Last Thursday I flew down to Mexico City for the fourth annual Mujeres en el Cine y la Televisión (Women in Film and Television) Conference in Mexico. Throughout my time there, I noticed a general flourishing of new art and culture that emerged from traditional means. The terminal I arrived in at the airport, for example, was actually built fairly recently and as such was evident of modern trends in interior design. Another thing I noticed was the proliferation of graffiti as art. It seemed like every blank wall was an invitation for a Diego Rivera in the making to create an urban mural. Further adding to that notion of modern artists playing with traditional forms is the reason why I was invited to attend in the first place.

The conference, made up of both panels and film screenings, included a series of panel discussions entitled “Film and TV in the Age of Convergence: A Vision for the 21st Century.” I was invited to present at the panel called “Production, Distribution, and Exhibition: the Independent Experience.” As you can imagine, I was most interested in explaining to the audience how they can reach wider audiences and truly engage their audiences by using the internet and promoting their films in a slightly different way. To emphasize the power of this, I screened fourth annual Media That Matters Film Festival selection Novela, Novela. I chose this film because it discusses a group in Nicaragua that uses the traditional format of the Spanish language telenovela (soap opera) to openly discuss issues of domestic violence and abuse. In essence, they have taken an established form and by changing one element have made something new and interesting. When it comes to new means of distribution, I believe that just being open to trying something new is key. I often liken it to computer programming because it is definitely a lot of trial and error (though not nearly as complicated!) when it comes to figuring out how to best distribute your film on the web.

Directly following the panel I was on was one made up primarily of educators in film and media. Though the topic of the panel was new media literacy, many of the educators that worked in film schools in Mexico were very much against new media. One of the panel participants said something along the lines of “HD is very nice, but ultimately I want my film in 35mm.” This really surprised me! After the panel I spoke to several attendees who were not surprised and commented that those ideas are very common among the academic community there. María Novaro, filmmaker and fellow panelist, appealed for embracing digital media. Her rationale is based on cost — it is far more affordable to make a movie digitally than it is to make one on 35mm. I’m sure this debate will rage on, but it reminds me of a conversation I had with Shira regarding her recent digital camera purchase. We agreed that sometimes it isn’t the camera that makes a good image but the person behind the camera.

Wandering around in Coyoacán.

After my panel was over, I was able to soak up a little local culture. I visited La Casa Azul (The Blue House) which is now the Museo Frida Kahlo (Frida Kahlo Museum) in Coyoacán. It is the exact house where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera once lived. Lucky for me, there was a new exhibit of her sketches and doodles. I also got a chance to do some shopping at a local bazaar where I was able to find a few things to bring back to family and friends.