Distant Parallels:
Views of Sexuality and Gender from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico
From September 23 through October 14, the Gene Siskel Film Center, in collaboration with The Nineteenth Step, presents Distant Parallels: Views of Sexuality and Gender from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. The program showcases the newest film and video works coming out of these countries whose cinematic output has consistently delivered some of the best independent-minded films of the last few years.
Distant Parallels is comprised of nine feature-length films and eleven shorts mainly produced by emergent directors whose work has rarely, if ever, been seen in Chicago. Often taking the human body as the site where experience lies, these works raise vital questions regarding human interaction.
In addition to the films, most of them award-winning works and Chicago premieres, we’ll be privileged to host personal appearances by Juan Schnitman, one of four directors of LOVE (PART I); Alejandra Islas, director of THE AUTHENTIC AND INTREPID SEEKERS OF DANGER;and Ana Luiza Beraba, who curated the Brazilian portion of the program.
It is our hope that Distant Parallels will provide moviegoers with a dynamic forum for critical thinking and a new basis for looking into Latin America’s complex and wondrous culture.
Distant Parallels
film descriptions
Santiago Mitre in person!
LOVE (PART I)
(EL AMOR [PRIMERA PARTE])
2004, Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, and Juan Schnitman, Argentina, 114 min.
With Leonora Balcarce, Luciano Cáceres
Shot by four directors, each of whom shot one section of the film without seeing each other’s finished sections, LOVE (PART I) tells the story of a young couple from the beginning to the end of their relationship. Using an innovative and often humorous approach, the film investigates several questions: How do two people fall in love? What sets in motion the desire to live together? How do we know when the beginning of the end arrives? When should a relationship end? This surprise hit from unknown filmmakers sold out theaters in Buenos Aires for six months. DV-CAM video.
Preceded by A CHRISTMAS SONG (2002, Ricardo Nicolayevsky, Mexico, 3 min.), inspired by the Tony Bennett hit. Mini-DV video. Both films in Spanish with English subtitles.
Co-director Santiago Mitre of LOVE (PART I) will be present for audience discussion.
Friday, September 23, 8:15 pm
CULT TO THE BODY
(EL CULTO AL CUERPO)
2001, Cristian Leighton, Chile, 58 min.
In 2000, documentarian Cristian Leighton was commissioned to make a piece free of any type of censorship. The first installment of the trilogy “The Body of Chile,” CULT TO THE BODY presents a unique portrait of contemporary Chile by examining four characters who work directly with their bodies -- a runner, a bodybuilder, a transvestite, and a photographer -- exploring the complex relationship among body, self-image, and personal satisfaction. DV-CAM video.
Preceded by THE CORNFIELD (2002, Patricia Riggen, Mexico, 27 min., 35mm), a woman’s reminiscence of the Mexican Revolution, and KISS ME (2003, Alejandro Areal Vélez, Argentina, 9 min., Mini-DV video), a fantasy about an unusual osculation. All in Spanish with English subtitles.
Saturday, September 24, 5:00pm
NINA
2004, Heitor Dhalia, Brazil, 85 min.
With Guta Stresser, Milhem Cortaz
Nina, a profoundly sensitive young girl with a fragile mind, rents a room in the apartment of Eulália, a miserly and exploitative old woman. Her heart bursting with theories and anxieties, she struggles for the right to live on her own terms and commits a heinous crime, as alienated from her actions as if she were in someone else’s body.
Preceded by CHILD’S PLAY (2002, Carlos Cuarón, Mexico, 5 min.), about a little girl whose punishment provokes a drastic reaction. Both in Spanish with English subtitles. Both in 35mm.
Tuesday, September 27, 8:00 pm
The series continues next month with the following films. Complete descriptions will appear in the October Gazette. October show times are approximate; please double-check:
Friday, September 30, 8:00: THE BODY OF DESIRE (2001, Cristian Leighton, Chile) + shorts
Tuesday, October 4, 8:00: NATURAL (2004, Marcelo Mangone, Argentina) + short
Friday, October 7, 8:00: AUTHENTIC AND INTREPID SEEKERS OF DANGER
2005, Alejandra Islas, Mexico, 105 min.) + short
Saturday, October 8, 5:00: SURVIVOR (2003, Jesús Magaña, Mexico) + short.
Thursday, October 13, 6:00: FILM OF LOVE (2004, Júlio Bressane, Brazil)
Friday, October 14, 8:00: UP AGAINST THEM ALL (2004, Roberto Moreira, Brazil) + shorts
