In celebration of Bright Young Things week and fitting in nicely with our directorial debut list from monday, we have DVD copies of Cary Fukunaga’s first feature film, Sin Nombre to give away.
Cary Fukunaga is a rising filmmaking star, who got the world’s attention with the release of his excellent first film, Sin Nombre in 2009. The director, actors and the film all won awards around the world at festivals including Sundance, Stockholm and Edinburgh.
Sin Nombre looks at the perilous journey that many illegal immigrants take from Central America into the USA. Focusing on the harsh lifestyle of gangs in Mexico and the long and dangerous train routes taken by many searching for a better life, Sin Nombre‘s is at time a thriller, other times a socially conscious drama. Underlying the film’s chases and violence are the thoughtful and compelling character studies of the two leads; Honduran teenager, Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) and Mexican gang member Willy ‘El Casper’ (Edgar Flores).
Sayra lives with her grandmother in Honduras, but when her father, who has been living in the US for a number of years and has a family there, is deported it is decided that along with her young uncle, 16 years old Sayra will accompany him as he attempts the long journey back to America. The trio travel with fellow immigrants along an established route crossing into Mexico to jump on slow-moving freight trains, snaking their way northwards to the American border.
Running parellel to Sayra’s story, is Willy’s. He is a member of a branch of the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang, situated in Tapachula in southern Mexico. Distracted by his relationship with Martha Marlene (Diana García), Willy is neglectful in his schooling of new young member El Smiley (Kristian Ferrere). When he is punished by the local leader, Lil’ Mago (Tenoch Heurta Mejía) the resulting chain of events impact on all the film’s players as Willy’s life violently collides with Sayra’s.
Fukunaga, who both wrote and directed the film, was born in the States to a Japanese father and a Swedish mother and has lived in France, Japan and Mexico City. The young director studied History at the University of California, attended the L’Institut d’Études Politiques (IEP) de Grenoble and then completed a graduate film program at NYU. It was a university short film project, Victoria para chino about illegal immigrants crossing the USA border that got Fukunaga interested in the subject, and drove him to find out more about the human aspect beneath the news headlines. Working throughout Central America researching, including riding on top of the trains (as the characters in the film do) and casting the film, Fukunaga also spent time with gang members to learn more about their lives and used them as script consultants to finesse the dialogue.
Cary Fukunaga, centre back, with the cast of Sin Nombre
Fukunaga’s next film project, an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre starring Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, Fish Tank), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), Jamie Bell (Defiance) and Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) is due out in early 2011. What it most certain after his blistering debut is that Fukunaga is most definitely a young director to keep an eye out for.
Thanks to the lovely people at Madman we have three DVDs copies of the fantastic Sin Nombre to give away. To go into the draw you must be an Australian resident. Simply email your name and address to lintan@trespassmag.com by the 7th July for your chance to win. Make sure you put ‘Sin Nombre’ in the email’s subject line.
I want to win.
I want to win tooo