We Are the Flesh

In 1987, the film director and video artist Sarah Minter, made the documentary exercise Nobody is Innocent, a film that portrayed the daily life of the youth gang Los Mierdas Punk, from and residents of Ciudad Neza, State of Mexico. More than 20 years later, Minter returns to the streets where the tape was recorded to reconnect with the original members of the band, who today are around forty years old and still live in the same places.

Silvestre, a down-on-his-luck film director, receives an invitation to have a meeting with a millionaire named Ricky. Silvestre decides to try his luck and present his project, a Mexican epic lasting more than three hours about the life of Benito Juárez. The date is at Ricky's house, a few hours from the city. Silvestre arrives at the meeting with enthusiasm, but things are not as planned and he is the victim of an elaborate prank.

My grandfather fought alongside Pancho Villa, became Master Mason, was an elected official who represented Oaxaca three times, and president of the national Association of Cattle Hands. In 1942, he formed the Legion of Mexican Fighters, a group of 100,000 cattle hands training to repel a possible Nazi invasion in Mexico. His story of success, however, held a secret that affected my family, and that I discovered while making this documentary.

Tale of a young couple who throw caution to the wind and set out in search of their true fate. Román is the son of a contemptible, right-leaning congressman. Recently enrolled in a new high school, the rebellious teen clumsily attempts to hang himself on-stage at the big talent show. Maru is the sole member of the audience to applaud, earning both students a day of detention. After bonding during the course of their punishment, Román and Maru grab daddy's gun, steal a Volkswagen, and hit the road bound for nowhere.

Two friends doggedly build a mysterious artefact in the forest, the function of which remains unclear until the very end. INSIDE starts with a shot of a burnt tree stump in a forest. Materials are gathered. What are the various branches, stones and pieces of grass for and what will the silent activities lead to? INSIDE slowly uncovers an act of human solidarity. The camera hovers around two boys, ramping up the tension, and is supported by an excellent soundtrack.

In the midst of a strike, people find their liberty limited by the walls of their homes. In these micro-worlds there are no rules nor conventions and home becomes a white canvas where anyone can rethink life and its nonsense.