Cineteca Nacional: Diccionario de directores de cine mexicano (read more…)

PBS Wisconsin: The photography is as engaging as the film’s characters. In this behind-the-scenes clip, (read more…)

Chicagoist: The movie deserves a mention for Marie Ullrich’s assured direction, its distinct local flavor, and some exceptional cinematography from Dylan Verrechia. (read more...)

50 Int'l Chicago Film Festival: A lot of help from Dylan Verrechia, the film’s Director of Photography. From the film’s opening moments, it becomes clear that there is an experienced cinematographer at work. (read more...)

Frank Hui: Life for most of us is not a scripted movie filled with amazing heroics or world-ending disasters. It consists of good moments that we take in and frustrating hurdles that we try to overcome. Neither a fairy tale nor a nightmare, it’s just life. If we’re lucky and strong enough we can face the obstacles and deal with them-and perhaps even achieve some happiness. The feature "Tierra Madre" encapsulates this perfectly. (read more...)

New York Times: On the Mexican border, erotic dancer Aidee Gonzalez struggles to raise her children, first alone and then with a new girlfriend, Rosalba, who works at the same club. When Rosalba decides to get pregnant, Aidee agrees to help her find a male donor but makes sure he is not an attractive romantic option for Rosalba. The arrival of the new child changes the family dynamic, forcing Aidee to reach out to friends and build the family she genuinely needs. ~ Baseline StudioSystems (read more...)

Time Out: The main feature is Dylan Verrechia's Mother Earth (Tierra Madre) about a woman struggling to keep her family together; a Q&A session with the filmmakers follows the screenings (read more...)

Arizona Daily Star: "Tierra Madre" is cinematically strong and offers a glimpse into experiences we have rarely, if ever, seen on film. ~ Beverly Seckinger (read more...)

Frommer's: Dylan Verrechia's Tijuana Makes Me Happy (2007), focusing on Tijuana's humanity rather than its perceived sins, has won awards in Latin America and at U.S. film festivals (read more...)

Artivist Film Festival: The Artivist Film Festival 2010 Awards Ceremony presents The Award for Best Feature in the Children's Advocacy category to "Kids of the Majestic". (watch it on YouTube...)

Artivist Film Festival: 7th Artivist Film Festival Announces Artivist Award Winning Films for 2010. (read more...)

Morelia International Film Festival: Winner X-Rays - 8• FICM / Interview with Dylan Verrechia. What moved you most in this story? Aideé’s struggle to provide her children with a good education. That’s the reason behind all of my projects: the place that we give to children. (read full interview in English...)

Correcamara: "Tierra madre" es un ejemplo puntual de que se puede hacer cine de manera transgresora, con una cámara de video, tres personas y sin depender de grandes presupuestos; pero también, de que el modo de producción marca el ritmo de la historia, pero no es la historia. Si Lucrecia Martel le hace justicia, "Tierra madre" tendría que erigirse con El Ojo al mejor largometraje de esta edición. (read more...)

Los Angeles Times: The filmmakers were on hand at the premiere screening in Morelia. Gonzalez was received with cheers and applause, with several audience members congratulating her for "bravely" demonstrating her truth as a woman, lesbian, stripper and native of the Tijuana border region. (read more...)

CNN Mexico: Entre la realidad y la ficción. De acuerdo con el género del falso documental, predominan las situaciones cotidianas, como en la que un grupo de mujeres charla en grupo sobre sus relaciones sexuales, lo que provoca la risa del público. El aspecto de la homosexualidad está tratado de manera casi tangencial, ya que las relaciones de la protagonista con otras mujeres son fruto de "una relación de cariño, de complicidad y solidaridad, más que de motivos sexuales", explica Verrechia. De este modo, se convierte en otra circunstancia y no el asunto principal de la cinta. (read more...)

Don't Label It!: Surreal Life. "Tierra madre" (Director: Dylan Verrechia), Shot in black and white with a stark documentary feel, this narrative tells the true story of Aidee Gonzalez. (read more...)

Fandango: One woman's struggle to find happiness under trying circumstances sets the stage for this drama from Mexican filmmaker Dylan Verrechia. Aidee Gonzalez (playing herself) was born and raised in a poor community and has struggled to make something of her life after ridding herself of a marriage to a shiftless and uncaring man. Aidee supports herself and her children as an exotic dancer, and her work at a shabby nightclub led her to meet Rosalba (Rosalba Venezuela), with whom she's finally found a loving relationship. Aidee and Rosalba want to buy a house together and start a family of their own; to that end, Aidee is saving her money to the extent that's possible, and Rosalba is looking for a man handsome enough to be a proper sperm donor (but not so good looking to charming that he's likely to steal Aidee away from her). Tierra Madre (aka Mother Earth) was an official selection at the 2010 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi (read more...)

Poder Edomex: Por lo demás, en la elección de la protagonista respecto a su sexualidad no parece haber una postura ideológica, ni siquiera una reivindicación de género, y su decisión de compartir la vida con otra mujer tiene que ver más con el rechazo al machismo reinante que con su preferencia sexual. (read more...)

Platform Magazine: Dylan's filmography is as multicultural as his lineage and each film honestly explores the multifaceted aspects of identity, situation and context. This new-age independent filmmaker explores life and individual lives through his art and has created a very moving, real and honest piece of cinema with "Kids of the Majestic". (read more...)

New York Times: A young man will go to any lengths to make his dream come true in this independent drama from writer and director Dylan Verrechia. (read more...)

Moviefone: A young man will go to any lengths to make his dream come true in this independent drama from writer and director Dylan Verrechia. Indio (Pablo Tendilla Ortiz) is growing up with a poor family in the Mexican border town of Tijuana. Cockfighting is still a popular and lucrative sport in Tijuana, and Indio thinks he has what it takes to train a champion bird. As a present for his fifteenth birthday, Indio asks his father Jhonny (Pablo Tendilla Rocha) to get him a rooster that's up for sale from a local breeder who has helped spawn some winning birds. However, Jhonny can't afford the rooster, and instead buys his son an evening with Brianda (Darina Rabago Soto), a teenage prostitute. While Indio and Brianda strike up a brief romance, he's not about to give up his ambitions of training a winning rooster, and takes whatever odd jobs he can find to help raise the cash -- everything from washing cars to working as a drug mule. Tijuana Makes Me Happy received its premiere at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival, where it received the Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature. - Mark Deming, Rovi (read more...)

Variety: "Tijuana Makes Me Happy" is an example of nuevo-realism, with nonprofessionals cast in a semi-documentary-style dramedy shot on location in and around Tijuana. (...) The unaffected quality is genuinely impressive across the board. Pablo Tendilla Ortiz is an artlessly engaging screen presence as Indio, the pic's young protagonist. (read more...)

Adam Donaghey on IMDb: A charming coming-of-age film with fantastic shots of the 'real' Mexico. (read more...)

IFC Center: I was rejuvenated when I left the IFC Center in New York City after seeing Tijuana Makes Me Happy, directed by Dylan Verrechia and produced by James Lefkowitz, which won the Grand Jury prize for Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance in Park City this year. A coming-of-age story about a young boy growing to manhood in Playas de Tijuana, Verrechia and Lefkowitz's film is an invigorating fusion of fiction and reality that rises to the challenge of powerful storytelling and fun, innovative film-making. (...) That Verrechia and Lefkowitz have succeeded in creating a universally appealing Tijuana-based tale at a time when the American government and countless citizens regularly denounce people from south of the border is an accomplishment and a contribution. (read more...)