Real to Reel – Rojo Amanecer (Red Dawn)

Rojo Amanecer (Red Dawn)

In Spanish with English subtitles Rojo Amanecer is the winner of the 1990 Special Prize of the Jury at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and 11 Ariel Awards including best movie, best director, best leading actress and best leading actor. The film depicts one of the most tragic events of recent Mexican history: The Tlatelolco Massacre of October 2, 1968. What started as a small student revolt days before the Olympic games, turned into a major political turmoil in which the army brutally put down the protesters by killing hundreds of people. A typical middle-class Mexican family is tragically involved in these events when university students and faculty are killed in the square in front of their apartment building. Despite being made with a very small budget, Rojo Amanecer features some of the best acting of Mexican Cinema: Héctor Bonilla, María Rojo, the Bichir Brothers, Eduardo Palomo among others. Before the screening, Dr. María Ramos will give a short cultural and historical context to the film and at the end there will be time for Q&A. Runtime 1 hour 39 minutes.

By examining the dramatization of history by the film industry, the Real to Reel program seeks to set the record straight by comparing Hollywood’s sensationalized version with the historically accepted interpretations of events.

While Real to Reel events are complimentary, preregistration is required.