Berenice Bejo (artist) Play as the Guatemalan rebels fighting against a military dictatorship Mexico 86 Guatemalan director César Díaz (our mother), whose world premiere in the Swiss town of Piazza Grande was one of the highlights of the Locarno Film Festival schedule on Saturday.
“The year is 1976. Death threats force Maria, a Guatemalan rebel activist fighting a corrupt military dictatorship, to flee to Mexico, leaving behind her son,” the plot description explains. “Ten years later, when he lived with her, she was forced to choose between her duties as a mother and continuing her revolutionary activities.”
The film’s title refers to the 1986 Football World Cup in Mexico, albeit only briefly in a few scenes.
At a press conference for the film in Locarno on Saturday, Bejo shared how making the film helped her better understand her family history and how her parents left dictatorship-ruled Argentina to settle in France.
“For me, when I met Caesar and he offered me this movie, it was a way to talk about my family without talking about my family,” the star told reporters. “I come from a family that fled the dictatorship in Argentina. And my parents didn’t tell me much. There were a lot of secrets, a lot of myths. When I was 20, 30, even 40,” she continued, I both wanted answers. I was so frustrated that my parents didn’t give me answers.
Her parents used to just tell her: “We left Argentina and you were lucky to live in France. What happened before no longer exists.” Mexico 86Bejo said she hopes to get some answers to her questions.
“Mexico 86”
Courtesy of Locarno Film Festival
But things unfolded differently. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite,” the actress said. “I finished the film and was at peace. I didn’t need any more answers. What I learned from Caesar’s films is that we have the right to remain silent. We have the right to have secrets. Some people speak, some Can’t speak. We shouldn’t judge them.
Bejo also mentioned that both she and the director had great respect for the freedom fighters. Diaz Winner of the 2019 Cannes Camera d’Or our mother The violent effects of the country’s conflict are also dealt with. The new film is based on his own childhood. “Making this film meant confronting the armed struggle my mother waged and the reality of her motherhood,” the director explained in a note on the Locarno Film Festival website. “Activists dedicate their lives to social change but are often not given the space to fulfill their role as parents.”
On Friday, Bejo recalled her first lunch with Diaz. “He told me: ‘I have two children and I can never leave them. I don’t understand why my mum can do this. But luckily she does.’ She added: ‘Luckily there are people like this , both women and men, who have the power to put aside their instincts for a greater cause. “
The star concluded: “If Caesar’s mother hadn’t done this, if so many people hadn’t done this, if they hadn’t been struck down by noble ideas and democracy, I don’t know what kind of world we would be living in today.”
Speaking of attending the event, Bejo also expressed concern on Friday about the situation in the world. “Today, our democracy is under serious attack in many countries,” she told a news conference. “What are we going to do to defend it? Who is going to defend it? Do we dare to defend it? Can we do it in a world that is so self-centered and selfish?
“Mexico 86”
Courtesy of Locarno Film Festival
