by Jeffrey R. Sipe

Twelve years ago with the state of documentary film in Mexico best described as "dire", the film industry and Mexican government joined forces to present the very first multi-site screenings of non-fiction. Their continued efforts have been instrumental in salvaging the Mexican non-fiction film industry and the festival has since blossomed into Doctubre 23, the most recent edition sending national and international films to 100 venues in 30 federal entities and 12 mayoral offices in Mexico City.

Thanks to Compartimiento Cinematografica, San Miguel filmgoers have had the opportunity to view numerous films from the event at the screening facilities at Mezcal Art. With one more week left to catch some of the films from Doctubre 23, be sure to mark out your early evenings for some of the finest documentary work taking place in Mexico right now.

Films in Spanish except where noted

SABADO 7 OCT 5pm

Dusty&Stones (mostly in English)
Two struggling country music singers from the tiny African Kingdom of Swaziland journey to Texas determined to win big at a local battle of the bands and turn their careers around.

7pm Mata Seca en Llamas (in Portugues w/sp subs)
In 2013 the military pólice of the Brazilian Federal District initiated a large operation against drug traffic in the peripheral city of Ceilandia, dismantling a series of illegal networks and arresting sixteen men.

MIERCOLES 11 OCT

7:30pm Kenya
Following the murder of trans sex worker Paola Buenrostro on September 29, 2016 in Mexico City, her friend and colleague Kenya Cuevas, bruised to the core, embarked on a fight against transphobia supported by an entire community.

JUEVES 12 OCT

7pm Mata Seca en Llamas
In 2013 the military pólice of the Brazilian Federal District initiated a large operation against drug traffic in the peripheral city of Ceilandia, dismantling a series of illegal networks and arresting sixteen men.

SABADO 14 OCT

5pm Madre
Morelia, an indigenous governor, faces rejection from the men in her community, who oppose a woman leading them. With anonymous pamphlets, they try to get her to resign and cede her position to her opponent. While she faces this hostile environment and resists a painful past, Morelia faces a greater challenge: the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl, who was forced by her parents to marry Alirio, her teacher. Without any clue, Morelia will try to find her.

7pm El Gran Movimiento
A young man and his companions arrive in La Paz, Bolivia, and seek work at a mine. The young man’s health starts to deteriorate, and a woman brings him to a mysterious witch doctor to cure him.

MIERCOLES 18 OCT

7pm La Montaña
Seas of the Atlantic Ocean crossed by a mountain in Chiapas. Seven Mayan indigenous people sail through unknown horizons carrying a history of resistance. With this trip in the midst of the pandemic, Squadron 4-2-1 of the EZLN seeks to plant a seed in new lands.

JUEVES 19 OCT

6pm Malintzin
The story of Malantzin, an indigenous Nahua woman who was baptized as Marina or Mallitzin. She became the translator for Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes, once she was given to him as a slave.

7pm You resemble me/ Te pareces a mi
When two Young sisters are torn apart, the eldest loses her identity and transforms into someone new in the name of belonging and resistance.

SABADO 21 OCT

7pm El Gran Movimiento

A young man and his companions arrive in La Paz, Bolivia, and seek work at a mine. The young man’s health starts to deteriorate, and a woman brings him to a mysterious witch doctor to cure him.

Miercoles 25 OCT

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Jeffrey R. Sipe is a writer/journalist, who, no matter how hard he writes, having grown up in Speedway, Indiana, still can’t get the sounds of race cars rounding Turn 4 out of his head. He has written about the film industry for Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Sight and Sound, The Financial Times and other publications. He also once worked as the “boom guy” on a film that nobody saw, but he challenges everyone to see just how long they can hold a metal tube with a microphone attached over their heads.

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