The Mexican Suitcase | |
---|---|
Directed by | Trisha Ziff |
Written by | Trisha Ziff |
Produced by | Trisha Ziff, Eamon O'Farrill, Paco Poch |
Cinematography | Claudio Rocha |
Edited by | Bernat Aragonés, Luis Lopez, Paloma López |
Production companies | 212 Berlin, Mallerich Films, Alicorn Films |
Release date | |
Countries | Mexico, Spain, United States |
Languages | English, Spanish |
The Mexican Suitcase is a 2011 documentary film directed by Trisha Ziff. It tells the story of over 4000 film negatives created during the Spanish Civil War by photographers David Seymour, Gerda Taro, and Robert Capa. The film follows the journey of the photographs from their disappearance at the beginning of World War II to their rediscovery in 2007. Interviews also cover political and personal stories from the era. According to Documentary magazine:
The Mexican Suitcase brings together three narratives: the suitcase, the exile story and how people in Spain today address their own past, 30 years after transition. The Mexican Suitcase addresses the power of memory, and asks, “Who owns our histories?” [3]
Time wrote, "Ziff weaves in personal, often painful accounts of biographies of those who had survived the war by fleeing Spain, many unable to forget even to this day." [4]
Film Journal International said, “…for even the most casual students of photography, journalism and history, this beautiful and soulful film is nevertheless required viewing.” [5]
The film was invited by the International Documentary Association to qualify for Academy Awards consideration by participating in DocuWeeks 2011, where it was called "fascinating on multiple levels." [6]
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe's leading film event.
Robert Capa was a Hungarian–American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.
David Seymour, or Chim, was a Polish photographer and photojournalist.
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Antonino Isordia Llamazares is a Mexican film and documentary director known for making documentary films in a more cinematic style. His films have been shown at International Film Festivals and received awards in his native Mexico, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. He has had a documentary feature film and a documentary short each nominated for Ariel Awards.
Guerrillero Heroico is an iconic photograph of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara taken by Alberto Korda. It was captured on March 5, 1960, in Havana, Cuba, at a memorial service for victims of the La Coubre explosion. By the end of the 1960s, the image, in conjunction with Guevara's subsequent actions and eventual execution, helped solidify the leader as a cultural icon. Korda has said that at the moment he shot the picture, he was drawn to Guevara's facial expression, which showed "absolute implacability" as well as anger and pain. Years later, Korda would say that the photograph showed Che's firm and stoical character. Guevara was 31 years old at the time the photograph was taken.
Matt Tyrnauer is an American film director. He directed the documentary feature Valentino: The Last Emperor (2009), which was short listed for an Oscar nomination in 2010, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (2016), the Emmy nominated, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017), the 2018 documentary Studio 54 detailing New York's famed Studio 54 nightclub, Where's My Roy Cohn? (2019), and the Showtime four-part series, The Reagans (2020). Tyrnauer also developed, and executive produced, with producing partner Corey Reeser, the docuseries Home, directing its Hong Kong episode, about the Gary Chang's Domestic Transformer home. The nine-part series premiered on Apple TV Plus in April 2020. Currently, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is being adapted as a narrative film, with Tyrnauer and Reeser producing, Luca Guadagnino directing and Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg writing the script. Tyrnauer has been Editor-At-Large and Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair, where he has contributed many feature articles.
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Helena Třeštíková is a Czech documentary film director, member of the European Film Academy, and briefly the Czech Republic's Culture Minister. She resigned from the position in January 2007 after serving less than three weeks.
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Mat Whitecross is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. He began his career working for filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films, being also known for directing The Road to Guantánamo, Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, as well as music documentaries Oasis: Supersonic and Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams. Whitecross has also directed music videos for Coldplay, Take That and The Rolling Stones, being a long-time collaborator of the former band.
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