Home >> Festival Guide >> 2023 Films >> Vaychiletik
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Mexico, 2021, 83 min. In Tsotsil and Spanish with English subtitles..
Vaychiletik
Fueron los dioses quienes decidieron que José, un hombre maya tzotzil, se convirtiera en músico. Fue informado de este don divino en sueños (o vaychiletik) y aceptó la responsabilidad de tocar durante las festividades sagradas de su comunidad. Pero este destino a veces puede parecer una maldición para José, que se ha visto tentado a abandonar su deber. Sin embargo, la amenaza de un castigo inimaginable le impide tomar ese camino. Detrás de la cámara se encuentra el hijo de José, el director Juan Javier Pérez, quien ha sido parte de la ardua tarea de su padre durante toda su vida y que ha decidido inmortalizar la cosmovisión de su pueblo a través de poderosas imágenes.
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It was the gods who decided that José, a Tzotzil Mayan man, would become a musician. He learned of this divine gift in dreams (or vaychiletik) and accepted the responsibility to play during his community’s sacred festivities. But this destiny can sometimes feel like curse for José, who has been tempted to abandon his duty. Yet the threat of an unimaginable punishment prevents him from walking that path. Behind the camera sits José’s son, director Juan Javier Pérez, who has been part of his father’s godly ordeal for his entire life, and who has decided to immortalize his people’s worldview via mesmerizing images.
CAST & CREDITS
Director: Juan Javier Pérez
Producer: Daniela Contreras, Nicolas Défossé
Screenplay: Juan Javier Pérez