Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on those considered to be disenfranchised especially women and the poor.
She was born in Paris to upper-class parents, including her mother whose family fled Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.
She left France for Mexico when she was ten to escape the Second World War.
When she was eighteen and without a university education, she began writing for the newspaper Excélsior, doing interviews and society columns.
Despite the lack of opportunity for women from the 1950s to the 1970s, she wrote about social and political issues in newspapers, books in both fiction and nonfiction form.
Her best known work is La noche de Tlatelolco (The night of Tlatelolco, the English translation was entitled "Massacre in Mexico") about the repression of the 1968 student protests in Mexico City.
Due to her leftwing views, she has been nicknamed "the Red Princess".
She is considered to be "Mexico's grande dame of letters" and is still an active writer.
Leonora Carrington, an outstanding figure of surrealism, along with Frida Kahlo, was one of Mexico's most famous painters. As the long-time partner of Max Ernst and close friend of André Breton and Jean Miró, she continually struggles with her visionary imagination, which often triggers serious psychological crises.
'Pedro', Liora Spilk's debut feature, paints a humorous and emotional portrait of Pedro Friedeberg, a Mexican plastic artist who became famous in the sixties for the creation of the hand chair. Between grumblings, ironies, reflections on art and disagreements, 'Pedro' achieves an endearing portrait of Friedeberg, and at the same time presents a tribute to friendship and creation.
Stela, a young Brazilian actress, decides to make a work on the letters exchanged between Latin American plastic artists in the 70s and 80s. She travels to Cuba, Mexico, Argentina and Chile looking for her works and testimonies about the reality they lived during the dictatorships that most of these countries faced at the time. In the midst of the investigation, Stela discovers the existence of Ana, a young Brazilian artist who was part of this world, but disappeared. Ana went from southern Brazil, from a small town in the interior to Buenos Aires. Obsessed by the character, Stela decides to find her and find out what happened to her.
This documentary explores key moments in the life of writer Juan Rulfo, with artists such as Werner Herzog and Eduardo Galeano reflecting on his work.
In a photograph among journalists, writers, academics and artists was a controversial president of Mexico and the unusual guest who owes the name of this story.
Documentary about the life and work of abstract artist Manuel Felguérez; one of the most important Mexican painters and sculptors of the 20th century, and a benchmark of the Generación de la Ruptura (Breakaway Generation). At 87 years-old, Felguérez is a consecrated master who creates by starting from chaos, generating random shapes and spots, to later give them order and finally turn them into art.
In the course of Alaide Foppa's life, she became a precursor of feminism in Mexico. She was an immigrant who, in her own way, tried to break the molds established by her upper-class upbringing. Her sensitivity and intellectual development made her question matters of social injustice, educational and gender inequalities, the importance of socially-committed art forms and the vindication of democracy throughout Latin America. Her tragic end reveals much about the history of Guatemala.
Tina Modotti was the most important photographer of the twenties from last century in Mexico. Born in Udine in northeastern Italy, at age 16 emigrated, like millions of Italians to America. Ther she worked as a model and actress, but when renowned photographer Edward Weston chose Mexico as his home, Tina learned from him the craft and it was here where she made his photographic work. The crosslinking of art, activism, love and tragedy in her life, are the subjects of this documentary.
Santos, an overweight pacheco fighter suffers from his recent divorce with La Tetona Mendoza, a voluptuous and wild female fighter. To get out of his depression, Santos begins a campaign to help Sahuayo Zombies. However, his philanthropic campaign soon becomes a very profitable business that leverages Santos for their benefit. The population becomes a zombie plague and Santos threatens to dispose of them. However, the Peyote Murderer gets rid of the zombies. But the world without zombies turns out to be worse than anyone could have imagined and the only choice to save the nation is for Santos and Peyote to work together to repopulate the world.
From Diego Luna and Alejandro Fernandez, to Carla Morrison and Chavela Vargas, Duncan Bridgeman weaves a cinematic tapestry composed of original songs and insights from the most iconic artists and performers of contemporary Mexico. With striking visuals, the movie captures the rich diversity of Mexican geography, art, music, and culture. It is a rare look at the country's real identity, and an unparalleled celebration of what it truly means to be "Hecho en Mexico."