The Evolution of a style
A community of artisans from Oaxaca began carving wood 50 years ago as a job alternative to avoid having to emigrate to the United States.
Currently they have turned their social condition around.
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Miguel Méndez DíazDirectorThe spiritual needs
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Miguel Méndez DíazWriterThe spiritual needs
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Miguel Méndez DíazProducerThe spiritual needs
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:40 minutes 30 seconds
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Completion Date:January 20, 2023
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Production Budget:3,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Mexico
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Country of Filming:Mexico
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Language:Spanish
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Shooting Format:Full HD
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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World PremiereSan Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca
Mexico
December 18, 2022
World Premiere -
FICTEQ, Festival Internacional de Cine de Tequila 2023Tequila, Jalisco
Mexico
April 19, 2023
Jalisco Premiere
Official Selection -
Fort Smith International Film Festival 2023Arkansas, USA
United States
August 26, 2023
North America Premiere
Official Selection -
Thilsri International Film FestivalAlampatti, Tamil Nadu
India
August 18, 2023
Asia Premiere
Honorable Mention Award. Best Documentary Feature Film -
Bahrain National Film festivalManama
Bahrain
September 24, 2023
Award Winner -
Portuguese Lemur International Film Festival 2024Lisboa
Portugal
April 7, 2024
Oficial Selection -
Mauritius International Film Festival 2023Port Luis
Mauritius
November 18, 2023
Award Winner -
Golden Sea International Film Festival Malaysia 2023Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
November 18, 2023
Official Selection -
Jaffna Global International Film Festival 2023Jaffna
Sri Lanka
November 23, 2023
Official Selection -
Kodaikanal International Film FestivalKodaikanal
India
December 3, 2023
Official selection
Miguel Méndez Díaz is a native of Mexico City.
His activity as a documentary maker began in 2002 with scripts for television documentaries about the painter Rodolfo Morales and the winning architect of the Pritzker Prize Luis Barragán (México, Canal Once TV).
Since then he has combined the production of documentaries with research on documentary film and teaching. He has made 13 documentaries about Architecture, Art and Design mainly, and on some sustainability issues, among which stand out Collecting Operation about the recycling of garbage in Mexico City (2014) and Living Walls (2017) on the problem of urban deforestation.
In 2016 he founded the documentary production company Filmandocs. His training as a documentary maker includes courses with Patricio Guzmán, and with the Universities Autonomous of Barcelona, Carlos III of Madrid and the University of Copenhagen. He graduated from the Writers School of SOGEM.
The spiritual needs (Mexico, 2017) is his first documentary feature film. and obtained the following distinctions:
Finalist Los Angeles Cinefest January 2018. Official Selection Roma Prisma Film Festival 2019. Semifinalist Fest Pro Film Festival, Russia 2019. Oficial Selection Budapest Film Festival 2023.
The Evolution of a Style is a story that represents the artisans of San Martín Tilcajete, a town nestled in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Inheritors of the Zapotec culture, a civilization that carries art in its veins, have risen from its ashes and very marked poverty, and together with four other communities of artisans in the region have earned worldwide fame for the extraordinary creativity of their carved and polychrome figures in wood. It is the story of how the rescue of its founding myths plus the interaction with tourists and gallery owners have also led the population to rescue the artistic skills of their ancestors.