| Description |
1 online resource (1 video file (approximately 85 min.)) : ‡b sound, color with black and white sequences |
| Summary |
Lourdes Portillo interviews the Mexican American family and associates of her uncle, Oscar Ruiz Almeida, after his sudden death was ruled a suicide by authorities |
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Academy Award nominated filmmaker Lourdes Portillo (LAS MADRES: THE MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO) mines the complicated intersections of analysis and autobiography, evidence and hypothesis, even melodrama and police procedure in this ground-breaking work. Early one Sunday morning, the filmmaker receives a phone call informing her that her beloved Tio (Uncle) Oscar Ruiz Almeida has been found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in Chihuahua, Mexico. His widow declares his death a suicide. Most of his family, however, cry murder and point to a number of suspects that include the widow herself. The filmmaker returns to the land of her birth to investigate her uncle's identity and death. Finding clues in old tales of betrayal, lust, and supernatural visitation, Portillo blends traditional and experimental techniques to capture the nuances of Mexican social and family order. Poetic and tragic, humorous and mythic, this film crosses the borders of personal values, cultural mores, and the discipline of filmmaking in a fascinating look at family mysteries. THE DEVIL NEVER SLEEPS was funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting |
| Notes |
Originally produced as a motion film in 1994 |
| Credits |
Producer/director, Lourdes Portillo ; co-producer, Michelle Valladares ; editor, Vivien Hillgrove ; camera, Kyle Kibbe ; composer, Mark Adler |
| Performer |
Family, friends, and associates of Oscar Ruiz Almeida |
| Notes |
In English and Spanish; Spanish sections with English subtitles |
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International Documentary Association Award, 1995 |
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National Film Registry (U.S. National Film Preservation Board), 2020 |
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Description based on opening and closing credits (Women Make Movies, viewed 18 May 2023) |
| Subject |
Ruiz Almeida, Oscar -- Death and burial
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Ruiz Almeida, Oscar |
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Suicide victims -- Family relationships
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Death -- Causes.
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Mexican American families -- Psychology
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Bereavement -- Psychological aspects.
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History.
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Detective and mystery films.
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History
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Cause of Death
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history (discipline)
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Bereavement -- Psychological aspects
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Mexican American families
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Suicide
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Suicide victims -- Family relationships
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| Genre/Form |
documentary film.
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Biographical films
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Documentary films
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Feature films
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Documentary films.
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Biographical films.
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Internet videos.
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Documentaires.
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Films biographiques.
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Vidéos sur Internet.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Portillo, Lourdes, film director, film producer, narrator.
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Adler, Mark, composer.
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Hillgrove, Vivien, editor of moving image work.
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Kibbe, Kyle, director of photography.
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Xochitl Films (Firm), production company.
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