PANAMERICAN MACHINERY
Maquinaria Panamericana
Mexico, 2016 | 90 min
Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Joaquín del Paso

Saturday, Aug 26
3:00PM | The Cinematheque
Tuesday, Aug 29
7:00PM | The Cinematheque

POST-FESTIVAL SCREENING:
Thursday, Sept 7 (Free Admission)
10:30 AM | Douglas College, Room N2201, New Westminster campus

It’s Friday morning at Panamerican Machinery Inc., a company specializing in selling and repairing outdated machinery. The employees are already winding down for the weekend, engaging in little rituals and routines, when bad news abruptly arrives: Don Alejandro, their beloved boss, has dropped dead, the company’s finances have imploded and their pensions have disappeared. In a state of confusion and panic, the employees agree to lock themselves in the factory to stave off its closure. Surreal, engaging and absurd, this clever political satire has a unique take on what becomes of the workers when the work becomes obsolete.

“Guided by the filmic spirit of Luis Buñuel, with all the bleak humor and dislocation which that implies, and by the political spirit of Karl Marx and his followers.” Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter

Parece un viernes de trabajo cualquiera en Maquinaria Panamericana S.A., una empresa especializada en la venta y reparación de maquinaria para la construcción y la destrucción. Los empleados se preparan para el codiciado fin de semana, perdiendo el tiempo en pequeños rituales y rutinas, hasta que un giro inesperado los saca de su pacífica monotonía. Don Alejandro, el dueño de la compañía es encontrado muerto en una bodega de refacciones. El descubrimiento lo cambia todo: la compañía está en quiebra, los trabajadores de la tercera edad no tienen ninguna perspectiva de empleo y nadie recibirá compensación por su trabajo. En un estado de confusión, miedo y tristeza, los trabajadores deciden encerrarse en la compañía.

ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Producers: Joaquin del Paso, Jaime Romandia, Susana Bernal
Writers: Joaquin del Paso, Lucy Pawlak
Cinematographer: Fredrik Olsson
Editors: Raúl Barreras
Cast: Javier Zaragoza, Ramiro Orozco, Irene Ramirez, Edmundo Mosqueira, Delfino Lopez, Cecilia García, Regina Dupacci, Cesar Panini, Javier Camacho, Israel Ruiz

Joaquín del Paso was born in Mexico City. He studied filmmaking at Cuba’s Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión and at the National Film School in Łódź, Poland. He has made numerous short films. Panamerican Machinery (2016) is his feature debut.