In a ceremony marked by laughter, tears, a lot of hugs and a celebration of a return to watching films al vivo, the 36th Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) came to a close with the presentation of a long list of prizes to some of Latin America’s top filmmakers, many whose names are well-known in Mexico and across the region and many whose names will, no doubt, be well-known in the future.
In a contradiction fit for the movies, Rodrigo Guardiola and Gabriel Nuncio’s “The Comedian,” a film all about failure, took top honors as this year’s best Mexican film in competition with cinematographer Mario Secco scooping the best cinematography prize for his work on the film.
“It’s wonderful that this movie exists,” said Nuncio at the ceremony. “The truth is, I got to work with very talented people on this movie and I think that’s the only reason I’m up here. And I hope they put this video on YouTube because I want to dedicate this award to my mother.”
This year’s Audience Award went to “Poderoso Victoria” by Raúl Ramón, a turn-of-the-century period drama about a mining town in decline.
“Actually making films in Mexico, and even more so in this last stage of the pandemic, has put us in an unprecedented situation,” said Ramón. “I can only thank the FICG for recognizing the work of our team. I thank my team for the support and for the passion that they have put into this film since it was written, filmmed and released. Hopefully we will return to the movie theaters soon!”
Lead actors Ilse Salas and Fernando Xavier de Casta took the nights top acting prizes for their work in Abner Benaim’s “Plaza Catedral,” The gut-punch drama turns on Alicia, mourning the loss of her 13-year-old son in an accident, who is approached by a witty teen named Chief who pressures her to pay protection money for him to watch her car. She does her best to avoid the young man, until he shows up at her door with a gunshot wound.
Tragically, the non-professional actor who played Chief was killed in an act of gang violence only months before the film’s premiere, meaning that Benaim had to step in and tearfully accept the recognition on the young man’s behalf.
Animated feature “My Sunny Maad” continued its run of fine form, taking the prize for Best International Animated Feature, having previously scored the Jury Award at Annecy, the world’s most prestigious animation festival held in June. Brazilian claymation feature “Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People,” another Annecy standount, also scored an honerable mention.
Attendance and participation in the festival, Latin America’s largest and one of its most prestigious, represented a significant increase over last year’s Covid-battered festival. Next year’s edition promises to be bigger still and with an even larger industry contingent as work is well underway on a new facility to house a larger film market for buyers, sellers, and regional film commissions and production houses.
The awards ceremony was followed by the Mexican premiere of two episodes of the upcoming animated Netflix release “Maya and the Three,” presented by creator-showrunner Jorge Gutierrez, who also hosted a masterclass at this year’s festival.
This year’s festival hosted screenings for 164 films, 96 of them in competition. Nearly 1,600 accredited guests attended and 390 journalists from 140 media outlets covered the event in person. Meanwhile, almost 60,000 people tuned in to watch streams on the FICG YouTube channel, with a quarter-million engagements of videos posted to the fest’s Facebook.
2021 GUADALAJARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
Premio Mezcal
Best Mexican Film
“The Comedian” (Rodrigo Guardiola, Gabriel Nuncio)
Direction
“Nos Hicieron Noche” (Antonio Hernandez)
Cinematography
Mario Secco, (“The Comedian”)
Actress
Ilse Salas (“Plaza Catedral”)
Actor
Fernando Xavier de Casta (“Plaza Catedral”)
Premio Maguey (LGBTQ+)
Picture
“Our Bodies are Your Battlefields” (Isabella Solas)
Jury Prize
“Tobi Szinei” (Alexa Bakony)
Interpretation
Lara Tremouroux (“Medusa”)
Feature Documentary Iberoamericano
Best Picture
“The Sky is Red” (Francina Corbonell)
Honorable Mention
“Vales de Santo Domingo” (Tatiana Fernandez Geara)
Director
Luiz Bolognesi (“A Ultima Floresta”)
Photography
Eryk Rocah, Jorge Chechile (“Edna”)
Ibero-American Feature – Fiction
Best Picture
“Mis Hermanso Suenan Depiertos” (Claudia Huaiquimill)
Photography
Sergio Armstrong (“Inmersion”)
Actress
Maria Romanillos (“Las Consecuencias”)
Actor
Ivan Caceres (“Mis Hermanos Suenan Despiertos”)
Screenplay
Claudia Huaiquimilla, Pablo Greene (“Mis Hermano Suenan Despiertos”)
Director
Nicolas Postiglione (“Inmersion”)
Debut Feature
Inmersion by Nicolas Postiglione
Audience Prize
“Poderoso Victoria” (Raul Ramon)
Premio Mezcal Joven
Best Picture
“Dirty Feathers” (Carlos Alfonso Corral)
Honorable Mention
“Mostro” (Jose Pablo Escamilla)
Premio Hecho en Jalisco (Made in Jalisco)
“Domingo” (Raul Lopez Echeverria)
Honorable Mention
“La Llevada y la Traid” (Ofelia Medina)
Ibero-American Short
“Before I Die” (Iker Esteibarlanda)
Honorable Mention
“Manchester Acatitla” (Selma Cervantes)
International Animated Feature
Best Feature
“My Sunny Maad” (Mechaela Pavlatova)
Honorary Mention
“Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People” (Cesar Cabral)
Premio Internacional Rigo Mora for Animated Short
“Bestia” (Hugo Covarrubias)
Honorable Mention
“Steakhouse” (Spela Cadez)
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