Bruno Santamaría Razo’s fiction debut “Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building”(“Seis meses en el edificio rosa con azul”) has clinched the top Ojo award at the 24th Morelia Film Festival (FICM), which wraps Oct. 25.
Hailed by Variety as a “lush, poetic film rooted in memories,” it became the first Mexican feature to compete at Cannes’ Critics Week in 20 years.
Morelia’s international jury, led by J.A. Bayona (“Society of the Snow”), praised the coming-of-age film for “courageously exploring the past, embracing pain and transforming it …into an expression of pure, unbound beauty.”
Drawing on the filmmaker’s own experiences, the drama traces back to a defining moment in his childhood: the year he turned eleven and when his father was diagnosed with HIV.
“Six Months…” also nabbed the Audience Award for fiction films, a strong indication of its box office potential.
Alejandro Ramírez, Cinépolis CEO and FICM president, described the festival’s 24th edition as a particularly Mexican celebration as it welcomed some of Mexico’s finest filmmakers and actors, including Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Reygadas, Jonás Cuarón, Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Demián Bichir, Diego Boneta and Luis Gerardo Méndez.
With James Gray in town to present his crime drama “Paper Tiger” and J.A. Bayona serving as jury president, the festival has enjoyed a standout edition, he noted. Bayona also presented “Beyond Society,” a three-part documentary about the making of “Society of the Snow.”
“I think the films this year represent the wide diversity of Mexican cinematic imagination,” festival director Daniel Michel observed.
“There are many different and fascinating stories covering the breadth of experiences in our country which, we hope, will find a home in cinemas, as well as a large spectatorship. We’re also very proud to represent very different regions; Mexico is not a country one can easily summarize, but, rather, a vast territory with many differences which, I believe, our official selection has tried to gather in a single place.”
Meanwhile, Joaquin del Paso’s “The Garden We Dreamed,” which turns on a Haitian family traveling north in search of a better future, snagged two awards: a Special Mention and Best Cinematography for its DP, Gökhan Tiryaki.
“Sad Girlz,” a buzz film at the fest, was recognized as the best fiction debut with the Casa Wabis-Escine award, lauded by the jury for its “genuine performances” and “impeccable exploration of a young modern teen’s life, with all its complexities and contradictions.”
The rest of the awards were quite evenly distributed. Santiago Maza, whose “Black Shine” competed among the short films, won the ECAM award, a scholarship for a Master’s degree in distribution from the prestigious Madrid Film School (ECAM).
Nicolas Pereda snapped up the Best Director award with his absurdist comedy “Everything Else Is Noise,” which also snagged his lead Teresa Sanchez (“Flies”) a Best Actress Ojo prize for her performance as Tere, a cello musician-composer in whose apartment her colleague Rosa arranges her first television interview.
Sam Louwyck won the Best Actor prize for his portrayal of a gay hairdresser in Nathalia Acevedo’s “Beauty Salon,” where his salon serves as a refuge for marginalized people.
Noted Michel: “We’re also very pleased to have had directors from very different backgrounds and identities who have brought their perspectives and very singular ideas on filmmaking to our festival.”
Next year, the festival will be moving its dates back to the last week before the Day of the Dead. FICM is already gearing up for its 25th anniversary, promising a landmark edition with major guests, bold retrospectives and a stellar lineup.
Among the highlights of the 10-day festival:
“Naza”
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s documentary “Naza” – which means collateral damage – played to a packed Teatro Matamoros after which it unsurprisingly won an audience award. Unlike its reception at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize and received a record-breaking standing ovation, it was met with stunned silence as the credits rolled.
Presenting the documentary beforehand was festival VP Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel who underscored the importance of the screening to help audiences understand such a complex conflict. He noted that the Israeli filmmakers have been unable to return to their country after being accused of treason, adding that such accusations by a “criminal government” are a source of pride for those working toward peaceful solutions.
He reaffirmed the festival’s commitment to peace, dialogue and ending violence worldwide, calling for an end to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.
