ABSTRACT
Between 1990 and 1999, Mexico produced five feature documentaries; between 2000 and 2009, it produced 64. This article examines new trends in non-fiction filmmaking in Mexico during the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, mapping a number of factors, from presidential elections to exhibition practices. It frames the surge in social documentary, especially in commercial venues, as a result of political activism and economic changes. The new connections between film production and distribution point to a renewed enthusiasm in the shaping of a space to contest Mexico's exhausted nationalism and leadership, and a thawing of political apathy and fear-induced paralysis. The essay gives special attention to the films En el hoyo (Juan Carlos Rulfo), Fraude: México 2006 (Luis Mandoki), and Presunto culpable (Roberto Hernández), as examples of documentary's changing relationship to commercial exhibition.
