Los Herederos (Eugenio Polgovsky, 2008)

Screening at 6:30pm on Monday 22nd June in the Keynes Room, King's College 

 

We are delighted to be able to screen the acclaimed Mexican documentary Los Herederos (2008) by filmmaker Eugenio Polgovksy at our welcome event for PILAS delegates. Reviews of the film are available from Screen Daily and Reverse Shot. A trailer is available here.

 

Synopsis (English)

At an early age, children begin to work in the Mexican countryside. The Inheritors is a portrait of their lives and their daily struggle for survival. These children work as farmers, shepherds, brick-makers and weavers. They also sculpt and paint Mexican folk art figurines, look after their younger siblings, collect water, migrate with their families to harvest different crops and walk long distances to collect firewood. They have inherited tools and techniques from their ancestors, but they have also inherited their day-by-day hardship. Generations pass and child workers remain captive in a cycle of inherited poverty.

 

Sinopsis (Español)

Los niños del campo mexicano comienzan a trabajar desde pequeños. Los Herederos es un retrato de sus vidas y de su lucha diaria por la sobrevivencia. Sus actividades son muy diversas: son campesinos y pastores; caminan largos trayectos para cortar leña; tejen; hacen ladrillos; cuidan a sus hermanos menores; migran con sus familias para trabajar en las cosechas; acarrean agua; tallan y pintan madera para hacer alebrijes. Al heredar las herramientas y técnicas de sus ancestros, estos niños también han heredado la miseria.

Generación tras generación permanecen cautivos en un ciclo de pobreza heredada.