Film critic Alonso Díaz de la Vega, also spoke, describing Naza as a “deeply moving” film that exposes not only the genocide in Gaza but also the global implications of military technology, artificial intelligence and surveillance.
“The most important thing this screening can inspire is not silence, but the words ‘Free Palestine,’” Díaz de la Vega concluded. The film opens in select theaters in Mexico on Oct. 22.
Guillermo del Toro Rules
At the festival to present the 3D re-release of his much-lauded “Pan’s Labyrinth,” the anti-authoritarian theme of his Oscar-winning fable hit home even harder this time, given the rise of right-wing governments across the region and the world at large.
Speaking to hordes of mostly young fans at his Masterclass and later at a press conference and multiple one-on-one interviews, the indefatigable filmmaker reflected on the current state of affairs in the world.
He grew emotional at the presser when he said: “The state of our species and society today goes beyond anything we could have imagined back then. But I recognize the same sadness and despair. It pains me deeply to see one, two, or three generations fail the next. We’re handing down a world in ruins, morally, socially and spiritually fractured, with the very fabric that once allowed us to tell fables and parables falling apart.”
French-Mexican Alliance
As part of the partnership established in 2003 between FICM and Cannes Critics’ Week, this year’s edition presented a selection of eight films and one short that screened at the sidebar last May. Ava Cahen, artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival’s parallel section, led the screenings, which included such titles as Aina Clotet’s “Viva,” Alexander Murphy’s “Tin Castle” and Zou Jing’s “A Girl Unknown.”
Toasting Mexico and France’s 200 years of diplomatic relations this year, French ambassador to Mexico Delphine Borione awarded Alfonso Cuarón the insignia of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters during the fest to honor his “extraordinary contribution to contemporary cinema, singular vision, artistic reinvention and role in bringing Mexican culture to global audiences.”
Calling Cuarón “one of the greatest filmmakers of our time,” she praised his universal vision and the cultural ties his work has forged between Mexico and France. “To speak to the world, one must never stop being oneself,” she said, reflecting on his films, from “Y Tu Mamá También” to “Roma.”
Reflecting on France’s deep influence on his filmmaking, Cuarón described cinema as “not a narrative art, but a musical art” – a rhythmic, organic creation with its own heartbeat and a direct image of time.
He closed by addressing France’s current political turmoil, expressing hope that young people’s calls for change would be heard rather than co-opted by opportunism. Quoting French writer Pascal Quignard, he concluded: “I do not believe art can ever be negative. It ignores negation because it ignores time.”
24th Morelia Film Festival ‘Ojo’ Winners:
Best Feature Film
“Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building,” Bruno Santamaria Razo
Special Mention
“The Garden We Dreamed,” Joaquin del Paso
Premio Casa Wabis – Escine Best Debut Feature
“Sad Girlz,” Fernanda Tovar
Best Director
Nicolás Pereda, “Everything Else is Noise”
Best Screenplay
Joaquín Ruano, “Us”
Best Cinematography
Gökhan Tiryaki, “The Garden We Dreamed”
Best Actress
Teresa Sánchez, “Everything Else is Noise”
Best Actor
Sam Louwyck, “Beauty Salon”
Best Documentary
“Forensita,” Pablo Vaca
Special Mention
“The Lost Mariachis,” Francisco Ohem
Best Fiction Short
“Cuerda Manual,” Gustavo Obregon
Special Mention, Fiction
“Albatross,” Amandine Thomas
Best Documentary Short
“Voces en el bosque,” Teresa Camous Guerrero, Arturo López Pio
Special Mention, Documentary
“Nadie recuerde ese film,” Andrés Pulido Esteva
Best Animated Short
“Cuna de lobos,” Emilia Schettino Bustamante
Special Mention, Animated Short
“Cartas a los perdidos,” Adriana Monteforte Lahera
International Audience Award
“Naza,” Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
National Audience Award
“Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building,” Bruno Santamaria Razo
Documentary Feature Audience Award
“Yātrā,” Alejandro Rugama
ECAM Award
Santiago Maza (“Black Shine”)