Nicolás Pereda: Perpetual Motions

Nicolás Pereda: Perpetual Motions

JULY 29–AUGUST 4, FRIDAY–THURSDAY

 Happy Hour with Nicolas Pereda August 3rd 4-6pm

Director In Attendance August 1–4!

Nicolás Pereda: Perpetual Motions

“A distinctive voice from fertile Mexican soil!” —Jay Keuhner, Senses of Cinema

Recently selected to appear in the prestigious New Directors/New Films program, Nicolás Pereda stands as one of Mexico’s finest discoveries. Don’t be deceived by his assured style and risky subjects—Pereda is just 27, though he threatens to become one of world cinema's dominant voices. His ultra low-budget films were described by film critic Robert Koehler as each having "its own thrusts, quirks, obsessions and concerns, they flow together and interconnect, forming by the end of viewing a kind of gestalt which is rare with a director born as recently as 1982."

His latest film, Summer of Goliath (2010), was awarded the Orizzonti Jury Prize at the 67th edition of the Venice Film Festival by jury chair Shirin Neshat. Summer, along with his first films, Together, Perpetuum Mobile and Where Are Their Stories? provides a portrait of the difficult lives in 21st century working-class Mexico. Pereda is not just the latest to blur the lines between documentary and fiction; his films also have moments of humor and sadness. Simply put, he is one of the technique's finest practitioners.

 

Nicolás Pereda is the latest emerging Latin American filmmaker to be featured by the Film Forum (other recent retrospectives include the work of Pedro Costa, Lisandro Alonso and Miguel Gomes).

 

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Series passes $15/Film Forum members, $25/General

Join Nicolás Pereda for a masterclass on August 2!

 

 

Summer of Goliath

Seattle Premiere!

Jul 29 - Aug 04, 2011

(Nicolás Pereda, 2010, Mexico/Canada/France, 35mm, 76 min)

It's a hot summer in Huilotepec, in rural Mexico, and there is more going on than appears on the surface. The emotional presence and visual absence of Mexico’s drug cartels haunt the residents of this forested community. Teresa thinks her husband has found another woman, while her son, Gabino, stationed at a quiet military checkpoint, whiles away the time harassing the locals. It’s said that Oscar has killed his girlfriend. And that's just some of the excitement swirling around this small town.

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Juntos (Together)

Seattle Premiere!
Free for members!

Aug 01, 2011

(Nicolás Pereda, 2009, Mexico/Canada/France, 35mm, 73 min)

Though Juntos moves slowly, it truly engages the viewer. The camera hovers over details and lets images speak for the characters, bringing cinematography and visual arts close together. Juntos shows that life is very different behind the closed doors of a small apartment from the frightening city that lies outside. Screens with Interview With The Earth.

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Perpetuum Mobile

Seattle Premiere!

Aug 03, 2011

(Nicolás Pereda, 2010, Mexico/Canada/France, 35mm, 90 min)

Pereda’s feature debut, winner of Best Mexican Feature at the Guadalajara Film Festival, is a compelling portrait of family relations in urban Mexico today. Combining genre elements of slacker films with melodrama, the film follows working-class layabout Gabino, who constantly fights with his mother while he hustles with a friend. Gabino’s brother doesn’t bother to visit their mom, whose own mother is left unattended in an apartment. To this he adds elements of the “city film"— Gabino’s work gives him—and us—the opportunity to visit the lives of Mexicans of all classes. Pereda is an anti-glamour director; everything about his characters and their situations ring true.

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Donde estan sus historias? (Where are their stories?)

Seattle Premiere!

Aug 04, 2011

(Nicolás Pereda, 2007, Mexico/Canada/France, 35mm, 73 min)

Vicente is a young man living with his grandmother in a small community in the Mexican State of Puebla. One day his uncles return from the US to visit the sick, old woman. Suspecting that she is near death, they try to sell her property without her permission. Trying to prevent the unauthorized sale, Vicente consults the mayor who suggests he seek help from the ministerial office in Mexico City. In the big city Vicente will face a new reality, estranged people, and an impenetrable legal system. Pereda’s debut feature shows an elegant and understated style, capturing the enormity of family conflicts without relying on familiar dramatic territory. Winner of the Best Feature Film Award at the Morelia International Film Festival.

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