Milwaukee Film Festival: featuring a ‘passport’ to Mexico

Changing hearts and minds isn’t normally the specific mission statement of film festivals, but that’s the idea behind the Milwaukee Film Festival’s special Passport program (running through Oct. 9), which is featuring Mexican films this year.

“The reason we spotlighted Mexican cinema was just the incredible quality of the work that’s out there today,” said Milwaukee Film Festival Artistic and Executive Director Jonathan Jackson. “We’re really noticing it within the last five years, both the diversity and the quality of the cinema. It’s an exciting lineup.”

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This year’s Passport program, which previously has highlighted films from India, China and Germany, features eight films set in Mexico (seven of which are made by Mexican filmmakers) ranging from comedies and hard hitting dramas to revealing documentaries and poignant coming-of-age tales.

Jackson admitted the timing of the Mexican cinema spotlight isn’t a coincidence considering the immigration issue and drug cartel impact are front in center in the public debate.

“Quite honestly, as Americans we hear about and read about Mexico and the issue but we really don’t get in-depth into the stories and the people and the country,” Jackson said. “So by spotlighting their cinema, I thought it might give us more familiarity with that culture in Milwaukee, which has a growing Latino population.

“We’d love to make sure that attendance for this series is as strong among our general public as it is with our Latino population in Milwaukee and the surrounding area.”

Regarding any sensibility shared among the eight Passport films, Jackson said they all boast rich characterizations and standout performances of quality and depth.

“It’s really about the people and their experiences in society more than it is necessarily about, generally speaking, the art of the film or whatever issues are going on in the film or contemporary society,” Jackson said. “It’s really about the people, to get to know these characters.”

He quickly added, “I think of it as the epitome of the festival experience. It’s an opportunity from the cinemas in Milwaukee to really travel to a foreign country and really develop a stronger understanding of its people.”

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A a quick synopsis of this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival’s Passport program is in page 2.

“The Amazing Catfish” preview: