DE, MEX 2023 | Director, Script: Tatiana Huezo | Camera: Ernesto Pardo | Editors: Lucrecia Gutiérrez, Tatiana Huezo | Music: Leonardo Heiblum, Jacobo Lieberman | Cast: Montserrat Hernández Hernández, María de los Ángeles Pacheco Tapia, Luz María Vázquez González, Sarahí Rojas Hernández, William AnSoundio Vázquez González, Uriel Hernández Hernández, Ramiro Hernández Hernández, Berenice Cortés Muñoz, Andrea González Lima | Production: Tatiana Huezo, Dalia Reyes | Colour | DCP | 102 min | spanish OV with english + german SUB | The Match Factory

Before the first images of El Eco appear on the screen, the voices of the children, dogs, sheep, horses and chickens of the small, remote village can already be heard off-screen. Director Tatiana Huezo captures their everyday lives in the documentary film by the same name, which was made with the inhabitants of the rural community in the Mexican highlands of Chignahuapan.

Their daily routine at an altitude of 2,900 metres is determined by herding animals, working in the fields, the seasons, and rainfall. Early on, the children take care of each other and assume responsibility for the tasks assigned to them by adults. In calm shots, the camera pays particular attention to their perspective and perception. Luz Ma, Sarahi, and Montse are at the centre of this cinematic narrative. The three girls of different ages are thirsty for knowledge and hungry for life. They have already learnt many useful things from their mothers – yet as young women, they are looking for their own way. [...]

Wearing wellies and caps, the younger ones roam through the still lush green meadows, rescue an injured sheep from the water, and collect firewood in the forest. Yet the film leaves no doubt that the living conditions in this beguilingly beautiful landscape are extremely challenging, and that future prospects are very limited – especially for girls like Sarahi, Luz Ma and Montse. But they, and their wishes, are present on the screen. (Eva Christina Meier, taz, 17 February 2023)