Rian Brown / Saca una Foto / 1994

Saca Una Foto was completed several months after the Zapatista Revolution in January of 1994. Filmed throughout Chiapas and Yucatan the film juxtaposes the Western influences on the Maya and the filmmaker’s own sense of intrusion. The sounds of Spanish opera interwoven with the shaman chant through the corridors of an ancient Mayan palace, and the reoccurring voice of a young Mayan girl asking to have her picture taken for money - ”Saca una foto” - take my picture, depicts the complexities the filmmaker has towards making the film. The clashing of modern day Mexico with ancient tradition is reflected in the awkwardness of the eye of the camera.