Filmmaker Paul Espinosa tells tales of the American Southwest's culture and history, from the hunt for Pancho Villa to the U.S.- Mexican War of 1846 and the first successful legal challenge to segregation of Mexican-American children in schools.
A selection of his films was the subject of Saturday's film festival at the Southwest Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd. Many UNM departments co-sponsored the event, including the UNM Spanish Colonial Research Center and the Southwest Hispanic Research Institute.
Espinosa is a New Mexico native whose film company is based in San Diego. Before starting Espinosa Productions in 1997, he produced national films for PBS.
Using re-enactments and comments from historians, his documentary on the war reveals possible causes for the conflict between the United States and Mexico. It also explores how Americans, from as far as New England, answered the call to battle and how each side blamed the other for starting the war.
"This was the most ambitious project I've ever done," Espinosa said during the festival's intermission Saturday. "Watching it again reminded me of the challenges."
He said he wanted the perspectives to be as balanced as possible, which is why he was prompted to interview historians from Mexico and the United States.
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"It took longer to make than the war itself," he said.
Espinosa's work didn't go without criticism. One audience member said the film wasn't controversial enough, and that it failed to fully deal with racism.
Espinosa suggested the audience member see the whole series. He said no scholar would feel the entire series was accurate because the war happened 150 years ago. Espinosa said this was the first complete treatment of the war to be aired on television.
"The level of common knowledge that the war occurred is news to a lot of people," he said. "They ask which war it was and if Teddy Roosevelt was president then."
James Polk was president of the United States during this war.
He said the 19th century was chaotic for Mexico and the country was in an unstable economic position. He also said the war itself is a "great wound" for Mexico. By the time the war ended, Mexico had lost the land that now makes up California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
"It's important for us today," Espinosa said. "It's part of discourse and important to understanding the relationship between the United States and Mexico in the 21st century."
Espinosa began making documentaries about the Southwest about 20 years ago and said he found his niche in filmmaking by investigating personal stories.
"There are so many stories that have been told, where do you begin?" he said. "I expounded and integrated this region in so many ways."
Espinosa's series is available in UNM's main library or by visiting espinosaproductions.com.
