Promising first film by Mexican director Fernando Frías

Carefree and charming, “Rezeta,” first film from director Fernando Frías de la Parra, is a breath of fresh air in the already exuberant landscape of contemporary Mexican cinema.

The film, which on Jan. 23 received the Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, is a patchwork of naturalistic pieces without elaborate transitions and without a strong narrative structure.

It is the spontaneity in the interpretation of the actors and the lively 16 mm camera work that cement together the hour-and-a-half movie.

The camera captures the actors’ spontaneous performances, under the phenomenal direction of Frias,, and an elaborate aesthetic — shaky camera and many backlit shots — an example of the splendid work of cinematographer Emilio Valdes.

The film focuses on a Kosovar model (Rezeta Veliu) who is staying in Mexico City to film several commercials. Over a period of several months, Rezeta meets several men, including Alex (Roger Mendoza), a punk rocker with whom she shares a love story.

Frías was introduced to the world of fashion by working for television as an assistant director in advertising, where he found his inspiration to paint “the emotional portraits that I identify with,” in the words of the young director.

Like his countryman Nicolás Pereda, Frías shoots with non-professional actors, and he admits that he adjusted the script on the set during filming. Unlike Pereda’s films, where the camera barely moves and remains vigilant without interfering, the camera work in “Rezeta” is more of a protagonist.

“Rezeta,” with dialogues mostly in English, shares the ease and charm of two films – the character of Rezeta reminisces Anna Karina in “Une femme est une femme” by Jean-Luc Godard, and her relationship with Alex brings to mind the love story in “Before Sunrise” by Richard Linklater.

Fernando Frias studied at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. “Rezeta” was filmed in 21 days during the summer of 2010. It was not until a year later that the editing started, as he went to the Columbia University, New York, on a Fulbright Scholarship. The film premiered at the Festival of Morelia, Michoacán, in November 2012.

“Rezeta” will be the only Latino film in the 16th edition of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival (SF IndieFest). It will be shown at the New Parkway in Oakland on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 9:15 p.m., and at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 20 at 9:15 pm.

—Translation Alfonso Agirre