In collaboration with the Legion of Honor’s presentation of their exhibition Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya, The Mexican Museum’s Curator, Tere Romo has organized a film series that explores the contemporary life and cultural expressions of the Maya of Mexico and Guatemala. Presented over four Friday evenings, the film screenings will also feature discussions with the directors and/or producers of these films, as well as musical presentations featuring the Maya community of the Bay Area.
Friday, Sepember 10, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Co-presented with the Native American Cultural Center.
Popul Vuh: The Creation Myth of the Maya is an animated film. It uses original images drawn by Quiche Maya in the 7th century on funerary pottery and murals to illustrate the Popul Vuh, which is the sacred book of the Maya and includes their creation story and the birth of the hero twins. (Patricia Amlin, producer. US, 1988, 60 min., English)
Raices (Into The Roots): a Maya Reunion depicts the journey of two Itza Maya elders from their village in Peten in northern Guatemala to meet, for the first time, their Lacandon Maya relatives deep in the rain forest of Chiapas, Mexico. (Jaime Kibben and Steve Bartz, producers. US, 1998, 28 min., English)
Followed by a panel discussion with producer Steve Bartz, and members of Grupo Maya Qusamej Junan, Enrique Lopez and Diana Vielmann. Moderated by Tere Romo, The Mexican Museum’s Curator of Exhibitions. A reception with music by members of Grupo Maya Qusamej Junan and no-host bar in Gallery 10.
Friday, October 8, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Co-presented with Galeria de la Raza.
The Silence of Neto is the first internationally acclaimed, award-winning film produced entirely in Guatemala. Filmed in the colonial city of Antigua, it mixes magic-realism and historical events to tell the story of a young boy striving to follow his dreams while his country struggles to preserve democracy. (Luis Argueta, director. 1994, 106 min., Spanish/English subtitles)
The director, Luis Argueta will be present to answer questions after the screening. A reception with music and no-host bar in Gallery 10.
Friday, October 22, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Co-presented with La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley.
The Chiapas Media Project works with indigenous and campesino communities in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Guerrero to provide these communities with the means to produce their own media and distribute it. This program features three videos created by the Maya in Chiapas:
Xulum’Chon: Weavers in Resistance from the Highlands is about an indigenous Tzoltzil women’s collective in the Highlands of Chiapas. The women speak about their work as weavers, and other collectives they are involved in such as gardens, bakeries, and farm animals and how this work helps to build and support the autonomous process of their communities. (Mexico, 2003, 16 min., Tzotzil / English subtitles)
In Song of the Earth: Traditional Music from the Highlands of Chiapas, Tzotzil elders explain the significance of traditional music and the role of musicians in their communities. Various celebrations, songs and dances are presented including the festival of San Andrés, the most important celebration of the year. (Mexico, 2003, 17 min., Tzotzil / English subtitles)
Zapata’s Garden was shot and produced by indigenous men and women video makers in the Autonomous Municipality of Emiliano Zapata. The video shows how this new municipality is fighting the effects of globalization and government corruption and the importance of collective work in building a new society. (Mexico, 2003, 20 min., Tzotzil / English subtitles)
Alexandra Halkin, the Chiapas Video Project’s International Coordinator will introduce the videos and the Project’s history and goals. A reception follows the presentation with music and textiles from Chiapas, along with videos and other purchase opportunities in Gallery 10 and 12.
Friday, November 12, 6:30 – 8:30pm
Florence Gould Theatre, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, San Francisco
Chac: The Rain God is based on a combination of ritual and legends from the Maya Popul Vuh, as well as the Tzeltal Mayan stories. Shot in the Chiapas region of Mexico, the film focuses on a small Tzeltal village during a terrible drought. Desperate for relief, thirteen men set out on a quest to seek a solitary Diviner who lives in the mountains and knows the ways of the Ancients; they hope that he can summon Chac, the Rain God. (Rolando Klein, director. Mexico, 1974, 95 min., English subtitles.)
Rolando Klein, the film’s director will be present to answer questions after the screening. A reception follows the presentation with music and no-host bar in Gallery 10.