IXCANUL
Guatemala, 2015
Kaqchikel with English subtitles/ 90′
Director/Writer: Jayro Bustamante

Saturday, Aug-27
7 PM | GCA | SFU Woodward’s
(Free Admission with VLAFF Membership)

Thursday, Sept-1
5:30 PM | The Cinematheque

The brilliant debut by Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante is a mesmerizing fusion of fact and fable, a dreamlike depiction of daily life that takes place in the heart of a Kaqchikel Mayan community in the Guatemalan highlands. Seventeen-year-old Maria lives with her parents near a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano. As the date of her arranged marriage approaches, she feels increasingly torn between the bonds of tradition and family and her own desire to see what lies on the other side of the mountain. Ancient rituals, ancestral beliefs and the ravenous urban world all meet in this splendid and moving story of a young woman’s contradictory desire both to shape her own future and to fulfill the wishes of her community.

“an ethereal masterpiece whose breathtaking beauty is layered with sociopolitical undertones.” Carlos Aguilar, IndieWire

María, joven maya de 17 años, vive sobre las faldas de un volcán activo en Guatemala. Un matrimonio arreglado la espera. Aunque María sueña con ver la ¨gran ciudad,¨ su condición de mujer indígena no le permite cambiar su destino. Más tarde, una complicación la obliga a salir al mundo moderno, que le salva la vida pero a un precio demasiado alto. El brillante debut del director Jayro Bustamante, ha puesto al cine centroamericano en la mira del cine mundial.

ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Producers: Marina Peralta, Pilar Peredo, Edgard Tenembaum, Jayro Bustamante
Cinematographer: Luis Armando Arteaga
Editor: Cesar Diaz
Cast: María Mercedes Coroy, María Telon, Manuel Antún, Marvin Coroy, Justo Lorenzo

Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala, 1977) trained as a director in Guatemala, Paris and Rome. His short film, When I am grown-up, debuted at Clermont-Ferrand where it won the CNC quality award, and was broadcast on French, Swedish and Dutch television. Ixcanul won 16 international film awards, including the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.         

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