HBO Feature Documentary

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Follows Multi Grammy Award winners Arturo O’Farrill and Kabir Sehgal, as they prepare to record a live album at the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The project is inspired by the annual Fandango Fronterizo Festival, which unites people on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border. This festival features son jarocho, a 300-year-old folk music tradition.

Before recording, festival organizer, Jorge Francisco Castillo, takes O’Farrill and Sehgal on a tour of Veracruz, Mexico, where this musical mixture of indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions originated. As they travel, they meet legendary son jarocho musicians such as Patricio Hidalgo, Fernando Guadarrama, Ramón Gutiérrez, Wendy Cao Romero, Tacho Utrera, Andrés Vega, Martha Vega, Yaratczé Hidalgo Sandoval — and recruit many of these artists for the upcoming festival. Their travels culminate with the annual celebration, promoting peace and celebrating unity.

From executive producers, Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, Carlos Santana, the film introduces the beautiful music of the region through intimate interviews and captivating concert footage. Directed by Varda Bar-Kar.

Watch the film here:

The film premiered on HBO and HBO Max in 2020 and ran for 2 years. 

Gallery

Featuring
Douglas Brinkley
Regina Carter
Wendy Cao Romero 
Jorge Francisco Castillo
Mandy Gonzalez
Fernando Guadarrama 
Ramón Gutiérrez 
Jacob Hernández 
Patricio Hidalgo 
Arturo O’Farrill 
Antonio Sanchez
Yaratczé Hidalgo Sandoval
Kabir Sehgal
Tacho Utrera 
Andrés Vega 
Martha Vega 
The Villalobos Brothers

Production Team
Director: Varda Bar-Kar
Producers:
Kabir Sehgal, Doug Davis
Writers:
Varda Bar-Kar, Kabir Sehgal
Executive Producers:
Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, Carlos Santana, Kabir Sehgal
Cinematography: Matt Porwoll
Co-Producer: Marietta Ulacia
Editor: Luisa María Martínez Arcaraz

Award-winning director Varda Bar-Kar’s childhood spanned a myriad of countries gifting her with an eclectic embrace of humanity. Her work explores the human condition in unexpectedly uplifting ways. She recently completed Fandango at the Wall a documentary about a musical convergence on both sides of the United States-Mexico border.

Assets