cover image Palabra de Mujer: Historia Oral de Las Directoras de Cine Mexicanas: 1988-1994

Palabra de Mujer: Historia Oral de Las Directoras de Cine Mexicanas: 1988-1994

Isabel Arredondo. Iberoamericana, $0 (221pp) ISBN 978-84-95107-99-2

In this compilation of interviews, Arredondo, professor of Latin American literature at SUNY at Plattsburgh, documents the importance of allowing women filmmakers to develop their own dialog about their craft. After an introduction detailing the governmental bureaucracies that control the industry in Mexico, Arredondo presents an interview about the generalities of film production in that country with Alfredo Joscowicz, one-time director of Mexico City's main studio, Estudios Churubusco, and one of the two males who appear in the book. From there, she interviews directors Guita Schyfter, Busi Cortes, Mar!a Novaro, Dana Rotberg, Eva L""pez-S nchez, and playwright/screenwriter Hugo Hiriart. The interviews are arranged chronologically, each preceded by a bio and filmography of each director, and a glossary of cinematic terminology is appended. Similar in methodology to M rgara Mill n's Derivas de un cine femenino (Origins of a Feminine Cinema, Porr#a, 1999), this book offers ""oral histories"" that illuminate the vagaries of shooting schedules, crises, and personal inspirations for aspiring filmmakers and fans alike. Recommended for film studies or Latin American studies collections. Ed Morales, Brooklyn, NY