“Sujo” made Mexico’s official entry into the Oscars, sweeping the 22-film fieldSecond abbreviation Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), winner of the festival’s Ojo Awards for Best Film, Director and Screenplay.
Co-writers Astrid Rondro and Fernanda Valadez, whose debut film “Select Features” won two Sundance Awards and took home Best International Feature at the Gotham Awards in 2021, also took home the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema for “Sujo,” their film of the year The second, in January.
He praised her diverse As an “optimistic alternative to violent drug war films,” the poignant coming-of-age story revolves around the influence of drug cartels on young people. The story follows a young man, Sogo (played by Kevin Uriel Aguilar Luna and Juan Jesús Varela) who grows up surrounded by violence. When his father, a hired killer, is killed, he becomes a target but is rescued by Sogo’s daring aunt.
Sogo’s win caps a star-studded festival that included attendees including Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron, Liv Tyler, Ava DuVernay, Ira Sachs and Leos Carax.
Led by Daniela Michele, the festival opened on October 18 with France’s Oscar nomination, “Emilia Pérez” directed by Jacques Audiard, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes and the Best Actress award for its four leads, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Carla Sofía Gascón. And Adriana Paz. The latter two were special guests at the 22nd FICM.
Coppola’s latest work, “Megalopolis,” was featured in the festival’s screenings, where the five-time Academy Award winner received the FICM Artistic Excellence Award.
Additionally, multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto has brought his directorial debut Pedro Páramo, an adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s literary classic to Netflix.
Brito was nominated for his work in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” and Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” “The Irishman” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Cuarón, who won multiple Academy Awards for “Gravity” and “Roma,” closed out the festival on October 25 with his latest work, the AppleTV+ limited series, “Disclaimer.”
FICM, which recognizes and showcases the best Mexican works of the year, has hosted the Mexican premieres of notable titles such as Brady Corbett’s “The Brutalist,” Mark Cousins’ documentary “A Surprising Glimpse into Deeper Things,” and Luis Ortega’s “El Jockey.” “The Original” by DuVernay, “A Different Man” by Aaron Shimberg, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, “The Next Room” by Pedro Almodovar, as well as “Anora” by Sean Baker, winner of the Palme d’Or at this festival. This year’s Cannes Film Festival.
22Second abbreviation FICM Winners:
Best Mexican Feature Film
“Sogo” Astrid Rondro and Fernanda Valadez
Best director
Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez for “Sogo”
Best scenario
Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez for “Sogo”
Best Actor
Andrés Rivo, “The Good Guys”
Best Actress
Diana Laura Dee, “Violent Butterflies”
Best Mexican Documentary Film
“I’m Dead” (“Lee Sham”), Anna Tsoep
Special mention for the Mexican documentary
“Cracked” (“La Falla”), Alana Simoes
Best Mexican Short Film
“Soul” by Adolfo Margolis
Best Mexican Animated Short Film
“The Black Spot”, Yarne Velázquez Mendoza
Best Mexican Short Documentary Film
“Looking for a Donkey” by Juan Vicente Manrique
Special Jury Prize
“Renta Imagine: Falcon Boy Sleeps Among Visions of Fire,” Mauricio Saenz Cánovas
Best short film about Michoacan
“Fingerprint”, Rafael Martinez Garcia
Best screenplay for a short film about Michoacan
“Before the First Kiss,” Adrian A. Gonzalez Camargo