DOCUMENTARIES > PREMIERES' 09 > LOS DEMONIOS DEL EDÉN
May
Image Gallery
LOS DEMONIOS DEL EDÉN
Director: Alejandra Islas
Nationality: Mexico (2007)
Duration: 71 minutes
Original version in spanish Director, screenplay and editing: Alejandra Islas
Production companies: mcine, Producciones Volcán y Rabacanda Films
Producer: Jorge Prior
Cinematography: Alejandro Quesnel
Music: Charlie Cuevas
Post audio: Humberto Cruz
Graphics: Reginaldo Chapa, Jorge Benet, Roberto Reyes y Rodrigo Priego
Assistants: Rotmi Enciso, Ina Riaskov y Elir Negri
SYNOPSIS
Journalist Lydia Cacho gives voice to girls and boys who are victims of sexual abuse through publication of her book The demons of eden, and also becomes a victim of organized crime.
The documentary traces, over eighteen months, various moments of Lydia Cacho’s struggle to find justice in the courts and tribunals. The journalist’s case was one of the most prominent ones in 2006 and, when the conversations between businessmen and politicians were made public, a window was opened onto the world of extreme corruption existing within the Mexican political system, and society was made aware of a crime that seemed unmentionable in Mexico: pederasty.
The documentary includes testimonies of renowned journalists such as Carmen Aristégui, Blanche Petrich and Jorge Zepeda, the analyst and expert in geopolitics Dr. Alfredo Jalife Rahme, and human rights defenders Martín Barrios and Rodrigo Hernández, among others, as well as the voices and presence of the “demons of Eden”.
THE DIRECTOR
Graduated from the Center for Film Studies of the UNAM. She has directed documentaries mainly for cultural institutions and as independent filmmaker. Among the work: Iztacalco, Campamento 2 de Octubre, Cerca de lo Lejos, El caso Molinet, El Círculo Eterno: Eisenstein en México, Muxes and The demons of eden.
She has received 15 awards as Silver Ariel for best documentary, First place in Midia Award, Spain, First place in Cartagena Festival, Nominated for the International Emmy Award in the art documentary category; José Rovirosa Award for the best documentary.
Alejandra also received several grants from Mexican Film Institute (project development), Rockefeller-Bancomer Foundation (production) and Hubert Bals Fund (screenwriting).
In 2004, she was selected to form part of the National System of Creators in media and visual arts. She has been juror in several Festivals and is a current professor of film and video in the University of Morelos. She is the director of the documentary festival “Festival de la Memoria: Documental Iberoamericano en Tepoztlán”.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
- Special prize as the best documentary José Rovirosa, organized by UNAM.
- International Documentary Film Festival DOCSDF, Mexico.
- International Film Festival of Morelia, Mexico.
- Universal Forum of Cultures, Monterrey 2007.
- International Film Festival of Cancún.
- International Festival of Women in Cinema and Television, Mexico.
