Nudo Mixteco

(Nudo Mixteco)

Ángeles Cruz / Mexico / 2021 / 91 min
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  • Morelia International Film Festival

    Audience Award and Best Screenplay

  • San Francisco International Film Festival

    Critics Jury Award

  • Minneapolis St. Paul Int'l Film Festival

    Emerging Filmmaker Competition

  • International Film Festival Rotterdam

  • Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Int'l Film Festival

    Audience Award

  • BFI London Film Festival

  • Seattle International Film Festival

  • Miami International Film Festival

  • Melbourne International Film Festival

Spanish Film Club
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Synopsis

Mixteco and Spanish with English subtitles

With Sonia Couoh, Noé Hernández, Myriam Bravo, Eileen Yanez.

Taking place in a rural Mixtec village in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, Nudo Mixteco follows the return of María, Esteban, and Toña, each from a different direction. Each of them has a different reason for coming back, just like each had a different reason to leave in the first place. However, all three face a confrontation that will force a turning point in their lives.

María buries her mother, her father rejects her, and in uncertainty, she asks her childhood love, Piedad, to leave with her. Esteban returns after three years to discover that Chabela, his wife, is living with another man. Enraged he calls the village people to prosecute her in an assembly. Toña, faced with her daughter’s abuse, relives her own pain when she returns to confront her family to protect her.

Narrated from the point of view of the women, the three stories momentarily intersect with each other and together paint an exceptional picture of the local culture, in which filmmaker Ángeles Cruz herself grew up. Festivities, rituals, and a village council that acts as a tribunal – these elements make up the fabric of a community that should offer protection, warmth, and security. However, the fates of the three protagonists will reveal a constant fight against age-old patriarchal power and prejudice.

Related Subjects
About the Director

Ángeles Cruz is a Mexican actress and director of Mixtec origin. She holds an Acting degree from the INBA Escuela de Arte Teatral. Having worked as an actress since 1994, she wrote and directed her first short film, La tiricia o cómo curar la tristeza, in 2012, which won the Ariel Award for Best Short Fiction Film. Her subsequent shorts, La carta (2014) and Arcángel (2018), were nominated for the same prize, with the latter earning her a second win.

Ángeles Cruz - Nudo Mixteco - Valentina or the Serenity

Available for Q&As, Masterclasses, and workshops upon request, in Spanish.
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In 2021, Ángeles Cruz’s feature film debut, Nudo Mixteco (2021), won the Mexican Academy Award for best first feature just after a successful festival run, premiering at the Miami International Film Festival and Rotterdam. Valentina or the Serenity (Valentina o la serenidad, 2023), her second feature, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Throughout her career, Ángeles Cruz has obtained recognition from various festivals around the world, which have rewarded her work carried out mainly in the community from which she originates.

Press

“★★★★ A modern and dynamic drama about the return of three people to the town of their birth, San Mateo. The surprisingly dynamic camerawork and staging make this a must-see drama with striking color and intriguing dramatic elements. Nudo Mixteco is an excellent choice for drama and Spanish language film collections in libraries.” – J. Zimmerman, Video Librarian

“A quietly powerful triptych of stories that speak about the plight of indigenous women.” – Screen International

“In her impressive narrative feature debut, Mexican actor-filmmaker Ángeles Cruz examines the impact of migration and the difficulties women face in a small village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.” – Ed Meza, Variety

“Offers a unique insight into women’s experiences in a traditional Mixtec village and upholds the power of listening for understanding one another and building better futures for the whole of society.” – Rebecca Wilson, Sounds and Colors

“These are three impeccably well-written stories” – Alejandro Alemán, El Universal

“Cruz’s compassionate and skillful storytelling, assisted by strong performances, results in a lighter, engaging alternative to the often hardcore Mexican approach to drama.” – Demetrios Matheou, Screen Daily

Notes on the Film

“Nudo Mixteco is a personal story that speaks of migration, poverty, sexual abuse, and lesbian love that women have to conceal to avoid being stigmatized in prejudiced macho communities. I speak from my reality, as a migrant and as an indigenous woman. It portrays who we are, the voice of indigenous women that whisper that gathers strength to face our fears, overcome our prejudi­ces and express our rights. It is not a patronizing portrait, is a raw realistic narration of our contem­porary being.”

– Ángeles Cruz, Director.

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