Sergio Arturo García Michel (28 July 1945 – 19 September 2010) was a Mexican film director and professor, considered one of the key figures of

Super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction f ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

and part of the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

movements of ''

La Onda ''La Onda'' (The Wave) was a multidisciplinary artistic movement created in Mexico by artists and intellectuals as part of the worldwide waves of the counterculture of the 1960s and the avant-garde. Pejoratively called as ''Literatura de la Onda'' ...

'' and ''Rupestre''.

Early life, studies and influences

Born on 28 July 1945 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, García Michel began his enthusiasm for cinema as a teenager spending entire afternoons watching films at the

Tlalpan Tlalpan ( , 'place on the earth') is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over 80% under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost al ...

theatre. In 1966, he bought his first Super 8 camera and shot his first short film named ''Un dia''. By 1968 and already working as a publicist he enrolled at the

Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos The National School of Film Arts ( or ENAC) is a public film school part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. It was influenced by the ''Nouvelle Vague'' and by the First Contest of Experimental Film organized in Mexico ...

of the

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

, quitting a year later only to reenter in 1971 but quitting again in 1972 as he already had a professional career in film making. His influences were

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director, who spent the majority of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He is known for the fast-paced, flamboyant directing he brought to his comedy films, mo ...

Michael Lindsay-Hogg Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet (born 5 May 1940), is a British American television, film, music video, and theatre director. Beginning his career in British television, Lindsay-Hogg became a pioneer in music film production, direct ...

Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927 – May 11, 2023) was an American Underground film, underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and writer. Working exclusively in short films, he produced almost 40 works beginning i ...

Michael Wadleigh Michael Wadleigh (born September 24, 1939, in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio) is an American people, American film director and cinematographer known for his documentary film, documentary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, ''Woodstock (film), Woodstock''. ...

Pino Solanas Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, score composer and politician. His films include; '' La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces)'' (1968), '' Tangos: el exi ...

, and counterculture intellectuals like

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

and

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and Counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies o ...

Works and awards

His better known works include: ''El Fin'' (Short film,

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

Prize, Mexico City 1970), ''Ah, verdá?'' (Short film, awarded Best foreign film at Segundo Festival Super 8 in

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Spain 1973), ''Hacia el hombre nuevo'' (Short film, 1st prize winner at Primer Festival Internacional de Cine Súper 8 m.m. in Cali, Colombia 1976), ''La Venida del Papa'' (Documentary about Juan Pablo II in México, 1979), ''Una Larga experiencia'' (Documentary about the band Three Souls in my Mind, 1983), ''¿Por qué no me las prestas?'' (Documentary about Rockdrigo Gonzalez, 1995) and ''Un Toke de Roc: Fable in three acts'' (Movie, 1988). He was the founder of the Tlalpan Forum in 1980, an artistic hub in Mexico City, and professor/coordinator of film creation workshop at the Carrillo Gil Museum (1984–1999); in the School of writers from the General society of Mexican writers (1999–2002) and at the Union of Cinematographers (2002).

Death

On 19 September 2010, Garcia Michel was found dead in his house as a result of a heart attack.

Filmography

* ''Un dia'' (1966) * ''Natasha'' (1968) * ''Y pensar que podemos...'' (1968) * ''El fin'' (1970) * ''El psiquiatra'' (1972) * ''Luto'' (1971) * ''Sinopsis'' (1971) * ''Santa Fe'' (1971) * ''Eran tres'' (1972) * ''La lucha'' (1972) * ''Ah, verdá?'' (1973) * ''Próximamente en esta sala'' (1973) * ''¡Qué tiempos aquellos!'' (1973) * ''Campamento 2 de octubre'' (1976) * ''Hoy será mañana'' (1976) * ''Panamá, Panamá'' (1976) * ''Hacia el hombre nuevo'' (1976) * ''España: contestación al fascismo'' (1976) * ''La noche del festejo'' (1977) * ''La venida del papa'' (1979) * ''Supermán cayó en Vietnam y Tarzán en Angola'' (1979) * ''Patria Libre'' (1980) * ''Una larga experiencia'' (1982) * ''Un toke de roc'' (1988) * ''Betty Rock y el ultimo súper ocho'' (1989) * ''Rock macizo'' (1990) * ''¿Y tú qué onda?'' (1990) * ''Un video por la paz'' (1991) * ''Jorge Reyes en el año del eclipse'' (1992) * ''Nuestro ángel de la guarda'' (1994) * ''El ángel de la paz'' (1995) * ''Rockdrigo a 10 años / ¿Por qué no me las prestas?'' (1996) * ''Ruina de utopía'' (2000) * ''Óscar Chávez en Tlayacapan'' (2002) * ''Una nena como yo no se toma a la ligera'' (2003) * ''Santa Aventurera'' (2006) * ''Superbarrio contra la delincuencia organizada'' (2007) * ''La hija de María'' (2007) * ''Be Bop A Lula Comandante espacial. Los Beatles en México'' (2008) * ''El sentido de mi vida'' (2008) * ''El cantar de los cantores'' (2010) * ''El principio del fin'' (2010, unfinished)

Collections

''Un Toke de Roc DVD'' (co-produced by the UNAM and Contraluz Cine en video, 2006) includes the aforementioned movie, ''La venida del papa'', ''El fin'', ''Ah verdá?'' and an in-depth interview. ''Superocheros. Antología del Súper 8 en México'' includes the Agustin's short-film Luz Externa. Garcia Michel made the restoration.

Literary works

* ''Toward a fourth cinema''. Published by the

Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas The Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (UAZ) (Autonomous University of Zacatecas) is a Mexican public research university based in the city of Zacatecas, Zacatecas, but with several campuses across the state. It is considered both the most pre ...

press in 1973. Re-issued by the

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

press in 1999.

References

External links

Sergio García Michel, Super 8mm films

''Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture''
Eric Zolov's book available as e-book for fair use by the University of California Press website.
El cine super 8 en México
Vázquez Mantecón's book available as e-book for fair use by ISSUU. {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Michel, Sergio 1945 births 2010 deaths Film directors from Mexico City