EL VELADOR (THE NIGHT WATCHMAN) a film by Natalia Almada
PROJECT TO COMMISSION SIX ESSAYS
Night after night, Martin watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico's most notorious drug lords like a guardian angel. Set in a massive, labyrinthine cemetery in the hours between dusk and dawn, EL VELADOR (THE NIGHT WATCHMAN) is a peaceful mediation on violence. Natalia Almada's haunting documentary reminds us that even today, during the turmoil of Mexico's bloodiest conflict since the revolution, ordinary life persists.
The film premiered in 2011 at MoMA and Lincoln Center as part of the prestigious New Directors/New Films showcase and at the Cannes Director’s Fortnight. It continues to be programmed in festivals and museums worldwide. In 2012 the film will broadcast on PBS’s award-winning documentary program POV and on NRK in Norway. A week-long theatrical run is anticipated at the Museum of Modern Art in March 2012 and a theatrical release in Mexico in April 2012. Icarus Films in the United States makes the film available to universities throughout the country as well as all other DVD and internet streaming oultets for the film.
In order to fully exploit these great distribution opportunities that are already in place, we need to create the materials that will help to contextualize the film and give audience members the tools to really engage with the issues. Our plan is to commission six essays from experts in diverse fields centering around the cemetery. These essays will be available in multiple platforms including, a book to be published by a prestigious Mexican publisher, Mangos de Hacha, online through all our funders’ and distributors’ websites and as a video component in which the essays are read over the film as commentaries. These videos will be available online and be included as extras on the DVD. (Please visit our website for more details: www.altamurafilms.com)
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