Martin Scorsese: “The soundtrack, restored by Audio Mechanics, includes the beautiful performance of” Malagueña Salerosa “, one of the many moments of this beloved feature film”.
After the premiere of a restored version in the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival that was presented by Martin Scorsese himself, founder and president of The Film Foundation , the film will have its South American premiere in The Classics, the film festival that they will live forever.
The premiere in Bogotá of this great Mexican classic will be next November 8 and in this respect Scorsese himself has said: “I am very happy that Enamorada is open to The Classics and I am pleased that The Film Foundation continues its support for the festival”. On the film released in December 1946 the New York filmmaker says: ” Enamorada de Emilio Fernández was a great success in Mexico and catapulted Pedro Armandáriz and María Félix to fame. The film is set during the Mexican Revolution and was inspired by William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. This extraordinary restoration of UCLA Film and Television Archive and TFF’s Wolrd Cinema Project, in partnership with the UNAM Film Library and the Televisa Foundation, funded by the Material World Charitable Foundation, highlights the great work of the director, the actors and the legendary cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa “. This photographer would be the one who would immortalize the Mexican star, giving us this one, what would be his first collaboration with the emblematic actress of the golden age of cinema, memorable and close-up images of La Doña, an appellation with which he was also known after of his role in “Doña Bárbara”.
Martin Scorsese has also highlighted the soundtrack of this classic: “The soundtrack, restored by Audio Mechanics, includes the beautiful performance of” Malagueña Salerosa”, one of the many moments of this beloved feature film”. The one cited by the director is one of the most memorable scenes of this romantic film and for which the extraordinary black and white work of Figueroa and the way he caressed and captured the beauty of María Félix made him worthy of recognition the following year The film was premiered at the Brussels Festival, as well as an Ariel Award for best photography. Enamorada would end up adding five prizes (best film, director, actress, cinematography and editing) to these awards from the Mexican Film Academy.
The film tells the story of the attractive Revolutionary General José Juan Reyes, who takes control of Cholula, a small Mexican city. Identifying the richest citizens of the city to later plunder their fortunes, Reyes is stupefied with the undeniable beauty of Beatriz Peafiel, a young and intrepid woman, daughter of one of the richest men in the region.
With the support of The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Televisa and Material World Charitable Foundation, Enamorada also had an important exhibition at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival, an event held in Italy, whose selection comes from different film libraries around the world and includes classics of great value, rare or difficult to find.
The wife of the musician, composer, singer, producer and guitarist of The Beatles George Harrison, Olivia Harrison, director of the charitable organization Material World Foundation, was behind the funding of this restoration project, who upon hearing the premiere in Colombia of the The film shared her impressions: “While my late husband, George Harrison, grew up in Liverpool watching American horror films and westerns, at the same time Martin Scorsese lived in New York and saw the films of Italian neo-realism. I, then, was in Los Angeles watching Mexican movies very often in my house. A film has the incredible power to transcend in time and space to connect and unite us all. Regardless of where you grew up or when, there are cinematographic works that are timeless and that speak with audiences of all origins and generations. Enamorada is one of them, it is a film very dear to me and I am very excited about its screening in Bogotá as part of The Classics “.
Another of the great novelties of the second edition of this Classical Film Festival is that it will be held simultaneously in three cities of the country: Bogotá, Medellín and Cali, lasting from November 8 to 14. Its director and founder, Juan Carvajal, also co-founder and curator of IndieBo, highlights the value of this event for moviegoers: “This is a beautiful opportunity to bring back to the screen, the place where they belong, all those unforgettable classics. I am very happy for the extraordinary support provided by The Film Foundation. This is a festival created thanks to them. “
The Classics, the Festival of films that will live forever , is supported by The Film Foundation, Cinema Colombia, Caracol Cinema, Proimágenes, British Council Colombia, Park Circu, Digital Mei Lab, Videoactivity and Natural Gas. In the coming days will be released its official image and the 2018 selection.
Credit images: The Classics Press.
