Mexico’s Oscar Entry “We Shall Not Be Moved” Explores Legacy of the 1968 Student Movement

We-Shall-Not-Be-MovedWe Shall Not Be Moved (No nos moverán), Mexico’s official submission for the 98th Academy Awards, will begin its U.S. theatrical run on November 28 at Cinema Village in New York City, presented by Cinema Tropical. The film will then expand to additional cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Tucson, and Houston.

The debut feature by Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos, the film is a dark dramedy about memory, loss, and the legacy of Mexico’s 1968 student movement, one of the nation’s most significant and tragic historical events. Shot in striking black and white, it stars Luisa Huertas as Socorro, a 67-year-old retired lawyer haunted by her brother’s death during the Tlatelolco massacre. Decades later, she sets out on a dangerous mission to confront the man responsible, forcing her family and herself to reckon with the past.

We Shall Not Be Moved premiered at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, where it won Best Mexican Film and the Audience Award. It went on to receive four Ariel Awards for Best First Feature, Screenplay, Actress, and Breakthrough Actor, and has screened at over 40 international film festivals. The film has also achieved a remarkable 14-week theatrical run in Mexico, the longest of any Mexican film this year, and will represent Mexico at the Goya Awards.

Director Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos and lead actress Luisa Huertas are available for interviews.

We Shall Not Be Moved is both a personal and political exploration of how the wounds of violence and resistance continue to shape families and national identity in modern Mexico.

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Rising Sun Media Brings Yakutian Cinema to Amazon Prime Video with Four Landmark Films

Rising-Sun-MediaFour acclaimed films by Yakutian filmmaker Stepan Burnashev (Black Snow, Our Winter, Cursed Land-Fate, and Aita) are now streaming globally on Amazon Prime Video through Rising Sun Media, marking a milestone for Sakhawood, the independent film movement from Russia’s Sakha Republic in Siberia.

Known for their emotional depth, poetic realism, and Indigenous storytelling, Burnashev’s works are often created on small budgets with local non-professional actors. His films explore survival, identity, and spiritual resilience set against the stark Siberian landscape.

Among the four titles, Aita stands out for its political resonance. It was banned in Russia in 2023 for being “contrary to the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia,” which Burnashev described as proof of the film’s power to “disturb systems of silence.”

“This is what independent filmmaking is about,” said Nadav Streett of Rising Sun Media. “Creating despite the odds and finding new audiences who are ready to listen to voices from the periphery.”

Founded in 2007 in Los Angeles, Rising Sun Media is known for bringing bold international and independent films to major digital platforms.

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Luis Buñuel’s “Viridiana” Returns in New 4K Restoration at Film Forum

ViridianaJanus Films will release a new 4K restoration of Luis Buñuel’s Palme d’Or-winning classic Viridiana (1961), opening November 14 for a one-week engagement at Film Forum in New York City.

Banned in Franco-era Spain and condemned by the Vatican upon release, Viridiana remains one of cinema’s most provocative works. The film follows a novice nun (Silvia Pinal) whose idealistic faith collides with corruption and hypocrisy when she moves in with her uncle, played by Fernando Rey, in a narrative that skewers religious dogma and human weakness.

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, the film has long been regarded as one of Buñuel’s masterpieces. Co-written with Julio Alejandro and photographed by José F. Aguayo, the restoration showcases the film’s bold imagery and subversive wit for a new generation of audiences.

Viridiana runs November 14 to 20, 2025, exclusively at Film Forum.

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