Saca Una Foto was completed several months after the Zapatista Revolution in January of 1994 as my BFA thesis film for Massachusetts College of Art. Filmed throughout Chiapas and Yucatan the film juxtaposes the Western influences on the Maya and the filmmaker’s own sense of intrusion. The sounds of Spanish opera interwoven with the shaman chant through the corridors of an ancient Mayan palace, and the reoccurring voice of a young Mayan girl asking to have her picture taken for money - ”Saca una foto” - take my picture, depicts the complexities the filmmaker has towards making the film. The clashing of modern day Mexico with ancient tradition is reflected in the awkwardness of the eye of the camera. The 16mm film black and white images have a timeless quality , transporting the viewer through a visual and audible trance-like experience that poses many questions.
SCREENINGS:
- 1999 Los Angeles Municipal Gallery
- 1998 University of California, Santa Barbara
- 1995 Zeitgeist Gallery,
- 1994 Harvard Film Archive,
- 1994 Massachusetts College of Art