Mara Polgovsky

At the foot of the waterfall once known as the Mexican Niagra, the people of El Salto dream only of crystalline waters. Fish, colorful birds and swimming in the river are now just memories of the fishermen who lost their world when the train and industry arrived. Resurrection is an eye opener upon the ruins of the present. The exemplary fight for survival of a family, which goes hand in hand with the destiny of a river.

The Inheritors immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. Polgovsky spent two years filming in many of the poorest rural areas of Mexico.

A shaman’s mystical invocations, a protest of furious electricians on a hunger strike and a euphoric football crowd collide in the Zócalo of Mexico City, the country’s central square and ancient ceremonial heart of the Aztec empire. Mitote (Nahuatl for chaos or celebration) transforms the plaza into a wrestling ring, where national commemorations, postmodern rituals and the remains of pre-Hispanic culture clash to the beat of a country enraged.

In San Luis Potosi, Mexico, residents survive by hunting animals and selling them on the freeway.

The pigeon is probably fake, says the five-year-old daughter of Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky. Perhaps it’s a robot. Why else would a pigeon sit so still on that nest she built atop the power lines, diagonally under their window? For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. Together with daughter Mile, he watches life go by: the bin men, the neighbours and their dogs, the gas delivery man, the squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food. All from the same perspective – basically identical to that of the brooding pigeon, who gets most attention. "Papa, why are you filming her, really?"