Juan Antonio de la Riva
In 1815, during the Mexican Independence movement, a group of soldiers fighting for Spain take shelter at a ranch where a group of sisters support the other band, the insurgents who are fighting for freedom.
In the plains of Durango, the old west town still exists where Mexican and foreign westerns used to be filmed. Old Antonio takes care of the place. One day, Gabriel Navárez, a 13-year-old boy from a small nearby community, secretly gets into the old west town and discovers a fascinating world.
Lola is still in the prime of her life, she’s at an age where time seems to fly by and so do opportunities. She spends her nights immersed in noise, alcohol, hypnotic lights, and the old and new songs that remind her of loving moments.
Musician Rosendo Nevárez learns of his brother Gabriel’s death in a remote spot in the Durango mountains and decides to return to his boyhood home to learn more about his brother’s untimely end. Gabriel, who was more widely known as the “Mountain Hawk,” led an outlaw’s life which was either that of a lowly criminal or daring do-gooder, as accounts of the man’s life vary depending on the point of view of the interviewee. As Rosendo digs deeper for the truth, it becomes apparent that Gabriel was a heroic figure worthy of the song his brother plans to write in his commemoration—if only Rosendo can overcome his growing envy for his brother’s immortal status as a swashbuckling rebel.
Juanito is an eight year old boy who can predict the future, therefore the whole town is scared of him.
10-year-old Elisa, whose parents are about to lose their new car due to financial problems, plans a bank robbery.
A group of boys, roughly seven to eleven years of age, go skinny-dipping in a river near their small Mexican town one afternoon and there find themselves the butt of an old vagabond's practical joke, the man stealing all their clothes from them. Humiliated about having to walk home in the buff, the tykes decide to get even, declare war. Yet, as the generations battle it out, a mutual respect develops, the depth of which is evident once the man has a heart attack during one of his romps with the kids. Will the boys' older pal recuperate so that they can engage in one final battle.
A mexican wrestler's personal life struggles when he loses his fights.
Lalo, a humble mechanic with a great singing voice is discovered by the most famous pop group and launched to stardom, but he will be dazzled by fame and money, even forgetting his loved ones.
A young architect has a double life: he has a beautiful wife and a sexy mistress. His friends advise him to choose one, but this three women gives meaning to his life, including his nosy mother-in-law.
In this film festival favourite, every day is magical in the tiny logging town of San Miguel de Cruces, Mexico, thanks to director Juan Antonio de la Riva, who captures the rhythms of small-town life through the stories of its inhabitants. From a young couple facing separation as the husband prepares to seek work in the United States to a pair of teens on the cusp of adulthood to the local movie theatre operator struggling to stay open after the introduction of satellite dishes, Pueblo de madera portrays a town—and a people—in transition.
Four different director contribute a segment to this horror anthology.
Drawing on personal experiences, de la Riva follows an itinerant movie projectionist who travels along the mountain back-roads in a battered truck, showing classic movies to lumberjacks off the tailgate. Camping, sleeping on old film posters in cheap hotels, Francisco’s life is rootless. A younger vagabond becomes his helper, then a pretty young woman becomes their companion. Along with a backwoods carpenter, the two young people help Francisco attempt to realize an elusive dream—to settle in his hometown, build his own theatre and show his cherished movies.
