Mexican Filmmaker Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos Joins the 2025 Hispanic Film Festival

Idaho State University hosted a special virtual visit from acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Pierre Saint-Martin Castellanos, who met online with graduate students and faculty for an in-depth discussion of his award-winning satirical comedy-drama No nos moverán (We Shall Not Be Moved).

The event, organized through Pragda and the Spanish Film Club, was part of the graduate course Hispanic Film Festival, taught by Dr. José Eduardo Villalobos Graillet in ISU’s M.A. in Spanish program. The festival itself was curated and coordinated by the course’s students, highlighting ISU’s growing commitment to experiential learning and cross-cultural dialogue. The Consulate of Mexico in Boise also joined the conversation, emphasizing the strong cultural ties between Idaho and Mexico.

In No nos moverán, Saint-Martin interweaves satire, humor, and emotional realism to tell the story of Socorro, an aging attorney haunted by the death of her brother during the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City. The film explores how personal grief becomes a form of resistance and memory, portraying a generation caught between remembrance and forgetting. The movie earned four Ariel Awards in 2025 for Best Debut Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress (Luisa Huertas), and Best Breakthrough Performance (José Alberto Patiño). It was also selected to represent Mexico at the 2026 Oscars and the 2026 Goya Awards.

During the online discussion, students gained firsthand insight into the creative process behind No nos moverán and engaged the director with thoughtful questions about the film’s representation of collective memory, trauma, vengeance, and forgiveness, as well as the ethical balance between humor and historical pain. Together, they explored the film’s symbolism and metaphors and reflected on the complex relationship between Socorro and Lucía, two women connected by inherited and personal trauma. The conversation also highlighted the film’s lasting relevance for younger generations and its powerful message about justice, memory, and resilience in contemporary Mexico.

Saint-Martin spoke about the challenges of merging documentary materials with fiction and the importance of maintaining an honest emotional tone without aestheticizing pain. He explained that satire allows audiences to confront trauma without despair and that laughter can coexist with tragedy as a form of resilience and humanity.

For the students, the experience was both intellectual and deeply personal, offering a rare opportunity to exchange interpretations directly with one of the most promising voices in contemporary Mexican cinema.

Inviting filmmakers of this stature underscores the university’s commitment to global engagement, critical inquiry, and the arts as tools of memory and dialogue. The event celebrated not only the strength of Mexican film but also the power of cinema to connect generations, histories, and cultures across borders.