Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron at Morelia Fest

Official entry of Mexico into Oscar“Sujo“, did a sweep 22^nd International Film Festival of Morelia (FICM), which won the Ojo Awards for Best Film, Director and Screenplay.

Co-writers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, whose debut feature Identification Features won a pair Sundance awards and won Best International Feature at the 2021 Gotham Awards, and also won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema for his second feature, Soujo, in January.

Welcome Diversity As an “optimistic alternative to the violent drug war films,” this touching coming-of-age story revolves around the influence of drug cartels on youth. The story follows young Sujo (played by Kevin Uriel Aguilar Luna and Juan Jesus Varela) as he grows up surrounded by their violence. When his father, a sicario (hitman), is killed, he becomes a target, but Sujo’s fearless Aunt saves him.

Sujo’s victory caps off a vibrant festival that included Francis Ford CoppolaAlexander Payne, Alfonso CuaronLiv Tyler, Ava DuVernay, Ira Sachs and Leos Karax.

The festival, directed by Daniela Michel, opened on October 18 with France’s entry to the Oscars with Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, which won the Cannes Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for its four leads: Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Carla Sofia Gascon. and Adriana Paz. The latter two were special guests at the 22nd FICM.

Coppola’s latest opus, Metropolis, was presented at the festival’s gala screenings, where the five-time Oscar winner was awarded the FICM Award for Artistic Excellence.

Additionally, multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto premiered his directorial debut Pedro Páramo, an adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s literary classic for Netflix.

Prieto was nominated for his lens work on Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, Silence, The Irishman and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Cuaron, winner of multiple Oscars for “Gravity” and “Roma,” closed the festival on Oct. 25 with his latest work, the AppleTV+ limited series “Disclaimer.”

FICM, which recognizes and presents the best Mexican work of the year, has also held the Mexican premieres of such acclaimed films as Brady Corbet’s Brutalist, Mark Cousins’ documentary A Sudden Look at Deeper Things, Luis Ortega’s El Jockey, Origin DuVernay, The Other Man by Aaron Shimberg, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, The Room Next Door by Pedro Almodóvar, and Anora by Sean Baker, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Venice Film Festival. Cannes Film Festival this year.

22^nd FICM Winners:

Best Mexican Feature Film

“Sujo”, Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez

Best Director

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best Screenplay

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best Actor

Andrés Revo, “Beautiful Young People” (“Hombres ítegros”)

Best Actress

Diana Laura Dee, “Cruel Butterflies” (“Violentas mariposas”)

Best Mexican Documentary

“I Died” (“Li Cham”), Ana Tsueb

Special Mention for Mexican Documentary

“Cracked” (“La Falla”), Alana Simoes

Best Mexican Short Fiction Film

“Spiritum”, Adolfo Margulis

Best Mexican Animated Short Film

“The Black Spot” (“La mancha negra”), Yareni Velazquez Mendoza

Best Mexican Short Documentary

“In Search of a Donkey” (“Buscando un burro”), Juan Vicente Manrique

Special Jury Prize

“Renta Imagen: Niño halcón duerme entre visiones de un incendio”, Mauricio Saenz-Cánovas

Best Short Film from Michoacan

“Impronta” (“Impronta”), Rafael Martinez-Garcia

Best Screenplay for a Short Film in Michoacan

“Antesala al primer beso”, Adrian A. Gonzalez Camargo