Oblivion is our biggest fear and cinema has the capacity to bring back to life for a moment those whose memory has been captured on film. My mother and my uncle passed away in an extraordinary way that symbolized true friendship and the love between siblings. Their passing was the most important thing that ever happened in my life, and I keep the story as a treasure. When my nephew was born I knew that I needed to make it into a film, so that he could get to know his ancestors and the magic and poetry that existed between them.
Runtime:
01:01:00
Information for the Audience:
In 2014 at Küstendorf Festival in Serbia I told the Iranian director Asgar Farhadi about “Mi Sangre Enarbolada (A Family Love Story)”; I wanted to hear his opinion about my creative process. after hearing it, the only thing he told me was: “The worst thing you can do with the grieving, is wasting it”.
To talk about something so close and personal was a true challenge; it took me more than three years to make this film. The absence of my loved ones, their memory, my grieving and the grieving of my friends and family, helped me to understand that those who have passed belong to those who remain.
Every time I watch this film I am with them, and even those who will never meet them (the audience), will be able to feel them and get to know them. There is something magical in the knowledge that even after their passing they can continue to exist in other people’s hearts.
October 2016- 18th MIDBO, Bogotá - award winner "Boris Spiwak" for best film in the student category.
Information for theatres:
My mom had a great passion in her life: Cooking. Her interest was peaked as a child, when she was an assistant to my grandma at her cooking academy. Of all her siblings, my mom was the one who inherited this craft. She was the author and editor of more than 20 books of Mexican gastronomy focused on the history and rescue of the regional culinary traditions. She had her own “Haute cuisine” restaurant, “El Discreto Encanto”, which gave her national awards and international recognition. She taught at the most important culinary academies in Mexico and held exhibitions in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Even though she had a busy life she was a very dedicated mother who filled us with love, experience and knowledge.
My uncle José was my teacher. We homeschooled with him in the evenings when we would come back from school; he taught me how to tell stories. My uncle José was a documentary filmmaker and a professor, and he dedicated his life to documenting culture and the work of artists and other significant figures, as well as marginalized and forgotten human groups. Among other forgotten figures he revived the life of Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), a great Mexican artist and anthropologist who was also a promotor of the culture of the indigenous people of Mexico and the world. The documentary that he made about Miguel Covarrubias gave him national and international awards; among the most important was the EMMY award from the United States. In his passion for Covarrubias, my uncle José rescued the footage that the artist had shot in Bali, Indonesia in the 1930s. This eventually resulted in a documentary, “The Island of Bali”, that is the only historical record on film about the old traditions on the island.
The mutual love and admiration between my mother and my uncle was so strong that they still collaborated in creative projects as adults. One of their collaborations was the book “Flavors of the Orient: Influences of Eastern Culture on Mexican Cuisine”, for which my uncle did the research and writing and my mom designed the recipes.
My mother tragically found out that she had cancer at the peak of her career. When my uncle found out about my mother’s illness he fell apart; months later they detected that he had cancer as well. They both died on the 28th of August, 2009, within nine hours of each other.
Distribution budget:
0
Directed by:
Luis Palomino Benítez
Writing credits:
Luis Palomino Benítez
Cast:
Mamá/Mother - Ana Benítez Muro
Tío/Uncle - José Benítez Muro
Abuela/Grandmother - Ana Muro Merino
Tía/Aunt - Patricia Benítez Muro
Papá/Dad - David Palomino Serrano
Hermano/Brother - Jorge Palomino Benítez
Amigo/Friend - Carlos Narro Robles
Amiga/Friend - Maricarmen Junio
Amigo/Friend - David Martin del Campo.
Produced by:
Thomas Nordanstad, Arianna Flores, Patricia Benítez Muro
Oblivion is our biggest fear and cinema has the capacity to bring back to life for a moment those whose memory has been captured on film. My mother and my uncle passed away in an extraordinary way that symbolized true friendship and the love between siblings. Their passing was the most important thing that ever happened in my life, and I keep the story as a treasure. When my nephew was born I knew that I needed to make it into a film, so that he could get to know his ancestors and the magic and poetry that existed between them.
In 2014 at Küstendorf Festival in Serbia I told the Iranian director Asgar Farhadi about “Mi Sangre Enarbolada (A Family Love Story)”; I wanted to hear his opinion about my creative process. after hearing it, the only thing he told me was: “The worst thing you can do with the grieving, is wasting it”.
To talk about something so close and personal was a true challenge; it took me more than three years to make this film. The absence of my loved ones, their memory, my grieving and the grieving of my friends and family, helped me to understand that those who have passed belong to those who remain.
Every time I watch this film I am with them, and even those who will never meet them (the audience), will be able to feel them and get to know them. There is something magical in the knowledge that even after their passing they can continue to exist in other people’s hearts.
Categories:
October 2016- 18th MIDBO, Bogotá - award winner "Boris Spiwak" for best film in the student category.
My mom had a great passion in her life: Cooking. Her interest was peaked as a child, when she was an assistant to my grandma at her cooking academy. Of all her siblings, my mom was the one who inherited this craft. She was the author and editor of more than 20 books of Mexican gastronomy focused on the history and rescue of the regional culinary traditions. She had her own “Haute cuisine” restaurant, “El Discreto Encanto”, which gave her national awards and international recognition. She taught at the most important culinary academies in Mexico and held exhibitions in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Even though she had a busy life she was a very dedicated mother who filled us with love, experience and knowledge.
My uncle José was my teacher. We homeschooled with him in the evenings when we would come back from school; he taught me how to tell stories. My uncle José was a documentary filmmaker and a professor, and he dedicated his life to documenting culture and the work of artists and other significant figures, as well as marginalized and forgotten human groups. Among other forgotten figures he revived the life of Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), a great Mexican artist and anthropologist who was also a promotor of the culture of the indigenous people of Mexico and the world. The documentary that he made about Miguel Covarrubias gave him national and international awards; among the most important was the EMMY award from the United States. In his passion for Covarrubias, my uncle José rescued the footage that the artist had shot in Bali, Indonesia in the 1930s. This eventually resulted in a documentary, “The Island of Bali”, that is the only historical record on film about the old traditions on the island.
The mutual love and admiration between my mother and my uncle was so strong that they still collaborated in creative projects as adults. One of their collaborations was the book “Flavors of the Orient: Influences of Eastern Culture on Mexican Cuisine”, for which my uncle did the research and writing and my mom designed the recipes.
My mother tragically found out that she had cancer at the peak of her career. When my uncle found out about my mother’s illness he fell apart; months later they detected that he had cancer as well. They both died on the 28th of August, 2009, within nine hours of each other.
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