Barbazul, Amy Hesketh’s Second Film

Soon after the controversial and successful release of Sirwinakuy in July of 2010, Amy didn’t just rest on her laurels.  She began to work on her second feature: Barbazul and she wanted Veronica Paintoux, the protagonist of Sirwinakuy, to play a leading role.

Amy had the intention of making her own version of Barbazul for some time. Having passed the test with Sirwinakuy, Amy decided that it was time to bring her dream to reality. Continue reading “Barbazul, Amy Hesketh’s Second Film”

An Interview with Amy Hesketh, Director of Sirwiñakuy

by Mike Haberfelner
March 2012

Your film Sirwiñakuy – I know we have talked about this before [click here], but could you bring us up to speed, what is it about and what does the expression “Sirwiñakuy” actually mean?

“Sirwiñakuy” refers to an indigenous custom still practiced by some Aymaras in Bolivia, in which a man takes his potential wife, basically kidnapping her, to his house to live with him. It’s like a try-out. If they get along, she cooks and cleans well, she gets along with his family, they marry. If it doesn’t work out, she goes back to her house, more or less in shame. Continue reading “An Interview with Amy Hesketh, Director of Sirwiñakuy”

An Interview with Jac Avila on the Maleficarum-Censorship-Debate

by Mike Haberfelner
July 2012

I know we have talked about it before at length [click here], but could you bring us up to speed once more: Your film Maleficarum, what is it about?

It’s the story of two young women. Mariana de Castro, a disposed widow, and Francisca de la Cruz, the young heir to great fortune and lands. They are lovers and their relationship is not a secret in the town. A group of young women confront Mariana in the streets and it ends in a shoving match that involves Francisca. This lame street event is used by the Inquisitor to take over the fortune and lands of the orphan. The women fall in the hands of the Santo Oficio de Lima, also known as the inquisition. The film centers in their torture and the damming testimonies of the townsfolk. Continue reading “An Interview with Jac Avila on the Maleficarum-Censorship-Debate”

Review: Martyr or the Death of St. Eulalia

FROM THE VAULT:

REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER

Originally published on January 5, 2014 on The Beverly Hills Outlook.

With the release of this boldly offbeat study in a failing relationship in 2005, Pachamama Films announced themselves on the World Stage. For a company that conjoins European and South American sensibilities, it was somehow appropriate that the two continents would meet halfway, filming the downbeat tale in New York. Continue reading “Review: Martyr or the Death of St. Eulalia”

Maleficarum Review: “one of the most singularly memorable films ever made”

Maleficarum

REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER
(Published on February 2, 2014 in The Beverly Hills Outlook)

With the release in 2011 of this landmark film, Pachamama Films made an indelible mark on World Cinema and simultaneously took hold of the popular imagination. Produced in Bolivia, it is a direct descendant of 1970′s Mark of the Devil, though it is light years better, being constructed with care, self-awareness and intelligence. Continue reading “Maleficarum Review: “one of the most singularly memorable films ever made””

An Interview with Jac Avila, Director, and Amy Hesketh, Star of Maleficarum

by Mike Haberfelner

(re)Search My Trash November 2011

First of all, could you bring us up to speed: Your new film Maleficarum, what is it about?

Jac: It’s the story of two young and beautiful women who fall in the hands of the Holy Office, better known as The Spanish Inquisition. It’s set in an Andean city, unnamed, but it was part of the Holy Office of Lima which covered most of South America.

One of the women, Francisca, is a young heir to lands and fortune, she’s Catholic. The other woman, Mariana, is Anglo Saxon and Lutheran both of which were not seen nicely in those times and in those parts of the world. Continue reading “An Interview with Jac Avila, Director, and Amy Hesketh, Star of Maleficarum”

The Fascination of Fear versus the Beauty of Horror

The following review was published in IMDB.

Review of Martyr or The Death of St Eulalia by C Dean Andersson

I found Jac Avila’s film, Martyr or the Death of Saint Eulalia, beautifully photographed and powerfully compelling on many levels. His use of historical images of female martyrdom merged with contemporary reenactments to bring potent reality to past horrors and historical validation to what could have, in lesser hands, become mere exploitation. Continue reading “The Fascination of Fear versus the Beauty of Horror”

Sirwiñakuy – REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER

The following review of Sirwiñakuy was published on January 19th, 2014 in the Beverly Hills Outlook

FROM THE VAULT

Sirwiñakuy

REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER

What is most significant about this remarkable film from 2010 is how completely director Amy Hesketh absorbs and makes cinematic conventions her own, breaking them at will, such as her insertion of sped up footage though back streets to bridge scenes, as opposed to standard editing practices. Continue reading “Sirwiñakuy – REVIEWED BY CHARLES LONBERGER”