Helmut Dosantos: Last News

Anna Marie de la Fuente Oscilloscope Laboratories has snagged North American rights to Helmut Dosantos’ documentary “Gods of Mexico,” an exploration of the rich diversity of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities across Mexico.The film had its world premiere at this year’s True/False Film Festival.Hailed as “a tribute to those who fight to preserve their cultural identity amidst the shadows of modernization,” Dosantos transports audiences “through salt pans, deserts, highlands, jungle, and underground mines, in both richly saturated color and black-and-white melodic interludes.”The “ethnographic portrait offers a critical consideration of values and challenges structures that breed displacement,” the synopsis reads. Commented O-Scope’s Dan Berger: “’Gods of Mexico’ is inarguably one of the most astonishing filmic experiences I’ve had.” “The imagery is beyond stunning and the dialogue-free (but far from silent) soundtrack is utterly immersive,” he said, adding: “And this says nothing about the access that Helmut was able to gain in order to feature many people and places that have never been committed to film.

A series of rituals play out across Helmut Dosantos’ nearly wordless documentary “Gods of Mexico.” Honing in on Indigenous communities and their labor in Mexico despite the shadow of the country’s creeping modernization, Dosantos’s breathtaking film recalls the work of Ron Fricke and Godfrey Reggio in its emphasis on the juxtaposition between static imagery and the syncopated rhythms of manual labor.