Ciudad Merced

The bleached palette and home-movie aesthetics of Super 8 footage provide the image track for this testimonial about an illegal abortion in Mexico City in the 1960s, delivered in voiceover by the filmmaker’s mother. In its account of this intimate and disorienting memory, Lesser Choices summons a time of profound uncertainty—a moment from an era without rights—and offers a warning to the present.

Mexico, March 2015. Carmen Aristegui, incorruptible journalist, has been fired from the radio station where she has worked for years. Supported by more than 18 million listeners, Carmen continues her fight. Her goal: raising awareness and fighting against misinformation. The film tells the story of this quest: difficult and dangerous, but essential to the health of democracy. A story in which resistance becomes a form of survival.

Best friends travel though Latin America meeting shamans, experimenting with plant medicines, and wondering about what makes a life well-lived when one of them might have half the time to live it.

On September 19, 2017, at 1:14 p.m., an earthquake devastated Mexico City and its environs. Immediately, citizens mobilized to help, including the actor and youtuber Juanpa Zurita who quickly organized a group of friends that included singers, actors, content creators and other celebrities from the world of entertainment who helped him raise funds for the reconstruction of the city.

México-raised and currently Chicago-based artist Sofía Fernández Díaz details her process of adorning found objects and handmade textiles with beads, dyes, and melted wax to imbue them with new meaning, and to give them patitas.

At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the silent protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos changed The Games forever, becoming one of the defining images of the 20th century.

Bettie Spanks, a drag queen from Mexico City, guides us through a story about identity, drag, love, sexuality, and her duality.

A new reading of the historical period that began with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs (1479-1516) and the discovery of America (1492), as well as an analysis of its undeniable influence on the subsequent evolution of the history of Spain and the world.

Documentary about the founding of Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl on the outskirts of Mexico City in the sixties.

“Archeology” and “Archive” share the same roots. Both words come from “Arkhé”, the Greek word for “origin”. In the ruins of buildings, lost forever by earthquakes, as in the depth of the archives, we dig. What happened the morning of the big earthquake? The morning of September 19th 1985 is fading away in our memories. These recordings have never been seen. Unedited images of the catastrophe dug out by the archaeological adventure of an archivist that suffered with them. He dug and suffered until he could no longer see.

A film about fragility; about a man obsessed with photographing the accident who discovered that the fate of others was his way of connecting to life. When does the image of the accident become the object of desire? Following the footsteps of Metinides and the work of contemporary tabloid photographers, we discover Mexico City through a narrative of crime scenes and accidents; rubbernecking though Metinides’ Gaze.

This documentary walks the line between fact and fiction, delving into corruption in the Mexican police through the experiences of two officers.

Carmina, a 20-year-old girl, hopes to have a night like any other in the city, which unexpectedly turns into an introspective, cathartic journey into her turbulent past when she accepts an invitation from a man much older than herself to visit his apartment. This direct film experiment captures an overwhelming real-life patriarchal dynamic.

This Traveltalk series short showcases the Mexico City police department's various units as they participate in a yearly festival. Included are a marching band, a parade of patrol cars, the motorcycle unit, equestrian unit, and the department's pistol team.

Filmed mostly with drones, this short film shows what happened before, during and after the devastating earthquake that struck Mexico City in September 19, 2017. Through sound recordings of the rescue operations, accounts from survivors and journalistic chronicles, this film reflects the uncertainty and bewilderment caused by the quake.

Two countries, two restaurants, one vision. At Gabriela Cámara's acclaimed Contramar in Mexico City, the welcoming, uniformed waiters are as beloved by diners as the menu featuring fresh, local seafood caught within 24 hours. The entire staff sees themselves as part of an extended family. Meanwhile at Cala in San Francisco, Cámara hires staff from different backgrounds and cultures, including ex-felons and ex-addicts, who view the work as an important opportunity to grow as individuals. A Tale of Two Kitchens explores the ways in which a restaurant can serve as a place of both dignity and community.

Mila and María are two teenagers who get to know each other through video correspondences they send to each other. One day, they arrange to meet in person.

Documentary on water usage, money, politics, the transformation of nature, and the growth of the American west, shown on PBS as a four-part miniseries.

This Traveltalk series short brings us to the capital of Mexico, where we learn a little about the three million people living there. Their living quarters are viewed, as are various monuments found throughout the city, including a monument to George Washington. We also see the Museum of Fine Arts and the Washington Apartments. From here, we visit the bullfights.

The story of the recovery of the negatives of thousands of photos taken by three photographers during the Spanish Civil War that were found seventy years later in a suitcase, inside a closet in Mexico City.