The tenth edition of the Monterrey International Film Festival officially closed its activities with the Awards Ceremony and Mexican Career Achievement Tribute to Mexican actor Daniel Giménez Cacho, who received the Cabrito de Plata. He was also awarded the Cabrito de Cristal as Mexican Cinema Icon, for being one of Mexico’s pillars of the film industry.

Claudia Ramírez, who co starred with Giménez Cacho in Sólo con tu pareja, moderated the discussion with the actor, who talked about his incursion in the business in a theater workshop while he was studying a bachelor in Physics. “How I started… it was accidental. I was studying Physics and wanted to be a scientist. I enrolled for two years in the Sciences Department. Then I had a girlfriend that invited me to a theater workshop and there I was reborn. It was as if I had awoken, it was there where I had to be”.

Sólo con tu pareja was a film that marked the before and after of his artistic career. The film spoke about unusual and not completely accepted subjects by society. Some scenes of the film were presented during the event. “We talked about the things which we cared about. AIDS was not discussed because it was very recent, you could say that it was almost like a game. There weren’t many films and because there had never been a film like this one, Sólo con tu Pareja had a big impact”, he stated.

Additionally, Giménez Cacho shared with the attendees his experiences working with directors such as Robert Sneider, Carlos Bolado, Pedro Almodóvar, Luis Estrada, among others. “It varies depending on the individual. I like to try to understand the directors. They have had the story in their heads during a long time. It isn’t so easy because everything is in their heads… trying to understand what exactly they want, place yourself inside the director’s head. Things get easier when you have worked with them several times before”.

Daniel Giménez Cacho spoke about the work he has done on TV as director of the seriesCrónica de Castas. Presently, the popularity among filmmakers to do TV series has grown. However, the creativity and talent in Mexico is limited by the monopolistic control of some power groups. “I believe TV is a great communications means. Everyone that does films is also working in TV. There is a revolution in the production of series, except here. It is not happening here because there is monopolistic situation in the media that doesn’t allow anything to move, it is very sad. There isn’t either a natural democratic progress, so creativity, the development of Mexican talent, gets stagnated”.

Giménez Cacho also explained that he previously resisted accepting recognitions because they were detrimental to his work. But with time he understood that these celebrate a love for the cinema and the need to foresee a better future, as well as a way to defend a space that belongs to everyone. Without films, the world would be a devastating place, he expressed effusively.

“When I was young I resisted accepting recognitions. With time I understood that these were not for only for me but to celebrate our love for the cinema, the acting career and to recognize how much we need art in our lives. We have to acknowledge that as human beings we need to feed our spirit by creating dreams that help us foresee a better future. This is why I gratefully receive this tribute, because here we are honoring creativity, thinking and the communion with what is human. I wish to thank all of you because with your presence you manifest a popular will to defend this space and continue strengthening our community. If we lose this space, which is our cinema, we will live in a somber world, submitted to only one law, that of money, and of only one voice, that of the government. Thanks to the Monterrey IFF, that is reaching its 10th anniversary!”

After the tribute to Giménez Cacho, Mónica Dionne, master of ceremonies, proceeded with the Awards Ceremony of the 10th Monterrey IFF. Present were Juan Manuel González, Director and Founder of the Monterrey IFF, Miguel Ángel Meléndez, Secretary of Culture of the Municipality of San Pedro Garza García, Carlos Gómez Iniesta, Editorial Director of Cine Premiere, and Gabriela Franco, Director of Communications of IMCINE. During the ceremony, the Jury delivered the Cabrito de Plata awards to the winners for best Mexican and international films.

To close the event, Juan Manuel González, Director of the Monterrey IFF, invited the attendees to watch the projections of the winning films. “We are not ending the 10th Monterrey IFF today, so these are not the closing words. We expect you tomorrow at our venues to watch the winning films and other screenings you will enjoy. I wish to thank everyone that has made these intense days of cinema possible; we are very happy with the results of the awards and the jury”.

Finally, the Secretary of Culture of the Municipality of San Pedro acknowledged the importance that the Monterrey IFF has for the city. “Our municipality is very proud that venues such as Plaza Fátima and the San Pedro Auditorium are transformed into cinema theaters for so many people. It is very important for us to be able to be part of this. For the second year we have supported the Festival providing our cultural spaces. The Auditorium and Plaza Fátima are presenting these high-quality films from the IFF, so ultimately our inhabitants can enjoy the best cinema. The effort made by the IFF during 10 years to position the name of Monterrey internationally must be recognized”, he concluded.

Following we list the winning films for each of the Monterrey IFF categories. Each winning film in its category receives a Cabrito de Plata. The best Mexican Feature Films (Documentary and Fiction) receive $100,000 pesos each as part of the promotion of the film industry sought by the Festival. Nuevo León Cinema also receives awards that help develop the quality of the work being done as courtesy from Cine PREMIERE.

 

INTERNATIONAL AND MEXICAN SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION:

Jury Mentions

An der tür (At the door) by Miriam Bliese
Gloria by A. J. Gómez

Best International Fiction Short Film
Dentro (Inside) by Bruno Autran

Best International Documentary Short Film
Nasza Klatwa (Our Curse) by Tomasz Sliwinski

Best International Animated Short Film
Payada pa’ Satán by Carlos Balseiro and Antonio Balseiro

Best Mexican Documentary Short Film
Un día como tantos (A day like any other) by Mauricio Gutiérrez

Best Mexican Fiction Short Film
Nunca regreses (Never come back) by Leonardo Díaz

Best Mexican Animated Short Film
El gran líder (The great leader) by Francisco Jiménez

Best Nuevo León Short Film
El beso (The kiss) by Carlos G. Dávila

*Nuevo León’s Best Short Film, El beso by Carlos G. Dávila, received a special award from Cine Premiere: an Action Cam from Sony with accessories. The award was handed by Carlos Gómez Iniesta, Editorial Director of Cine Premiere. 

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS IN COMPETITION

Best International Documentary Feature Film
Finding Vivian Maier by John Maloof

Jury Mention– International Fiction Feature Film
Chaika by Miguel Ángel Jiménez

Best International Fiction Feature Film
De Nieuwe Wereld (The new world) by Jaap van Heusden

Best International Animated Feature Film
Lisa Limone ja Maroc Orange tormakas armulugu (Lisa Limone and Maroc Orange, a rapid love story) by Mait Laas

 

MEXICAN FEATURE FILMS IN COMPETITION

Best Mexican Documentary Feature Film
La danza del hipocampo (Memories dance) by Gabriela Domínguez Ruvalcaba.

Best Mexican Fiction Feature Film
Cuatro lunas (Four moons) by Sergio Tovar Velarde.

Best Nuevo León Feature Film
La sangre bárbara (Barbarian blood) by Jesús Mario Lozano.

*For this category, Carlos Gómez Iniesta, Editorial Director of Cine Premiere, awarded a Sony HDR-CX900 camera to the Best Nuevo León Feature Film, La sangre bárbara by Jesús Mario Lozano.

The film also received the Rogelio A. González award.

 

STUDENT SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

Jury Mentions

Un día como tantos by Mauricio Gutiérrez Reyna (Visual Arts School)
Querer bonito by Iztarú Alfaro Guerrero (ITESM)

Best Short Film from the Student Short Film Showcase
Sin Dios y sin Santa María by Jorge Alberto Rico Silva (Visual Arts School)