Film wins 2 more awards for Espinosa, Perez
March 16, 1995
"...and the earth did not swallow him," a feature film
created by KPBS Producer Paul Espinosa and independent filmmaker Severo Perez, garnered
two prestigious awards last month.
The film received the Best Director Award at the Cairo International
Film Festival and was named Best Feature Film at the San Antonio CineFestival. The
CineFestival is the largest and oldest Chicano/Latino film festival in the United States.
"...and the earth did not swallow him" is an adaption of the
Tomas Rivera of the same name, which has become a modern Chicano classic since first
released in 1971. Filled with humor and drama, the film explores the life of a family of
Latino migrant workers as they follow the crop cycle from Texas to the Midwest each summer
and fall during the l950s.
Espinosa and Perez were unable to travel to the Cairo Film Festival,
but they screened their film in San Antonio. "We were not able to attend the Cairo
Film Festival, but we were both thrilled to the response by an audiences that clearly knew
very little about the subject matter but obviously responded to the basic emotional
quality of the film" said Espinosa.
As for San Antonio, Espinosa said, "There was a really
enthusiastic response to the film," said Espinosa.
According to Espinosa, the film has also been screened at film
festivals in Spain and in Italy. "It seems like it's been very, very well received by
non-American audiences," he said
"...and the earth did not swallow him" has already won two
other major awards: Best of the Fest Audience Award at the Santa Barbara International
Film Festival and Best Feature at the San Diego Film and Video Makers Showcase '94.
There is more good news related to "...and the earth did not
swallow him." Espinosa and Perez are currently negotiating to distribute the film in
theaters prior to its airing on public television.
"It's going pretty good. We have almost finalized a deal with Kino
International based in New York. They've done a number of American Playhouse films, and
they distribute a lot of European and Asian films as well. They've taken the film on, and
hopefully it will be screening in a theater near you soon," said Espinosa.
The producer believes that Kino International will likely distribute
the film in New York and Los Angeles first before releasing it nationwide.
"With this kind of a film, they're going to handle it by getting
it out to both New York and LA first to try to get good reviews and good word of mouth,
and then platform it from thereto other areas." he said. Espinosa does not know how
soon the film might open in San Diego.
Espinosa has produced, written and hosted numerous programs on Chicano
and U.S.-Mexican topics for public television. His films, which include "The Lemon
Grove Incident," "The Hunt for Pancho Villa," "In the Shadow of the
Law," and "1492 Revisited," have won seven Emmys, four CINE Golden Eagles,
two Ohio State Awards and two American Film Festival Blue Ribbons.
El Sol caught Espinosa as he was leaving for Dallas, where he is in
pre-production with a television Station there on a major series on the war between Mexico
and the United States.
"...and the earth did not swallow him" is a production of
KPBS Television, with funding from a major grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, with additional support from "American Playhouse," the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting, the Texas Committee for the Humanities, the California Council
for the Humanities and the National Latino Communications center.
"For the first time a feature film will show the American public
the reality of migrant workers' lives from the perspective of the migrants." said
KPBS General Manager Doug Myrland "It simply would not have been made by the
commercial entertainment industry," he said.