MY MEXICAN SHIVAH (MORIRSE ESTA EN HEBREO)

One of the delights of this year’s Cine Las Americas, MY MEXICAN SHIVAH explores the world of the relatively small Jewish community in Mexico City by visiting the seven-day wake of a well-loved actor, Moishe, who dropped dead while dancing joyfully to the music of a mariachi band. To lead Moishe’s relatives and friends through the traditional and elaborate ways of “sitting shivah,” a chevreman is hired but quickly becomes exasperated by this unruly group with their own histories, relationships, slights, and arguments, all of which create a comically complex picture of Moishe’s family, mistress, and many friends. -- Chale Nafus