Mexico’s finest films hit Phl screens

Films from one of the key centers of modern cinema get special screenings

MEXICAN films in the spotlight for Cine Mexico film festival.

To foreigners, Mexico is known for its vibrant culture, delicious food and awe-inspiring Mayan ruins. But in recent years, it has become associated with one specific art form: cinema.

Two of the past five Best Picture winners at the Oscars have been films by Mexican directors — Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. Most recently, Alfonso Cuarón’s spellbinding Roma has received immense critical acclaim, helping to cement Mexico’s reputation as a thriving center for contemporary cinema.

At Shangri-La Plaza, the lush, beautiful films of Mexico bathe in the spotlight with the Cine Mexico film festival on 20 to 24 September at the Red Carpet in partnership with the Embassy of Mexico in Manila and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) is a 1992 classic that follows a young girl named Tita. Though she is desperately in love with a man named Pedro, her mother doesn’t allow her to marry him. When Pedro weds Tita’s sister instead, she immerses herself in cooking. Through this therapeutic pastime, she discovers that she can magically infuse her emotions into her cooking.

Qué Culpa Tiene el Niño (Don’t Blame the Kid) is a 2016 romantic comedy about a woman who accidentally becomes pregnant but decides to marry the father of her child anyway, even though he’s immature and unemployed. The movie stars Karla Souza, one of Mexico’s most popular actresses, who is best known to international audiences for playing Laurel on the award-winning legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder.

Other films being shown are the animated film El Angel en el Reloj (The Angel in the Clock), La Carga (Load), Enamorándome de Abril (Falling in Love with Abril), La Boda de Valentina (Valentina’s Wedding) and Cuando Los Hijos Regresan (The Kids are Back)

For inquiries, call 370-2500 loc. 597 or visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficialfanpage.