Viva Film Festival: Riverhorse brings Mexico to Manchester

A Manchester company’s thought-provoking documentary has been selected for a special preview screening at the 17th VIVA Spanish & Latin American Film Festival next month.
Produced by Manchester Science Park-based production company, Riverhorse, Under The Bridge is described as a “must-see observational film on Mexican-American identity that challenges audiences to think about immigration in a new way.”
Telling the story of San Diego’s Chicano Park, situated in one of America’s oldest Mexican communities, the low-budget documentary film chronicles what the producers describe as a “a cultural revolution that has refused to go away”.
Mike Todd, director of Riverhorse, said: “It is a fantastic to be able to have this screening in Manchester at the Viva Festival.”
Todd and LA-born Riverhorse producer Geseth Garcia have been developing the film for several years. Garcia says: “Being Chicana, I wanted to make a film on Mexican-American culture.
“Mike and I spoke about it for years but did not know how to approach the subject.It had to be more than just a history lesson.
“Going back through my music collection I remembered a song about a park in San Diego.”
Chicano Park was created in 1970 when residents of Barrio Logan objected to the building of a Highway Patrol Substation in their neighbourhood.
They had been promised a park on that land, under the bridge. The people organised and reclaimed the land for their park.
The film also looks at the contemporary legacy of the Park and the Chicano movement, revealing how Chicano culture is still impacting on young Mexican-Americans today.
The film contains contributions from key Chicano cultural figures including artists Salvador Torres and Mario Torero and activists such as Border Angels founder Enrique Morones.
It is due to be broadcast on America’s Public Broadcast Service later this year.
Under The Bridge screens at, Cornerhouse March 24, 6pm. A Q&A session with Mike Todd and Guillermo Aranda follows.

Source: Manchester Evening News