Rodrigo Reyes (director)

Rodrigo Reyes (born on July 22, 1983) is a Mexican film director currently residing in the United States.[1] He is best known for the film 499, which had its premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.[2][3]

Rodrigo Reyes
Rodrigo Reyes, March 2021
Born
Rodrigo Reyes

(1983-07-22) July 22, 1983
Mexico City, Mexico
CitizenshipMexico
United States
EducationUniversity of California, San Diego
Complutense University of Madrid
UNAM
OccupationFilm director
Years active2010-present
Notable work499 (film)
Websitehttp://www.rrcinema.com

Career

Rodrigo Reyes is a Mexican-American award-winning film director, whose work has been screened around the world. His films explore the impact of systems of power on individuals, as well as legacies of violence alive today, and are usually set in the universe between Mexico and the United States.

Reyes directed several feature-length films, among them the neorealist Lupe Under the Sun, Purgatorio, and 499.[4][5][6] Rodrigo is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, Sundance Institute's Documentary Fund and Spotlight on Storytellers Award, the Kenneth Rainin Fellowship, the Creative Capital Award. He has been awarded funding by The Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE), as well as ITVS and Latino Public Broadcasting, and several grants from the Firelight Media, International Documentary Association, California Humanities, Bay Area Video Coalition and Tribeca Film Institute.[7][8][9][10]

In 2013, Rodrigo was named by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film.[11] That same year, he premiered the feature-length documentary Purgatorio,[12] screening at MoMA's Documentary Fortnight and winning the Cinema Tropical Award for Best US-Latino Film, as well as broadcasting on the documentary series America ReFramed.

In 2020, his film 499, won the Special Jury Award at Hot Docs, and received the Golden Frog award at Camerimage in docufiction.[13] Director Jim Jarmusch said of the film, "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."

His film Sansón and Me, chronicling Rodrigo's friendship with a Mexican immigrant serving life without parole in California, premiered at Tribeca in 2022, winning the top prize at Sheffield DocFest that same year. The Guardian review calls it "a startling and somber documentary,"[14] and the film was selected to open the 25th season of the award-winning documentary series Independent Lens.

Themes and Ideas

Rodrigo has written several essays reflecting on the art of filmmaking and the unique value of non-fiction cinema.

On entertainment in non-fiction

"...in the universe of non-fiction, filmmakers are often asked to provide the fascination of relief – a way of looking at the pain of the world through a lens of comfort and safety...Everything must feel palpably believable and authentic, because that is where the enjoyment lives. There’s not much room for invention in this premise.

This confusion of non-fiction filmmaking with entertainment has led to an approach to reality that ignores the essential truths of the world, many of which are tough, complicated and distressing, and demand new, vibrant points of view."[15]


On Mentorship

"To be seen. Perhaps this is the true essence of mentorship? When someone looks at you, without weariness or cynicism, without calculation or profit-motives, simply dropping their guard and asking to walk by your side."


On filmmaking and memory

"Cinema is the art of remembering with light." [16]

Personal life

Rodrigo lives in the Bay Area. In 2006, he earned his B.A. in International Studies from University of California, San Diego.[17] He has collaborated as a visiting professor with the Stanford University Documentary MFA program and was the co-director of the Mediamaker Fellowship with the Bay Area Video Coalition.

References
  1. "Local filmmaker to tell Merced's story by SAna B. Ibarra". Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  2. "499". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  3. "Tribeca Film Festival Awards 'The Half of It,' 'Socks on Fire' Top Honors by Chris Lindahl". 29 April 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  4. "Film Review: 'Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border' by Andrew Barker". 15 June 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  5. "Five Questions for Rodrigo Reyes by Peter Crooks". 22 January 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  6. "Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 February 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  7. "Don't Miss These 16 Sundance-Supported Projects at the Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  8. "Rodrigo Reyes". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  9. "2021 Fellows". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  10. "499 Years". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  11. "25 New Faces of Independent Film". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  12. Gold, Daniel M. (2014-10-02). "Beauty and Brutality on Two Sides of a Border". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  13. "'Nomadland' wins Golden Frog at Camerimage by Michael Rosser". Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  14. Bradshaw, Peter (2022-11-14). "Sansón and Me review – sobering account of teenager sentenced to life for murder". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  15. "The Conquistador Within". Talkhouse. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  16. "Cinema and the Art of Remembering". Talkhouse. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  17. "Filmmaker with Merced roots returns to hometown, telling story of youth incarceration by Shawn Jansen". Retrieved July 27, 2021.
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