Backyard: Overview

January 12th, 2010

Backyard (El Traspatio)
Director: Carlos Carrera
Country: Mexico
Year: 2009
Runtime: 122 minutes
Genre: Drama
Screening Times: Wednesday, March 3, 9:15 p.m.

Buy tickets from Cinematheque Ontario

Synopsis:
Based on true events, Backyard is a drama that focuses on the hundreds of unsolved murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The film has two main story lines; one follows Blanca Bravo (Ana de la Reguera), a police detective newly transferred to the city who is soon overwhelmed with cases; the other finds Juanita (Asur Zagada), who moves to the city from the country and joins her cousin working in the maquiladoras, or multinational manufacturing plants set up to take advantage of the cheap labour pool. While Juanita takes advantage of her new-found freedom in the city, Bravo struggles against the indifference of a city and government more often that not resigned to the situation, and inevitably the lives of the two women intersect. People like Bravo and radio host Peralta (Joaquin Cosio) try to effect change, but find themselves in an impossible situation and are challenged to stop anything without sacrificing their own morals in the process.

Director’s Biography:
Carlos Carrera created his first film in Super 8 at the age of 13. He worked as an assistant director in theater and as an illustrator and sketch artist in the press and film before directing his own films. His work has been screened at numerous film festivals around the world, among them Amiens, Trieste, Toronto and Sundance. His short animated film El héroe won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at Cannes. El crimen del Padre Amaro was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. He has received several Ariels (including Best Screenplay, Best Film and Best Director) and the Coral Award at the Havana Film Festival, among other honors.

Film Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, September 2009
Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, USA, October 2009
Palm Springs International Film Festival, Palm Springs, USA, January 2009
Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, March 2009

Awards:
Backyard (El Traspatio) is Mexico’s entry in the 2010 Academy Awards® foreign-language film category. Variety Award Central News – Mexico offers Oscar its ‘Backyard’

Media Coverage:
Ferdy on Film: Backyard (El Traspatio) – Film Review
New America Media: Juarez femicides on the big screen
Los Angeles Times: Filming El Traspatio was a death-defying act
Screen Daily: Backyard – Film Review
Twitch Film: Backyard (El Traspatio) – Film Review

Official Film Website:
Backyard-El Traspatio (Spanish)

Overview by Julie Giles