It's our September "afternoon out" at the movies. Member Marjorie Churgin will be hosting us at the Guild Cinema. You'll need to buy your ticket online or at the box office.
THE RED BISHOP, 2025, MEXICO
Director: Francesco Taboada Tabone
Comfortably established within the Mexican Catholic hierarchy, Bishop Sergio Méndez Arceo undergoes a profound spiritual transformation after an encounter with a poor laborer. Embracing liberation theology, and secular humanism, he redefines his pastoral mission in solidarity with the oppressed—placing himself at odds with political authorities, conservative sectors of the Church, and even the Vatican's highest theological offices.
In The Red Bishop, acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Francesco Taboada Tabone, a native of Méndez Arceo's diocese of Cuernavaca, brings to life the dramatic story of one of Mexico's most controversial religious leaders through a gripping documentary narrative. Beyond its historical significance, the film offers a powerful meditation on moral courage, conviction, and the personal cost of standing up for justice in the face of persecution and intolerance.
Francesco Taboada Tabone (Cuernavaca, May 25, 1973) is a Mexican film director specializing in documentary cinema who has received numerous international awards. He is the director of the feature-length documentaries The Last Zapatistas (2000), Pancho Villa: The Revolution Has Not Ended (2006), 13 Communities Defending Water, Air, and Land (2007), Tin Tan (2009), and Maguey (2013). His film, The Red Bishop (2024), on the life of politically controversial Mexican bishop Sergio Méndez Arceo, was released in theaters in Mexico on April 9, 2026. Its screening at The Guild marks its U.S. theatrical premiere.
