The work of Avi Nesher and Tomer Heymann was recognized with the International Career Achievement Cabrito de Plata in the inauguration of the 15th Monterrey International Film Festival.

In a meeting with the media before the event, the filmmakers shared some of the expectations of their first time in Monterrey, and the projection of their material within the program of the Festival. 

Although both artists have participated in productions about controversial topics such as homosexuality, Heymann acknowledged that films like Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life are strong and have generated some difficulties to present them in festivals, so it is curious to see how the audience from Monterrey receives it. 

“They have told me that Jonathan Agassi’s movie has very strong scenes, showing scenes of homosexual nudity, which has given me troubles with some festivals. I also understand that homophobia is still very present in Mexico. A friend from Mexico City told me a horrible story about a transsexual boy who was beaten and murdered just a few months ago,” said the filmmaker accompanied by the director of the festival, Juan Manuel González.

He pointed out that his and Nesher’s movies seek to put people at the center of history.

For his part, Nesher, whose film The Other Story will open the festival, highlighted that the language of film is universal and that expression without borders opens the path for film productions.

«It leaves me fascinated to see how a story (The Other Story), which is genuinely Israeli, is perceived everywhere as universal”. 

«I’m very relieved that all the differences between nations and people from everywhere, are things that we all have in common and the only way to warn is through film, because when you watch the news it seems that every country has its own and unique problems, but all that is trash because people are quite similar, and the stories are almost the same, and cinema is a truly universal language. I hope people will be able to notice this when compare Mexican films to ours», Nesher said.

Both Israeli filmmakers will have separate talks within the program of MIFF, starting this Friday Tomer Heymann in Room 1 of the Cineteca at 17:50 hours, where later the film Mr. Gaga will be screened. 

Nesher will hold a talk next Sunday, August 18th in Room 1 of the Cineteca Nuevo León, and later they going to present the film The Matchmakers.

The 2019 edition of the Festical is possible thanks to the collaboration of the state government of Nuevo León, the Council for Culture and Arts of Nuevo León, the State Tourism Development Corporation, the Secretariat of Federal Culture, the Mexican Institute of Film, the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León through its Secretariat of Extension and Culture, and Cinepolis – Sala de Arte.