Mara Polgovsky

Mara Polgovsky

Birth : 1983-01-01, Mexico City, Mexico

History

Mara Polgovsky Ezcurra (1983; Mexico City) is director, scriptwriter and editor of documentary films. She is also an art historian and cultural theorist of Latin America, and has taught at the University of Cambridge and Birkbeck University of London. She also curated a number of research-led exhibitions. Polgovsky studied script writing and worked as an editor and a director’s assistant on all of Eugenio Polgovsky’s films. As Eugenio’s sister and closest collaborator, she has taken over at Tecolote Films to distribute Eugenio’s work and complete his unfinished projects. She co-directed Malintzin 17 with Eugenio Polgovsky, world premiering at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2022 as part of the Tiger Competition.

Profile

Mara Polgovsky

Movies

Malintzin 17
Editor
The pigeon is probably fake, says the five-year-old daughter of Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky. Perhaps it’s a robot. Why else would a pigeon sit so still on that nest she built atop the power lines, diagonally under their window? For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. Together with daughter Mile, he watches life go by: the bin men, the neighbours and their dogs, the gas delivery man, the squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food. All from the same perspective – basically identical to that of the brooding pigeon, who gets most attention. "Papa, why are you filming her, really?"
Malintzin 17
Screenplay
The pigeon is probably fake, says the five-year-old daughter of Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky. Perhaps it’s a robot. Why else would a pigeon sit so still on that nest she built atop the power lines, diagonally under their window? For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. Together with daughter Mile, he watches life go by: the bin men, the neighbours and their dogs, the gas delivery man, the squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food. All from the same perspective – basically identical to that of the brooding pigeon, who gets most attention. "Papa, why are you filming her, really?"
Malintzin 17
Producer
The pigeon is probably fake, says the five-year-old daughter of Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky. Perhaps it’s a robot. Why else would a pigeon sit so still on that nest she built atop the power lines, diagonally under their window? For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. Together with daughter Mile, he watches life go by: the bin men, the neighbours and their dogs, the gas delivery man, the squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food. All from the same perspective – basically identical to that of the brooding pigeon, who gets most attention. "Papa, why are you filming her, really?"
Malintzin 17
Director
The pigeon is probably fake, says the five-year-old daughter of Mexican filmmaker Eugenio Polgovsky. Perhaps it’s a robot. Why else would a pigeon sit so still on that nest she built atop the power lines, diagonally under their window? For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. Together with daughter Mile, he watches life go by: the bin men, the neighbours and their dogs, the gas delivery man, the squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food. All from the same perspective – basically identical to that of the brooding pigeon, who gets most attention. "Papa, why are you filming her, really?"
Resurrection
Producer
At the foot of the waterfall once known as the Mexican Niagra, the people of El Salto dream only of crystalline waters. Fish, colorful birds and swimming in the river are now just memories of the fishermen who lost their world when the train and industry arrived. Resurrection is an eye opener upon the ruins of the present. The exemplary fight for survival of a family, which goes hand in hand with the destiny of a river.
Resurrection
Editor
At the foot of the waterfall once known as the Mexican Niagra, the people of El Salto dream only of crystalline waters. Fish, colorful birds and swimming in the river are now just memories of the fishermen who lost their world when the train and industry arrived. Resurrection is an eye opener upon the ruins of the present. The exemplary fight for survival of a family, which goes hand in hand with the destiny of a river.
Resurrection
Screenplay
At the foot of the waterfall once known as the Mexican Niagra, the people of El Salto dream only of crystalline waters. Fish, colorful birds and swimming in the river are now just memories of the fishermen who lost their world when the train and industry arrived. Resurrection is an eye opener upon the ruins of the present. The exemplary fight for survival of a family, which goes hand in hand with the destiny of a river.
Resurrection
Assistant Director
At the foot of the waterfall once known as the Mexican Niagra, the people of El Salto dream only of crystalline waters. Fish, colorful birds and swimming in the river are now just memories of the fishermen who lost their world when the train and industry arrived. Resurrection is an eye opener upon the ruins of the present. The exemplary fight for survival of a family, which goes hand in hand with the destiny of a river.
Mexican Ritual
Assistant Director
A shaman’s mystical invocations, a protest of furious electricians on a hunger strike and a euphoric football crowd collide in the Zócalo of Mexico City, the country’s central square and ancient ceremonial heart of the Aztec empire. Mitote (Nahuatl for chaos or celebration) transforms the plaza into a wrestling ring, where national commemorations, postmodern rituals and the remains of pre-Hispanic culture clash to the beat of a country enraged.
Los Herederos
Editor
The Inheritors immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. Polgovsky spent two years filming in many of the poorest rural areas of Mexico.
Los Herederos
Screenplay
The Inheritors immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. Polgovsky spent two years filming in many of the poorest rural areas of Mexico.
Los Herederos
Assistant Director
The Inheritors immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. Polgovsky spent two years filming in many of the poorest rural areas of Mexico.
Tropic of Cancer
Assistant Director
In San Luis Potosi, Mexico, residents survive by hunting animals and selling them on the freeway.