American Cinematheque presents a limited engagement of Film/Video faculty Juan Pablo González’s Dos Estaciones (2021), running five evenings from Friday, Sept. 16 to Friday, Sept. 23 at Los Feliz Theatre in Los Angeles.
González’s fourth film follows María García (played by Teresa Sánchez), the owner of struggling tequila factory Dos Estaciones, one of the last Mexican-owned tequila plants in Jalisco:
The factory is the final hold-over from generations of Mexican-owned tequila plants in the highlands of Jalisco, the rest having folded to foreign corporations. Once one of the wealthiest people in town, María knows her current financial situation is untenable. When a persistent plague and an unexpected flood cause irreversible damage, she is forced to do everything she can to save her community’s primary economy and source of pride.
González was recently profiled by A.Frame for its “five films” series, in which he offered context for the premise of Dos Estaciones:
The character of María is based on this generation of people who are 50 or 60 years old, who live in small towns in Mexico where tequila is produced, and they’ve inherited the tequila businesses from their families. Some of them do well, but others are forced to sell their family business to corporations, who buy these tequila factories for a fraction of what they’re worth.
Los Feliz Theatre presents five evenings of Dos Estaciones screenings, wrapping up on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 pm with a special Q&A with González. See event details below for individual dates and times.
Dos Estaciones earned González the Grand Jury Prize Best Narrative Feature at the 2022 Independent Film Festival of Boston, and the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Screenwriting in a North American Narrative Feature at the 2022 LA Outfest. Sánchez also won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for her portrayal of María. Watch the trailer above.
