About the Event
Grotto of Death
Directed by Christopher Sperandio and Augusto Mora
(US/Mexico, 2023, 16 mins.)
Thursday, March 21 7:00
Q&A with the directors. Official Selection of the Houston Latino Film Festival
Sponsored by Office of Public Affairs, Multicultural Community Relations, Jewish Studies, PWC, Department of Art, Rice Cinema
A mysterious invasion of flesh-eating creatures terrorizes a small fishing village. What are these things, and where are they coming from? THE GROTTO OF DEATH is one of hundreds of comic books drawn by Julio Camarena Pérez. At its peak in the 1970s, Mexico was the world’s largest per capita producer of comic books — and Julio Camarena Pérez was one of its most elevated practitioners. Today, the Mexico comics industry is dead, and Camarena’s work is forgotten. A beautifully drawn black and white comic, THE GROTTO OF DEATH, is presented episodically as the Octogenarian comic book artist slowly draws a grimacing skull and tells the story of his life and work.Shot in Mexico City in 2022 and edited in 2023, THE GROTTO OF DEATH is a short film about Mexican comic artist Julio Camarena Pérez. This is the first film for co-directors Christopher Sperandio and Augusto Mora. We were fortunate to enlist the help of Brian Huberman, a longtime documentary filmmaker in the help of the completion of this film! It’s been a real team effort! Mora is a comic artist based in Mexico City while Sperandio and Huberman are both professors of art at Rice University.
Discounted parking is available at Founder’s Court, at a flat rate of $6, credit card is required.
Open to the public.
