Event

Las Marthas

WINNER SPECIAL JURY AWARD 2014 San Antonio CineFestival

Cristina Ibarra, USA, 2014, 69 min. Director's Cut.

The elite, invitation-only, Colonial Ball hosted annually by Laredo's Society of Martha Washington, is the culminating event of the city's month-long George Washington celebrations. Society daughters, most of them Mexican-American, debut in elaborate colonial gowns ranging in prices up to $30,000, nearly the median family income of this economically challenged border town. Las Marthas follows two of the young debutantes one a prominent member of Laredo society and the other a newcomer from Mexico as they prepare for this rite of passage. Visually stunning images of spectacle, dresses, pageantry, and cultural contrasts highlight this fascinating documentary of two young women as they encounter class consciousness, history, tradition, and the demands of school work and how to make the perfect debutante bow without falling over. An exploration of what it means to be "elite" and American in the complex melting-pot of the present-day U.S.

CineFestival will be showing the Director's Cut and the filmmaker will be in attendance.