Juan of the Witches

Juan of the Witches honors 82-year-old Juan Medellin’s legacy as a founding company member of Mexico City’s prestigious Ballet Folklórico de Amalia Hernández. An intimate portrait of a life richly lived and a testament to the power and the force of art, the film uses colorful hand-drawn animation to illustrate cherished memories from Medellin’s childhood and introduction to dance to his heyday with the Ballet during its golden era in the 1960s and 1970s. Born from the director’s first encounter with Medellín on the day of the September 19, 2017 earthquake, the film is also a humble love letter to Mexico through the eyes of a foreigner. (Guadalajara International Film Festival)