CRITICS WEEK AWARD AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2012

After working in el norte for a number of years, Pedro returns to Mexico to resume the life he once shared with his wife Teresa and their two daughters.Aqui y Alla examines the notion of homecoming, as the dreams and longing that accompany exile confront the reality of returning. How do you reacquaint yourself with your family? How do you live together again? What do you share of your experience—and what do you hide? How do you rebuild trust? And can you be away for too long? Antonio Méndez Esparza, himself a Spanish exile living in the U.S, portrays the difficulty of reintegration with great skill and a troubling sense of humanity. If Aqui y Alla rings true, it’s thanks in no small part to its two main characters, Pedro and Teresa, non-professional actors who “play” themselves. The message is clear: coming home, even when marked by affection and goodwill, is a rocky road. The Critics’ Week Grand Prix winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Aqui y Alla , Esparza’s first feature, is a moving frieze of how life “here” (aquí) is indelibly marked, often for the worse, by what’s “over there” (allá).