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11/4/2009

Mexican filmmaker to offer thoughts on border at Baker Institute
Guillermo Arriaga, known for 'Amores Perros,' '21 Grams' and 'Babel,' will speak Nov. 12

Views of the U.S.-Mexico border depend on the observer's perspective. The noted Mexican writer and filmmaker Guillermo Arriaga will discuss the influence of border issues on his work Nov. 12 at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

Arriaga's lecture, titled "The Mexico-U.S. Border Through the Lens of a Screenwriter," will begin at 3 p.m. in Baker Hall's Kelly International Conference Facility.

	GUILLERMO ARRIAGA

A Mexico City native, Arriaga was working in television and had already made a name for himself as a novelist and college professor when his trilogy of film collaborations with director Alejandro González Iñárritu -- "Amores Perros," "21 Grams" and "Babel" -- debuted to critical acclaim.

“Amores Perros” catapulted Arriaga and Iñárritu to international success with an Oscar nomination in 2001 for best foreign film. “Babel” received seven Golden Globe nominations in 2007, including best motion picture and best screenplay, and was nominated for several Academy Awards.

Arriaga’s literary roots, boldly complex narrative structures and willingness to explore issues and ideas that tap into people's deepest fears helped raise the bar for Hollywood films.

Baker Institute
Find out what other events are being held at the Baker Institute Arriaga’s 2005 screenplay for Tommy Lee Jones’ “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,” a story of justice and redemption set in the dusty, lawless deserts along the U.S.-Mexico border, was honored with the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2007, the film adaptation of his book “El Búfalo de la Noche” (The Night Buffalo), directed by Jorge Hernández Aldana, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2008, Arriaga added film director to his accomplishments with “The Burning Plain,” which premiered at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

The Arriaga lecture is organized by the Baker Institute's Latin American Initiative.

Rice faculty, staff and students who want to attend must RSVP by e-mail (bipprsvp@rice.edu), by fax (713-348-5993) or on the Web at http://www.bakerinstitute.org/events/the-mexico-u.s.-border-through-the-lens-of-a-screenwriter.