"Do the traumas of the past stay with us?" The Cinema Guild has unveiled a new US trailer for a fantastic indie discovery from Spain, a docu-drama hybrid titled 499. We originally covered this last year when a festival promo trailer dropped, but the film is now getting a theatrical US release at the end of the summer. Which is great news! I hope some intrepid cinephiles go out and watch this. The film mixes documentary footage from Latin America, along with a simple story of a time traveler. Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, a ghostly Conquistador miraculously washes up on the shores of modern Mexico. As he journeys toward the capital, he remembers events from his past with the testimonies of real people, the survivors of contemporary violence. History and the present begin to merge, giving nightmarish reflection on the enduring legacy of colonialism in our world today.
- 8/6/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
This year’s Sf Indiefest, San Francisco’s first independent film festival of the year, will take place virtually from February 4-21, 2021. This year’s selection includes 42 shorts and 38 features from 20 countries. Two of the three world premieres are, notably, Asian selections – including Bay Area Asian-American production “Girl in Golden Gate Park” and spicy Japanese fiction “Body Remember”. Other notables include the film festival’s only international premiere, “Roll” — which had previously premiered in the Nara International Film Festival — a reckless coming-of-age film caught between celluloid and of course, a romantic interest.
The rest of the major film slate can be found below.
Festival Opening Night
The Book Of Vision
Director: Carlos S. Hintermann
In present day, Eva (Lotte Verbeek), a promising young doctor, leaves her brilliant career to study the history of medicine in a remote university. She begins to call everything into question after discovering a manuscript titled...
The rest of the major film slate can be found below.
Festival Opening Night
The Book Of Vision
Director: Carlos S. Hintermann
In present day, Eva (Lotte Verbeek), a promising young doctor, leaves her brilliant career to study the history of medicine in a remote university. She begins to call everything into question after discovering a manuscript titled...
- 1/7/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Rodrigo Reyes’ Tribeca prize-winning documentary feature “499” has been acquired by Cinema Guild for U.S. distribution, Variety has learned exclusively.
The film was selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival where it won the best cinematography award in the documentary competition. The doc also won the special jury prizes at both the Hot Docs and Eidf Korea, and it had its European Premiere at IDFA in the fall.
Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, the documentary follows a 16th-century conquistador (Eduardo San Juan) who begins a journey in modern-day Mexico, remembering events from his past while encountering the testimonies of survivors of contemporary violence.
“Rodrigo has given the world a daring film that so beautifully illustrates the absurdity of colonialism,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly. “We can’t wait to share his unique brand of storytelling with
U.S. audiences.” Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically in...
The film was selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival where it won the best cinematography award in the documentary competition. The doc also won the special jury prizes at both the Hot Docs and Eidf Korea, and it had its European Premiere at IDFA in the fall.
Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, the documentary follows a 16th-century conquistador (Eduardo San Juan) who begins a journey in modern-day Mexico, remembering events from his past while encountering the testimonies of survivors of contemporary violence.
“Rodrigo has given the world a daring film that so beautifully illustrates the absurdity of colonialism,” said Cinema Guild president Peter Kelly. “We can’t wait to share his unique brand of storytelling with
U.S. audiences.” Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically in...
- 12/11/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
2021 will mark the 500th anniversary of the fall of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire. No doubt this landmark is going to be a much-discussed topic in Mexico. Director Rodrigo Reyes has ready a film that by thinking back to the era of Hernán Cortés and the Aztecs is actually facing Mexico’s current reality. In 499, a Spanish conquistador (played by Eduardo San Juan) arrives to modern-day Mexico. As the protagonist follows the route of Cortés to Tenochtitlán, Reyes delves into the documentary film genre, with testimonies that tackle such urgent issues as the consequences of the so-called Drug War, disappearances, forced migration and violence against women. After having its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, where it won...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/30/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Before a screening of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendour a few years ago at the New York Film Festival, programmer Dennis Lim read a note from the filmmaker inviting audiences to experience his film with an open mind, telling us not to worry if they didn’t understand the political context for the work and that if we fell asleep that would be alright with the filmmaker as well. 499, a provocative and at times meditative film that studies the legacy of colonial violence, functions partially in the mode of Weerasethakul offering us the kind of space to enter the frame and explore alongside the film’s inquisitive 16th-century conquistador (Eduardo San Juan), who has washed ashore in contemporary Mexico.
Making his way northward, the film explores the legacy of violence as he crosses desserts, shorelines, cities, and jungles, dropping in on real subjects affected by violence. Suggesting a kind of original sin,...
Making his way northward, the film explores the legacy of violence as he crosses desserts, shorelines, cities, and jungles, dropping in on real subjects affected by violence. Suggesting a kind of original sin,...
- 5/6/2020
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
"Do the traumas of the past remain with us?" Our friends at The Film Stage have released an official trailer for an indie film from Mexico titled 499, which was supposed to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this month. The was a part of this year's "Documentary Competition" section as a world premiere, which is only to describe the clever style and format - though it's clearly a fictional story (since conquistadors can't really time travel). Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, a ghostly Conquistador miraculously arrives in modern Mexico. As he journeys toward the capital city, he remembers events from his past while encountering the testimonies of real people, the survivors of contemporary violence. History and the present begin to merge, giving nightmarish reflection on the enduring legacy of colonialism in our world today. 499 stars Eduardo San Juan as the conquistador. This looks like much more than just an experimental film,...
- 4/15/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Although this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, like numerous other public-facing events, will not proceed as initially planned, the organizers are adapting quickly to our new reality, offering some of its programming online and a selection of films for journalists to cover. One of the most intriguing titles in the lineup is 499, the fourth feature from Mexican-born American director Rodrigo Reyes
We’re pleased to exclusively premiere the first trailer for the film, which is described as a creative documentary, mixing fictional and nonfictional elements, that explores the brutal legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico, nearly five-hundred years after Cortez conquered the Aztec Empire. With striking cinematography by Alejandro Mejía, we follow a 16th-century conquistador (Eduardo San Juan) who time travels to witness how the reverberations of history in modern-day Mexico.
“The cinematic image has a unique magical power. Suddenly, on-screen, centuries co-mingle and the conquistador walks the earth again,...
We’re pleased to exclusively premiere the first trailer for the film, which is described as a creative documentary, mixing fictional and nonfictional elements, that explores the brutal legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico, nearly five-hundred years after Cortez conquered the Aztec Empire. With striking cinematography by Alejandro Mejía, we follow a 16th-century conquistador (Eduardo San Juan) who time travels to witness how the reverberations of history in modern-day Mexico.
“The cinematic image has a unique magical power. Suddenly, on-screen, centuries co-mingle and the conquistador walks the earth again,...
- 4/12/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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