As part of the cultural expressions of Oaxaca at the 2024 Cervantino International Festival, the film “Xquipi”, by Oaxacan director Juan Pablo Villalobos, was screened this Monday at the Old Courtyard of the Hospicio de La Santísima Trinidad in the capital of Guanajuato.
“Xquipi” (The Navel) is a medium-length film that presents a classic tale which, between family and archaeology, condenses contemporary themes such as fraternity, dispossession, and modernity that looms while from the hammocks, life is simply preserved. The story takes place in Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, in the Isthmus region of Oaxaca.
Inside a traditional family home, Luz and Coral have a discussion. Luz is pregnant and will soon give birth. In the yard, a group of workers installs a cistern. Riches will appear both inside and outside. Their only link, perhaps, is to bury the navel (xquipi in Zapotec) of the newborn, thus creating the bond between the past and future of the place.
Juan Pablo Villalobos is a Mexican film director based in Oaxaca. He graduated from the University Center for Cinematographic Studies (CUEC) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In 2020, he directed the short film “¿Qué ha sido hasta ahora tu continuo errar?”, which was awarded that same year as the best national short film by the young jury of the Black Canvas Contemporary Film Festival.
His cinema approaches the contemporary life of Zapotec cities in southern Mexico and the idea of paradise.
As a cinematographer, he stood out in the short film “La Balahná” by Xóchitl Enríquez, which was selected at various international film festivals such as Sundance and Biarritz Amérique Latine.
In 2023, he was selected as a student of the Filmmakers Academy program at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, where he presented his most recent short film called “Xquipi”; that same year, he received the “Ojo a mejor cortometraje de ficción” award at the Morelia International Film Festival.
In 2024, “Xquipi” was selected by the International Film Festival of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (FICUNAM) in the “Ahora México” competition.
This Tuesday, the 15th, in the same place, “Tío Yim” by the highland filmmaker Luna Marán will be presented.
Source: Today
