Foundations of Mexican Independent Cinema, a two‑day program presented by Columbia University School of the Arts and Instituto Cervantes New York and curated by film scholar Valerie Pires, opens on April 29 at the Lenfest Center for the Arts.
Day 1 introduces audiences to the creative spirit and historical context of Grupo Nuevo Cine, the influential 1960s collective of Spanish exiles and Mexican and Latin American filmmakers, artists, and intellectuals whose work reshaped independent cinema in Mexico. Their legacy—deeply informed by the visions of Luis Buñuel and Octavio Paz—is reflected in the films showcased throughout the program.
The evening begins with screenings of two experimental short films:
The Blue Lobster (Luis Vicens, Álvaro Cepeda Samudio, Enrique Grau Araújo, Gabriel García Márquez, 1954), an essential piece of mid‑century Latin American cinematic experimentation; and Remedios Varo: 1913–1963 (Jomi García Ascot, 1967), a poetic and insightful portrait of the Spanish surrealist painter Remedios Varo.
At 6:30 PM, the main presentation of the day follows: the landmark experimental feature On the Empty Balcony (Jomi García Ascot, 1961). Celebrated at the Locarno Film Festival and the Sestri Levante Film Festival in 1962, the restored version presented here is courtesy of Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE).
Each screening will be followed by a conversation with participating scholars and filmmakers, including Professor Breixo Viejo, Valerie Pires, Professor Richard Peña, Diego García Elío, Rodrigo García, Luis Juárez, Celia Viada Caso, Issa García Ascot, and Professor Ron Gregg.
This program is cosponsored by Instituto Cervantes New York, Film and Media Studies, Columbia University Film Program, Hispanic Institute for Latin American and Iberian Cultures, Institute for Latin American Studies, Center for Mexico and Central America, The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER), and El Equilibrista Editorial.
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- Columbia University. Lenfest Center for the Arts (Nueva York)