Artemio - True/False Film Fest

Artemio

In this lushly photographed film, an Americanized mother and son return to their Mexican village in which the telephone becomes a lifeline.
Director: Sandra Luz López Barroso
Runtime: 0:48
In-person: Editor Andrea Rabasa Jofre
Fest Year: 2018
Artemio, a sweet and feisty 10-year-old boy, and Coco, his resilient and loving mother, relocate from California to small-town Mexico. Director Sandra Luz López Barroso captures the growing pains as Artemio adjusts to the new rhythms, friends, customs, and language of this place, his mother’s hometown. Her camera remains carefully attuned to Artemio’s frequently shifting mood. As the days pass, Coco’s telephone plays a crucial role in this enchanting, bittersweet narrative. Plays with “The Trader” (dir. Tamta Gabrichidze, 22 min.), a charmer set in the Republic of Georgia where a hulking man arrives with a van full of clothes, toys, and household items: money is meaningless — all that matters is potatoes. (CB)