蜜柚直播

鈥淧ozole鈥� tells the story of a young woman鈥檚 rift with her Mexican-American family because she does not speak Spanish and has had a different upbringing.

鈥淥f the 5,000 film festivals in the world, only 100 are on the list of those that qualify for the Academy Awards,鈥� said Jessica Mendez Siqueiros, director of the short film made almost entirely by Latinas. Having won the Best Narrative Short Comedy at Cinequest, means 鈥淧ozole鈥� can be submitted for the chance to be nominated for an Oscar.

In this black comedy, Siqueiros also tackles the powerful matriarchal figure in Mexican-American families.

鈥淚n my mom鈥檚 family, I was 鈥榣a gringa,鈥欌�� said the 29-year-old filmmaker, whose Nana Chepa was born in 蜜柚直播 and lived on the south side for most of her 100-plus years of life. Lydia Mendez passed away in 2015.

In some way, 鈥淧ozole鈥� is based on Siqueiros鈥� experience. Maia, 鈥淟a Gringa,鈥� tries to reunite with her maternal family in 蜜柚直播 to celebrate her nana鈥檚 100th birthday. But things go terribly wrong and La Gringa turns out to be the involuntary cause of the matriarch鈥檚 sudden death.

Gaining the trust and respect of the family鈥� and even of her own mother 鈥� becomes more complicated for Maia.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a metaphor of who we are. There is a lot of division in the Latino culture where we come from,鈥� said Siqueiros, who is a vegetarian, 鈥渁nd that has also been a big problem in my family.鈥�

Siqueiros鈥� parents met in 蜜柚直播 and they later migrated to Los Angeles, where she was born and still lives. After her parents鈥� divorce, Siqueiros lived with her father in a white community.

The 10-minute film not only portrays the integration problems of the two cultures but also their values.

鈥淚 also wanted to honor the beauty of our culture, the value of matriarchy and the connection of our identity with food,鈥� Siqueiros said.

ENORMOUS LOVE

Pozole鈥檚 creative team is nearly all Latinas from the United States.

Renee Goust, a singer-songwriter born in 蜜柚直播 and raised in both Nogales, 蜜柚直播 and Nogales, Sonora, wrote the film鈥檚 main theme song. Her video 鈥淟a Cumbia Feminazi鈥� went viral on social media in 2016.

鈥淚 barely saw the first 30 seconds (from 鈥淧ozole鈥�) and I said 鈥榶es, totally,鈥欌�� Goust said in a telephone interview from Chicago, where she met with Siqueiros for the first time for Pozole鈥檚 presentation at the Chicago Latino Film Festival on March 30.

Goust said she connected to Siqueiros鈥� story and was inspired by her own grandmother, 鈥渢he person I love the most in the world.鈥�

鈥淢y case is different,鈥� added Goust, 鈥淚 grew up in Nogales (Sonora) with my parents, my grandmother, my family. But in other things like my feminist and LGBTQ ideals, there was a very strong ideological separation with my family.鈥�

Food was another automatic connection with the film for Goust, who has lived in New York City for 12 years.

鈥淚 grew up in the world of food. My parents have a food business, my grandmother was famous for her tamales in Nogales. She still makes them, but there was a time when we made 300 dozen tamales between the 22nd and the 24th of December,鈥� said Goust. 鈥淭here were 10-hour days of my grandmother, my mom, my aunt, my dad and me putting together dozens and dozens of tamales.鈥�

For Goust, the food that some people, especially Latinas, prepare daily to feed their families represents an act of love.

She reflects that with a slow ranchera song, also called 鈥淧ozole,鈥� dedicated to the matriarchs of the family that in the first verses says: 鈥淕iant of enormous love / Wonder Woman / You were strong but noble / Firm hand of kneading the tortillas.鈥�

In addition to the song 鈥淧ozole,鈥� which premiered on several digital platforms on Friday, April 5, Goust composed for the short film 鈥淟a leyenda de la Gringa,鈥� and made an adaptation of the popular Mexican song 鈥淟a llorona.鈥�

For now, the film can only be seen at film festivals. It will be screened during the Phoenix Film Festival on April 10 at 9:10 p.m. For tickets, go to and search Pozole. Find more info about the film at .