Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, directors and subjects of the playful and poetic Hummingbirds, love to sing and dance, take selfies and hang out. At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss their pranks as youthful narcissism. It’s youthful self-absorption, to be sure, but with some serious, energetic and compelling lessons delivered through frivolity. Sylvia and Beba are respectively an influential writer and a talented musician. They are 18 and When they set out to make this movie, it captured that bizarre in-between state they were on the brink of full adulthood. They were also very familiar with another middleman, a less ephemeral one: as Mexican immigrants from Laredo, a city on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, they lived in a real border area.
Mainly shot in the summer of 1235225073, hummingbirds , which won the Jury Prize at its Berlin premiere and bowed to North America on True/False, is the product of what the filmmakers call a “cooperative apprenticeship model in filmmaking”. Take inspiration from films like Poland Documentary All these sleepless nights , the helmsmen were mentored by creative professionals, including co-directors (Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Ana Rodríguez-Falcó, Diane Ng) and editor (Isidore Bethel, whose credits include what we left behind ). The resulting double self-portrait has the sheen of summer fun and the bright energy of a creative focus for a smart and very likable best friend. They are the ones who had to grow up fast, aware from an early age of the family’s financial pressures, especially concerns about immigration policy.
Hummingbird
Bottom line Politics and summer sunshine.
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras 1 hour17 minute
Beba is waiting for her documents and management expectations, hoping to get resident status but Don’t dare to dream of citizenship. A fundamental part of her story is the memory she carries, not directly her own but described to her by someone else: crossing boundaries on her mother’s shoulders. Both Beba and Silvia did recall being deported as children, and while their full biography was never presented clearly, details emerged in bits and pieces of the conversation about families who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border Disintegration and the experience of a childhood cut short by immigration. Need to take care of younger siblings. There’s something sweet and genuine about the sensible attitude in the way they imagine themselves inhabiting such a place when they sneak into a mansion under construction with other friends.
There is a bold, candid sense in the way they translate their experiences into art—Sylvia’s poetry, Beba’s songs, her sister’s dances—and activism. weakness. On the latter front, their concerns are twofold: the harsh treatment of people immigrating to the United States from its southern neighbor and diminishing access to safe and legal reproductive health care, including abortion.
Speaking on the latter issue, Sylvia proved to be an eloquent advocate in formal settings. This evolves from an earlier sequence in the doc, when she, Beba, and their friend Geoffrey embark on a nighttime mission to change the message of an anti-abortion sign. In dressing for their vandalism adventures, they are performing for the camera, but also on a higher level. Their headscarves may be a comical way of concealing their identities, but Beba and Silvia wear shirts that read “Tuve un aborto” (“I had an abortion”), while Jeffrey’s tulle The girl-up unapologetically declared an aspect of his identity.
Jeffrey’s birthday celebration with Beba and Silvia at the bowling alley is a particularly cute part of the film. The way the three mock their parents’ warnings is spot on and loving. In a different way, when Beba and Sylvia accompany Beba’s mother in a game of bingo that she takes very seriously, so does their super-stupid mode.
The spark and embrace of love and acceptance is at the root of the film. Nothing soft or mushy. The shenanigans involving trespassing, protests, street food and nightlife documented by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía Contreras are fleeting moments that change lives. They were captured fireflies, and like Beba’s tattoo for Sylvia, would last.
All credits858078
Production company: Extra Terrestrial in conjunction with the Ford Foundation, JustFilms, Field of Vision, Cowboy Bear Ninja
Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Co-directors: Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Ana Rodríguez-Falcó, Diane Ng
Producers: Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Ana Rodríguez-Falcó, Diane Ng, Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow
Executive Producers: Rivkah Beth Medow Jen Rainin, Robina Riccitiello, Gill Holland
Director of Photography: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin Joint Director of Photography: Diane Ng
Director of Photography: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin Joint Director of Photography: Diane Ng
Editor: Isidore Bethel, Jillian Schlesinger Music: Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, Elijah Cruz, Brendan Hoy Opening animation: Yensey Desirée Murillo Sales: Extraterrestrial Movies
English and Spanish 1 hour17 minute
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