100 Ways to Cross the Border

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At a time when there is more and more news in the mainstream media about the U.S.-Mexico border, 100 Ways to Cross the Border (2022) presents the work and philosophical frameworks of an artist who has had a sustained dedication to radical, highly impactful, and innovative artistic interventions on the border. This vibrant documentary explores the 40-year career of prolific Latinx performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña as he enacts his interventions by “queering the border” — claiming all borders as queer and liminal spaces.

‘I’ve been fighting to control my image for only 40 years and the fight never ends!’, notes Gómez-Peña ironically, turning the camera for a moment on the film’s director Amber Bay Bemak, reversing the gaze. The moment encapsulates their life as a Mexican/Chicanx performance artist, activist, and founder of the trans-disciplinary arts organization La Pocha Nostra (LPN), as well as Bemak’s approach as a documentary filmmaker.

Gómez-Peña and Bemak attempt to queer all sorts of borders – not only territorial but also those relating to race, gender, sexuality, and even filmmaking. With intimacy and honesty, this film shares Gómez-Peña and LPN’s ethos and practice, creating an open space for collaboration both behind and in front of the camera, resulting in a work that embodies LPN’s multi-centric and fluid approach to narrative.

An ideal film to screen during Hispanic Heritage Month, 100 Ways to Cross the Border celebrates Gómez-Peña and the contributions his radical, queer, anti-colonial art has made to conversations around border thinking, gender politics, and Latinx identity.

Original score by Guillermo Galindo.

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Main credits

Bemak, Amber (film director)
Bemak, Amber (screenwriter)
Bemak, Amber (film producer)
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo (screenwriter)
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo (on-screen participant)
Houchens, Andrew (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography, Alicia Aguierre, Amber Bemak, Mariana Ochoa; editing, Miguel Schverdfinger; music, Guillermo Gallindo.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Performing Arts,LGBTQ+,Performance documentary,latinx,latin american,latino,latina,latin american people,hispanic,hispanic people,hispanic people,chicano,chicana,latine,latinx heritage,afro-latinx,visual arts,painting,drawing,printmaking,filmmaking,craft,crafts,architecture,ceramics,photography,video,videomaking,film,conceptual art,installation art,art exhibits,artmaking,photos,videography,sculpting,sculpture,theatre,theater,music,musicmaking,music performance,art styles,art history,plastic arts,fine art,fine arts,visual arts centers,visual arts education,jewelry,jewelrymaking,beaux arts,graphic arts,graphic design,abstract art,art galleries,art gallerist,galleries,gallery,gallerist,gallerists,illustration,biography,autobiography,biopic,memoir,life history,bio,biographer,biographical,personal account,personal history,diary,personal narrative,sketch,profile,personal letters,letters,journal,personal record,gender,sexuality,gender roles,gender identity,sexual orientation,gender equality,gender pronouns,gender studies,gender spectrum,gender norms,gender roles,gender stereotypes,sexual selection,sexualization,sexual awakening,puberty,pubescence,migration studies,migrant studies,immigration studies,refugee studies,diaspora studies,resettlement studies,settlement studies,migration,migrant,immigration,refugee,diaspora,resettlement,settlement,refugees,international migration,continental migration,resettling,settlers,settler,migrant,migrant studies,first generation immigrant,first generation immigration,new americans,new spaniards,racism,discrimination,prejudice,ethnicity,ethnic,race studies,ethnic studies,racist,racial sensitivity,bias,prejudice,racial prejudice,ethnic prejudice,genetics,hereditary,culture,ethnic culture,ethnology,ethnography,ethnic sensitivity,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies ; "100 Ways to Cross the Border"; Pragda Films