1/ El Andalón was the feature film – and one of many wonderful short documentaries – at the first Watsonville Film Festival in late February.

In fact, we were worried that few people would show up since the festival took place on the day of the Academy Awards. However, a strong interest in locally produced films saved the day, and the event SOLD OUT!  More than 700 fans of film filled Watsonville’s Mello Center. It was a magnificent experience and we can’t wait to do it again next year! Here’s a nice article about it. And you can keep up to date here.

2/ We spent the better part of March and April working on funding future films, and presenting El Andalón at local schools.

Without exception, the student reaction was one of interest and involvement. They asked great questions, had a sincere desire to donate to Don Sergio’s work in Chiapas, and thought about how improve their own communities.

And thanks to the wonderful, caring teachers who have made our visits so memorable. We are hoping to continue the visits next school year.

3/ Today we screened El Andalón at the Santa Cruz County County Health Services Auditorium, for a training on cultural competency for mental health care providers.

Thank you so much to Jaime Molina  for organizing the event! Gracias también to medical experts Valli Barrioz & Patricia Ferrer (via skype) for participating in the excellent Q&A session.

4/ And finally, EL ANDALÓN IS AVAILABLE ON DVD! You can purchase it online at Film Baby, a “haven for independent filmmakers” like us. The DVD includes an extra featurette called “A Medical Perspective,” as well as extended outtakes, and more.

A portion of each purchase goes to support Don Sergio’s humanitarian work, so get your copy now, and please spread the word!

For library/college/institutional sales, please write to us directly through our website contact page.

The film will also available for streaming in the near future, so stay tuned…

Mark your calendars! El Andalón’s next public screening will take place at the first
Watsonville Film Festival on Sunday, February 26th from 4:00-6:30pm
at the Mello Center, 250 E. Beach St. on the Watsonville High campus.

The festival’s theme is “The Power of One.” It will be a wonderful afternoon event showcasing short documentaries by local professional & student filmmakers. We will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

You can purchase advance tickets online or at Second St Café. Ticket proceeds benefit Watsonville TEC, a wonderful program that helps underserved youth build academic skills & careers in technology.

In the meantime, you can learn more about El Andalón’s inspirational protagonist Sergio Castro in this fantastic article, available at The Daily Good and Optimist World. Written by French writer/traveler Benjamin Mariotte, it describes his first-hand experience visiting Don Sergio in Chiapas.

Benjamin, by the way, translated the subtitles of El Andalón into French for the upcoming DVD release. Merci beaucoup, Benjamin!

Unas palabras de Don Sergio Castro sobre sus proyectos y el apoyo económico que ha recibido.

As we finish 2011, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to each of you for supporting Don Sergio and El Andalón. Stay tuned for more news and updates as the journey continues. We wish you the best in the coming year. Peace to all.

Agradecemos profundamente el apoyo brindado a Don Sergio y El Andalón durante el 2011. Sin duda habrá más noticias que compartir y celebrar el año que viene. Nuestros mejores deseos para el 2012. Paz para todos.

We spoke with Don Sergio by phone last week, and he sends his heartfelt thanks to all of you who donated from around the globe. We’d also like to add a “big thanks” to those who contributed at the El Andalón screening in Aptos that week. These donations make a huge, positive impact in the lives of hundreds of patients in and around San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

It’s wonderful to see that the network of folks helping Don Sergio and the people of Chiapas is growing each month. And we’re honored that our modest documentary has been able to play a role in the process.

Victoria’s challenge is over, but the medical needs of the people of Chiapas continue. If you’d like to make a donation, or learn more, please visit the Yok Chij webpage.

Hi Everyone,

Wow, Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I just want to thank you all for such an incredible year of change and growth. You guys are just wonderful and I am so grateful to have met new faces, new places.

As a way of giving back, I wanted to do something bold… but honestly I don’t even know where to start. Um, so here it goes:

Several years back when I was in Mexico, I met Sergio Castro and Patricia Ferrer who were running a small philanthropic operation for the Mayan indigenous in the colonial town of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Though abundant in natural beauty, artistic legacy and magic-realism, the state of Chiapas lacks many basic services and the surroundings are scenes of poverty. Poor villagers with any sort of mild to severe burns, inflammations, lesions or injuries would call upon these free services. Tourists filled the funding gap to pay for bandages, ointments, gauze pads, and miscellaneous supplies. In addition, there are water and school projects built to remedy the lack that exists in this southern Mexican state.

However, due to drug violence, times have been particularly severe in Mexico and people can’t get even basic needs met. Having lived there, I can personally attest to the sincerity and the immense good this doctor contributes for his community on a grassroots level. They live day-to-day and attend to patients with genuine humility. So if he has the heart to touch his community in such a genuine way, then I can push myself too.

