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

Mexico’s official accession to the Oscars“Sujo”, swept the 22^i.e Morelia Int’l Film Festival (FICM), where the festival’s Ojo Awards for Best Film, Director and Screenplay are won.

Co-helmer writers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, whose debut pic “Identifying Features” won a pair Sun dance awards and won Best International Feature Film at the 2021 Gotham Awards, and also took home the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema in January with “Sujo,” their second feature.

Greetings by Variety As an ‘optimistic alternative to violent drug war films’, the gripping coming-of-age story revolves around the impact of drug cartels on youth. The story follows young Sujo (played by Kevin Uriel Aguilar Luna and Juan Jesús Varela) who grows up surrounded by their violence. When his father, a sicario (hitman), is murdered, he becomes a target, but Sujo’s fearless aunt saves him.

Sujo’s win caps off a festival packed with celebrities, including Francis Ford CoppolaAlexander Payne, Alfonso CuarónLiv Tyler, Ava DuVernay, Ira Sachs and Leos Carax present.

The festival led by Daniela Michel opened on October 18 with the French entry for the Oscars, “Emilia Pérez” by Jacques Audiard, which won the Cannes Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for the four leading roles, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz. The last two were special guests at the 22nd FICM.

Coppola’s latest opus ‘Megalopolis’ was featured during the festival’s gala performances, where the five-time Academy Award winner received FICM’s Artistic Excellence Award.

In addition, multi-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto presented his directorial debut ‘Pedro Páramo’, a film adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s literary classic for Netflix.

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

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

FICM, which recognizes and showcases the best Mexican works of the year, also hosted the Mexican premieres of prominent titles such as Brady Corbet’s ‘The Brutalist’, Mark Cousins’ documentary ‘A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things’, ‘El Jockey’ by Luis Ortega, DuVernay’s ‘Origin’, Aaron Schimberg’s ‘A Different Man’ and winner of the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival, Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘The Room Next Door’, as well as Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’, winner of the Palme d’ Or at this annual Cannes Film Festival.

22^i.e FICM winners:

Best Mexican Fiction Film

“Sujo”, Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez

Best director

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best case scenario

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best Actor

Andrés Revo, “Fine Young Men” (“Hombres íntegros”)

Best Actress

Diana Laura Di, “Violent Butterflies” (“Violentas mariposas”)

Best Mexican Documentary

“I Died” (“Li cham”), Ana Ts’uyeb

Special mention for Mexican documentary

“Cracked” (“La falla”), Alana Simoes

Best Short Mexican Fiction Film

‘Spiritum’, Adolfo Margulis

Best Mexican Animated Short Film

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

Best short Mexican documentary film

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

Special Jury Prize

“Renta Imagen: Niño hacón duerme entre visiones de un cendio,” Mauricio Sáenz-Cánovas

Best Michoacan Short Film

“Imprint” (“Impronta”), Rafael Martínez-García

Best Michoacan Short Film Screenplay

“Antesala al primer beso”, Adrián A. González Camargo