ULTIMATE DOCS COMPETITION

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

PUPUSERA: A TALE FROM MY KITCHEN

Australia, 2006, 17 min., English.

Director: Tanya Curnow
Producer: Tanya Curnow
Script: Tanya Curnow
Cinematographer: Devris Hassa, Tanya Curnow
Editing: Vanessa Milton
Sound: Ingo Hahn
Production company: Cross Stitch Films in association with Film Australia
Print source:
Tanya Curnow
Cross Stitch Films
12/458 Victoria Parade, E. Melbourne, VIC 3002 Australia
Tel.: +61 414 076 770
Fax: +61 3 9419 3349
e-mail: grrrlishgrin@hotmail.com


Pupusera: a tale from my kitchen

Filled with pain over the bloody civil war in El Salvador, social worker Edith Recinos determined to leave the country before rival factions could recruit her young sons. Her husband felt that he was too old to live in another culture, so at the age of forty, Edith left him, her close family of eleven siblings, her career and her friends, to take the two boys to the distant safety of Canberra, Australia. In this inspiring work, filmmaker Tanya Curnow uses the preparation of pupusas, the traditional dish of El Salvador, as a metaphor for the self-sufficiency that Edith ultimately achieved. As Edith shares her recipe for this tasty treat, she relates stories from her past that illustrate her great determination and strength, love for her family, and belief in herself. Curnow makes innovative use of animation, along with archival footage and Recinos’ own photographs to show how those starting again in a new land continue to be attached to the home they left behind.

Tanya Curnow
Following her graduation from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) , Tanya moved to Europe where she lived and worked for two years. Upon returning to Australia in 2004 she sought to establish a career in documentary filmmaking and began with working on a number of student documentaries. In 2004 Tanya joined the Film Australia production unit. She left Film Australia in 2006 to pursue her passion as a writer/director and embarked on a Post Graduate Diploma in Directing Documentaries at the Victorian College of Arts (VCA).

Filmography:

Pupusera A Tale From My Kitchen (2006);
Through My Western Eyes (2006);
Eat the Suburbs (2006).

SATURDAY, MARCH 31 AT 9:00 PM./PORTAGE THEATRE

SCREENING WITH CHILDREN OF THE WAR

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 AT 7:00 PM./CHOPIN THEATRE

SCREENING WITH CHILDREN OF THE WAR