By Sarah Morland
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A crowd-funded short film spoofing the year’s most Oscar-nominated movie is set to screen in Mexican cinemas, as local backlash against French crime musical “Emilia Perez” pits an amateur comedy against the cinema establishment.
“Emilia Perez,” the story of a Mexican cartel boss who enlists a lawyer to help her disappear and transition into a woman, garnered 13 Oscar nominations and swept up awards at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globes, including best non-English language film.
However, the film has met with strong backlash in Mexico over criticisms of its poor Spanish, use of stereotypes, filming in Paris with few Mexican cast members and light treatment of the issue of forced disappearances – more than 100,000 people are missing in Mexico.
Auteur director Jacques Audiard also was criticized for saying he did not feel he needed to do much research to make the movie, which debuted on Netflix late last year.
In Mexico, a consumer watchdog had to order top cinema chain Cinepolis to clarify its guarantee policy after many spectators complained that they had not received refunds after walking out of the movie.
While Mexican screenings of “Emilia Perez” remained largely empty, trans filmmaker Camila Aurora created a GoFundMe to answer with “Johanne Sacreblu,” the story of “a trans heiress to France’s biggest baguette business who seeks to destroy her country’s systemic racism with her strongest weapon… love.”
The 28-minute musical, which features croissants, mimes, rats and painted mustaches, premiered on YouTube on Jan. 25 and quickly went viral, gaining some 2 million views in less than a week.
On Thursday, Aurora announced that cinema chain Cinedot would screen the movie. Cinedot later reshared the announcement on social media. Aurora said they were still working out technical details before announcing a release date.
“Sometimes I think I had an anxiety attack during filming, fell into a coma and this is all a dream,” Aurora said on TikTok. She said she was working on an extended feature-length version with fresh casting, and launching themed merchandise.
“It’s an honor to announce that we are looking for more members of the Resist-dance,” she said.
On social media, fans responded with tongue-in-cheek comments, saying the film was perfect for understanding French culture and that no further research was required.
Aurora called for fans to help get the film screened at other cinema chains across the country. “It sends a powerful message: Don’t mess with Mexico,” she said.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments