FILMS AT THE WHITNEY: FILMS CROSSING BORDERS DCP | 2023 | Directed by Itandehui Jansen| Mexico and UK| 72 minutes | Mixtec with English subtitles
Itandehui Jansen’s venture into science fiction imagines a future in which the issues of climate change and migration remain paramount, and where language and Indigenous knowledge constitute powerful forms of connection and resistance. In a highly surveilled city in 2084, climate refugees Ángel and Sofía find solace in each other and their shared language: Mixtec. Together they dream of escaping the drudgery of labor and control. ITU NINU not only explores climate change thematically but also reflects Jansen’s commitment as a leading voice in sustainable film production practices. The film’s minimalist, sustainability-driven aesthetic emerged organically as the team tracked its carbon footprint and relied on charity-shop props and costumes to reduce waste.
This screening will also feature two shorts from the series 68 Voces, 68 Corazones:
LA MUERTE / RA KUE´E / DEATH (Digital, 2013, directed by Gabriela Badillo, Mexico, 3 minutes, Tu´un Savi/Mixtec with English subtitles)
CUANDO MUERE UNA LENGUA / QUEMA POLIHUI SE TLAJTOL CAMANALI / WHEN A TONGUE DIES (Digital, 2013, directed by Gabriela Badillo, Mexico, 2 minutes, Nawatl/Nahuatl with English subtitles)
Films Crossing Borders presents migration stories that traverse diverse and shifting boundaries, from the geopolitical and material to the social and conceptual. Across five nights, the series follows Mixtec women navigating painful returns, Syrian refugees filming survival at sea, and other journeys that ask: What does it mean to cross borders—seen and unseen?
Series curated by Alexa De La Fuente and Zoe Guiney
