Left a rich film legacy, of great impact, but little explored

Although his figure is widely recognized in the theater, Emilio Carballido also left an important legacy in Mexican cinema, with more than 50 scripts, including emblematic films of national filmography.

They stand out Nasrid (1959), directed by Luis Buñuel; Macario (1960), Roberto Gavaldón Classic based on N story by B. Traven, first Mexican film nominated for Óscar in the category of best film in foreign language and projected in the 13th edition of the Cannes Festival.

Héctor Herrera, director of the magazine Tramoya and of the Emilio Carballido Theater Festival, which is held in October in Córdoba, Veracruz, said: “Macario It is among the 10 best films in Mexican cinema; It is a sample of the great dramatic sense that Emilio had to build stories with universal impact. ”

Other notable titles include Autumn days, Also from Gavaldón, and The expected desperate love, by Julián Pastor. In addition, he adapted several of his plays to the big screen, such as Rosalba and Los Llaveros (1954), Two aromas rose (1989) y Orinoco (1984).

Luis Mario Moncada, playwright and current National Theater Coordinator of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal), said: He was a complete creator; dominated the scenic and cinematographic languages.

Emilio Carballido won an Ariel in 1972 in the head of the best original argument (shared with Alfonso Arau, Héctor Ortega and Pancho Córdova) for the script of The barefoot eagle, and the Golden Ariel in 2002 for his film trajectory.

However, his film scriptwriter has been little explored. It is a vacuum in that area of ​​its creation; It has not yet worked or studied enough. His playwright’s career always opaque the rest, but he has incredibly rich film production that deserves attentionsaid Héctor Herrera, who along with Moncada and other creators propose to revalue that legacy.

Traditional approach

Moncada said that unlike playwrights such as Alejandro Jodorowsky and Juan Ibáñez, who explored the film language with greater radicality, Carballido adopted a more traditional approach, but with great efficiency.

Emilio knew exactly what threads pull to build a narrative with strength and emotional depthMoncada added.

In the context of the centenary of his birth, the possibility of organizing a film cycle with the National Cineteca to close this gap is glimpsed. The programming would include their most recognized and the least explored works, including Happiness (1956), Diablo’s Visitations (1967) y Written in the body of the night (2001).

Seeing these films and reviewing these scripts would allow rediscovering their mastery in the construction of stories and recognizing its impact on Mexican cinematographyHerrera concluded.