The Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) is proudly celebrating its 40th edition with a milestone: Mexico’s first-ever stop-motion animated feature, “I Am Frankelda” (“Soy Frankelda”), which opens the festival.
Running June 6-14, the country’s most prominent film festival launches a new genre section that features five pics led by Pablo Stoll’s zombie dramedy “Summer Hit” (“El tema del verano”) and Emilio Portes’ “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone.” This new by invitation only sidebar would be the 10th competitive section of the fest.
“It’s never been easy to put on a festival in Mexico – there are a lot of people who don’t really understand the work that goes into it. But what truly matters is that, for 40 years, through changing tides, shifting governments and opposition from both inside and out, we’ve kept the festival alive. And what we’ve come to realize is that this festival deserves to last another hundred years,” said festival director Estrella Araiza.
Written and directed by the brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz, “I Am Frankelda” which world premiered at Annecy, follows the travails of 19th century Mexican writer Frankelda who struggles to get her dark tales recognized. When her creations come to life, she fights alongside the tormented Prince Herneval to stop sinister forces from upending reality.
Among the festival highlights is a host of features from guest country of honor, Portugal, led by Maria de Medeiros (“Pulp Fiction”) who presents her 2000 directorial debut, “April Captains.”
Iberoamerican pics in competition include Berlinale title “Deaf” by Spain’s Eva Libertad, “The Best Mother in the World” from Brazil’s Anna Muylaert and the Dominican Republic’s “Tiguere” by José María Cabral.
Spain’s Oscar-nominated J. A. Bayona (“Society of the Snow”) will be honored with a retrospective of his work, including an outdoor screening of his horror gem, “The Orphanage,” at the city’s emblematic Belén Pantheon.
The festival bestows its honorary Mayahuel de Plata to actress Dolores Heredia (“Pedro Paramo,” “Vantage Point”) who celebrates her nearly four decades in the biz.
“Instructions Not Included” producer Monica Lozano receives the Industry Mayahuel tribute while “A Fantastic Woman” star Daniela Vega is recognized with the Premio Maguey Queer Award. Meanwhile, Mexican electropop artist Denisse Guerrero will be presented with a lifetime achievement award, the Premio Maguey Trayectoria.
The industry section, led by Ximena Urrutia, is chock a block with various activities including large-scale Co-production Meetings, pics-in-post pitch program Guadalajara Construye, series in development section Episodio 0, video game space FICGGames Playtest, a doculab, networking platform Talents, and of course, its market.
“This year, we’re launching something new that’s especially meaningful to me: the Schools’ Corner. As a graduate of the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) in Mexico, I know firsthand how confusing it can be to leave film school without a clear path forward or knowing how to get a project off the ground. That’s why we created this space – this year, it’s primarily focused on Mexico and brings together many of the country’s key film schools, from major institutions like CCC to several smaller ones as well,” said Urrutia.
According to Urrutia, each participating school will bring 10 handpicked students to the festival, with over 100 already confirmed to attend.
“We’re going to walk them through how each of our programs works – how to apply, what applying actually entails, and how a project needs to be structured to be seriously considered. In addition, they’ll have access to our virtual market, specifically the one-on-one meeting platform, which has been working remarkably well for the past few years. Last year alone, we hosted 2,700 professional one-on-one meetings,” she pointed out.
Said Araiza: “What matters most to us is helping people understand that we will always be a space where new filmmakers can grow. A place where emerging careers can take off, where people can discover and learn about cinema– not just for film lovers, but also for those who dream of making a life in film.”
Ibero-American Fiction Films Competition
“The Best Mother in the World,” Anna Muylaert (Brazil)
“A Procura de Martina,” Márcia Faria (Brazil, Uruguay)
“The Wild Years” (“Los años salvajes”), Andrés Nazarala (Chile)
“Cuerpo celeste,” Nayra Ilic García (Chile, Italy)
“This Island” (“Esta isla”), Lorraine Jones Molina, Cristian Carretero (Puerto Rico)
“Molt Lluny,” Gerard Oms (Spain, Netherlands)
“Bitter Gold” (“Oro amargo”), Juan Olea (Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Germany)
“The Blue Trail” (“O último azul”), Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Chile)
“The Cottage” (“La Quinta”), Silvina Schnicer (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain)
“Dreaming of Lions” (“Sonhar com Leões”), Paolo Marinou-Blanco (Portugal, Brazil, Spain)
“Deaf” (“Sorda”), Eva Libertad (Spain)
“Tiger” (“Tiguere”), José Maria Cabral (Dominican Republic)
Ibero-American Documentaries in Competition
“Savanna and the Mountain” (“A Savana e a Montanham”), Paulo Carneiro (Portugal, Uruguay)
“The Twilight of the Crickets” (“El atardecer de los grillos”), Gonzalo Almeida (Argentina)
“Cais,” Safira Moreira (Brazil)
“Copan,” Carine Wallauer (Brazil, France)
“Croma,” Manuel Abramovich (Argentina, Germany, Austria)
“The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés,” Antón Álvarez (Spain)
“Light Memories” (“Eco de luz”), Misha Vallejo Prut (Ecuador, Germany)
“Black Gold” (“Ouro negro”), Takashi Sugimoto (Portugal)
“Paradise” (“Paraíso”), Ana Riper (Brazil)
“Runa Simi,” Augusto Zegarra Pineda-Arce (Peru)
“Afternoons of Solitude” (“Tardes de soledad”), Albert Serra (Spain, France, Portugal)
Premio Mezcal, Mexican Films in Competition
Fiction
“Rock, Weed and Wheels” (“Autos, mota y rocanrol”) José Manuel Cravioto (Mexico)
“Café Chairel,” Fernando Barreda Luna (Mexico)
“Crocodiles” (“Cocodrilos”), J. Xavier Velasco (Mexico, U.S.)
“Twelve Moons” (“Doce lunas”), Victoria Franco (Mexico)
“Newborn” (“Un mundo para mí”), Alejandro Zuno (Mexico)
Documentaries
“At the End of the World,” Abraham Escobedo-Salas (Mexico, Belgium)
“Boca Vieja,” Yovegami Ascona Mora (Mexico)
“Isleño,” César Talamantes (Mexico)
“I Watched the Drops Fall, Illuminated by the Lightning, and With Every Breath I Took, I Sighed, and Every Time I Thought, I Thought of You” (“Miraba caer las gotas iluminadas por los relámpagos, y cada que respiraba suspiraba, y cada vez que pensaba, pensaba en ti”), Pepe Gutiérrez, Carlos San Juan (Mexico)
“To be Named Olympia” (“Llamarse Olimpia”), Indira Cato (Mexico)