… So guys, I dare you to challenge me.

No, seriously. Let’s do a one-week drive from now until November 18, 2011.

Whatever you donate on Paypal, I pledge to double that amount (up to $1000) and Pete’s company will also equal that through their Corporate Gifts Matching program. So if you can give $50, then I’ll give $100 out of my pocket and the company will match that another $100—effectively scaling your fifty to two hundred fifty.

The medical work is such a miracle for those who receive it, in a place where money goes very far in providing help that people need. And I am sure that my friends are such great people that I’m going to cringe at the check I’ll have to write for next Friday. So hold me to it.

Ready? You have one week to meet the challenge! Go!

You can donate via Paypal thru Sergio Castro’s Website.

Or, if you’d like a 501(c) tax-deductible receipt, mail a check with “Yok Chij, A.C” on the memo line to:

IF Integrities
160 Sunflower Lane
Watsonville, CA 95076 USA
****************************************************************
More info on Sergio Castro’s Humanitarian work:

Blog: Blogspot dedicated to Sergio Castro, by Patricia Ferrer, PA.
Sergio Castro’s Humanitarian Page on Facebook

Thank you! I can’t wait to see how this experiment unfolds.
Stay warm,
Victoria Tai

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BINATIONAL HEALTH WEEK
FREE screening Wednesday, October 12 at 12pm.
Watsonville Public Library Meeting Room
275 Main St., downtown Watsonville

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION FILM FEST (UNAFF)
Saturday, October 29 at 4pm
Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Dr., on the Stanford University campus
Full schedule here. Please note that UNAFF is using the English title
for our film, “The Healer.”

FUNDRAISING IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO
Tuesday, October 25 at 7pm
Angela Peralta Theater, historic San Miguel
The film’s protagonist, Sergio Castro, and his wife Elsa will be in attendance at this very special screening & fundraising event!
We hope you can attend. If you need assistance with travel arrangements, please contact Betsy McNair at My Mexico Tours.

The filmmakers will be in attendance at all three events.

The first is NEFIAC, the New England Festival of Ibero-American Cinema. El Andalón will play with other shorts in a program called “Facing Fears,” a loosely themed set of films that show how people take action under extreme circumstances. Our protagonist Don Sergio is a certainly a perfect example of how to make the best out of the worst in life – and he’s been doing it well for over 45 years.

El Andalón screens Sunday Oct. 2 at 2pm, at the Criterion Cinemas in downtown New Haven, CT. Detailed info at the NEFIAC website. Unfortunately we won’t be able to attend, but feel free to contact us if you have any questions after seeing it.

And while you’re there, don’t miss out on some other gems in this finely-curated festival, including Miguel Coyula’s awesome “Memories of Overdevelopment,” and the powerful “Portraits in a Sea of Lies” from Colombia.

Late October brings the 14th annual United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) to the Stanford/Palo Alto community. This year’s theme is “Education is a Human Right,” and it features no less than 70 films from around the world, including ours.

We’re very excited about this, as Sergio’s efforts building schools in Chiapas gets its moment in the spotlight. We will be in attendance at the screening on Saturday, Oct 29, at 4pm in the Cantor Arts Center (328 Lomita Dr.) on the Stanford Campus. Here is the schedule. Please note that UNAFF is using El Andalón’s title in English, “The Healer.”

Mexican Independence Day marks the annual start of of the San Francisco Latino Film Festival. The festival is also a celebration of independents, of the film variety. Few of these deep, insightful, comical, suspenseful, sad and inspiring set of films will ever see mainstream theatrical release.

El Andalón will screen at the festival on Saturday, September 24th, 4:45pm at the Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission St. (between 24th & 25th), as part of the “Not So Short Shorts” program. Details & Advance Tix here. We will be in attendance for a Q&A presentation. We hope you can make it!

But don’t stop with El Andalón. There are a slew of fine films screening this week: Blattangelus, a powerful doc about gay rights in Mexico City; El Infierno (Hell), a harrowing comedy-tragedy about the violence in Mexico, which won this year’s Ariel (Mexico’s Academy Awards) for Best Film; and Precious Knowledge, which focuses on the ongoing struggle by students to reinstate ethnic studies classes in Arizona.

Don’t just take our word for it, see them for yourself. Declare your own independence from Hollywood blockbusters by watching great Latin American films this week. Here is a complete schedule of films. See you at the cine!

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‎Muchas gracias por la solidaridad y apoyo de los estudiantes de Glenbrook South High School!
“Mis estudiantes miraron el documental ‘El Andalón’ en el festival de películas latinas en Chicago. Les impactó tanto el trabajo del Sr. Castro que mis estudiantes decidieron hacer un evento específicamente para recaudar fondos ($280) para su causa”. - Maestra Verónica Reyes