Archive of films Here and There / Aquí y allá

Spain / USA / Mexico
2012, 110 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2012

After working in the United States, Pedro returns to his village in the state of Guerrero in Mexico. His daughters have grown much older and less approachable than he remembered, but luckily his wife still has the same smile.… A film debut that wowed audiences at this year’s Cannes IFF, where it was presented in the Critics’ Week.

Synopsis

Pedro returns to his native village in the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, having spent several years working in the USA. While away he managed to save some money to help support his wife and two daughters back home. Besides looking forward to a loving family reunion, Pedro also hopes to fulfil his dream of setting up an amateur band. But his longed-for homecoming is not as idyllic as he imagined. Antonio Méndez Esparza concieved his film as a picture of life in a Mexican village today, where despite the long distances many villagers often have to travel to work, families remain closely-knit. The intense feeling of reality he evokes is due in part to his unwavering focus on his subject, but also to his decision to cast non-actors and give them creative space in which to improvise.

About the director

Antonio Méndez Esparza graduated in film direction from Columbia University. In 2009 his short film Time and Again (Una y Otra Vez, 2009) was chosen as a finalist for a Student Academy Award and won the main prize at the film festival in Los Angeles. The movie focuses on the character of a Mexican immigrant named Pedro who works in New Jersey and has plans to get ahead. Esparza is currently following up this successful short with his first feature Here and There, which was chosen this year to compete in the Critics’ Week at Cannes where it took the main prize. The character of laborer Pedro once again appears in the film, this time during his return home.

Contacts

Alpha Violet
47 avenue de la République, 750 11, Paris
France
Tel: +33 629 835 108
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.alphaviolet.com

About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Another View

Director:	Antonio Méndez Esparza
Screenplay:	Antonio Méndez Esparza
Dir. of Photography:	Barbu Balasoiu
Music:	Copa Kings
Editor:	Filippo Conz
Producer:	Ori Dov Gratch, Tim Hobbs, Pedro Hernández Santos, Diana Wade, Antonio Méndez Esparza
Production:	Aqui Y Alli Films, Torch Films
Cast:	Pedro De los Santos Juárez, Teresa Ramírez Aguirre
Contact:	Alpha Violet

www:	www.aquiyallafilm.com

Guests

Pedro Hernandez Santos

Producer

Keiko Funato

Sales Agent