Ixcanul (DVD)
Ixcanul is the brilliant debut by Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante, a dreamlike depiction of the daily lives of Mayans living on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano. A memsmerizing fusion of fact and fable, this gorgeously photographed film is an immersive journey into its characters' customs and beliefs, chronicling with unblinking realism disappearing traditions and a disappearing people. One of the best-reviewed movies of 2016, Ixcanul was the first film Guatemala ever submitted for Best Foreign Film consideration at the Academy Awards.
Booklet essay by Lydia Ogwang
Making-of Documentary
Trailer
- Jayro Bustamante - Director
- Marvin Coroy - Actor
- Justo Lorenzo - Actor
- Manuel Antun - Actor
- Maria Telon - Actor
- Maria Mercedes Coroy - Actor
Reviews
**** (Four stars) "A fascinating blend of modernity and ritual." -The Guardian
"A powerful and highly accomplished debut deserving recognition. Moreover, with its social realist focus on Guatemala’s contemporary Mayan population, it offers a portrait of a largely unseen community refreshingly free of exoticism (the remarkable unprofessional cast helped co-write the script). -Filmmaker Magazine
"Jayro Bustamante’s Ixcanul was a genuine discovery, as this is not only the director’s first feature, but also the first film made in the Kaqchikel Mayan language..." -Senses of Cinema
"Bustamante’s film is downright Herzogian (far more than Herzog’s own “Queen of the Desert”) in its surfeit of physical detail, observed ritual and looming clash of civilizations." -Variety
Awards
Guatemala's entry for the Academy Awards, Best Foreign Language Film
Winner Silver Bear, Berlin Film Festival 2015
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Videos
Stills
