499 |
a film by Rodrigo Reyes |
 |
Poster
Synopsis
To reflect on the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 2021,
director Reyes offers a bold hybrid cinema experience exploring the brutal legacy of
colonialism in contemporary Mexico. Through the eyes of a ghostly conquistador, the
film recreates Hérnan Cortés' epic journey from the coasts of Veracruz to the Aztec
capital of Tenochtitlan, the site of contemporary Mexico City. As the anachronistic
fictional character interacts with real-life victims of Mexico's failed drug wars and
indigenous communities in resistance, the filmmaker portrays the country's current
humanitarian crisis as part of a vicious and unfinished colonial project, still in motion,
nearly five hundred years later.
Provocative, unique, and strikingly cinematic, 499 mixes non-fictional and performative elements with elements of the road movie to show how past traumas continue to affect contemporary reality. While linking these seemingly disparate histories of violence, the film confirms Reyes as one of the most potent voices in American independent cinema.
Reviews
"Rodrigo Reyes has created a strong, beautiful and disturbing film that seems to occupy a genre all its own... 499 deftly weaves brutality with tender beauty, and harsh reality with the realm of dreams."
-Jim Jarmusch
"An epic, enchanting road movie that travels seamlessly through time."
-Filmmaker Magazine
"An ambitious and unflinching portrait of contemporary Mexico."
-The Film Stage
"A unique film that finds hope after grief, while still remembering the sins of its past."
- Film Threat
"Bold, unique, and strikingly cinematic."
- Cinema Tropical
"A unique look at modern day Mexico....Covering five hundred years of history in less than an hour and a half is a daunting task. Director Rodrigo Reyes does just that in 499."
- AIPT
Press Materials
Press Release
Press Kit & High Res Photos
Where to watch
Opens August 20
Playdates
Aug 20: BAM - Brooklyn, NY
Aug 27: Laemmle Monica Film Center - Los Angeles, CA
Aug 27: Montclair Film - Montclair, NJ
Aug 31-Sept 9: Guild Cinema - Albuquerque, NM
Sep 3: Roxie Theater - San Francisco, CA
Sep 3: Philadelphia Film Society - Philadelphia, PA
Sep 3: Space Gallery - Portland, ME
Sept 4: Time & Space Ltd. - Hudson, NY
Sep 10: Lumi�re Music Hall - Los Angeles, CA
Sep 10: FilmBar - Phoenix, AZ
Sep 23: AFI Latin American Film Festival - Silver Spring, MD
Oct 1-2: Union Cinema, UWM - Milwaukee, WI
Oct 1-3, 15-17: Facets Cinema - Chicago, IL
Oct 5 & 10: Pickford Film Center - Bellingham, WA
Oct 6-12: National Gallery of Art - Washington, DC
Festivals & Awards
Winner: Best Cinematography - Tribeca Film Festival 2020Winner: Special Jury Prize - HotDocs 2020
Winner: Special Jury Prize - EBS International Documentary Film Festival, Korea 2020
Official Selection - Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 2020
Official Selection - Sao Paulo International Film Festival 2020
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