not knowing what the eventual outcome of the conflict would be, or where it would lead, but always from a teenager’s rather than a historian’s point of view. What emerges is a unique portrait of an era that was by turns sad, happy, poignant and sometimes even funny.



Kids Movies: Cartoons
Saturday, March 29 at noon


Sunday Matinee Concerts continue every Sunday at 2:30 pm at Teatro Santa Ana, tickets 50 pesos

Tenor Xavier Hernández and pianists Liliana Gutiérrez and Enrique Prado will perform “Latin Soul” March 23 and April 6, and “Love Songs” on March 30 in the Sunday Matinee Concerts at 2:30 pm. 


Musical Saturdays
Saturday, March 29 at 2:30pm
Verdi’s Otello

Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare’s play Othello. It was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887. Most music critics consider Otello to be Verdi’s greatest and most mature tragic opera. In it, he tried to do away with the traditional recitative-aria structure of opera, much as Richard Wagner had done, except that in some cases, the distinction between recitative and aria is more clearcut in Otello than in any of Wagner’s operas. Verdi’s librettist, Arrigo Boito, was extremely faithful to Shakespeare’s original play, except for the omission of Act I of the drama (everything having to do with Brabantio, Desdemona’s father). The roles of Otello and Iago are among the most fully developed in all of opera, almost as much as in Shakespeare’s original, especially the character of Otello himself (Iago is more of an out-and-out villain in the opera). Verdi raises his orchestral writing to new heights in this opera
, using the orchestra almost as a participant in the story, instead of merely as accompaniment. For example, the orchestral writing helps reveal the depth of evil in Iago, an evil possibly rivaled by only one other character in Italian opera: Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca.