10 · 06 · 25

The 23rd FICM Celebrates Young Creativity With the First Edition of the ANIMEXICO Short Film Program

• The ANIMEXICO Scholarship short film series will be screened as part of the 2025 Morelia International Film Festival.
• The screening will take place at Cinépolis Morelia Centro on Sunday, October 12th.
   

The 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) presents a special series dedicated to short films made by young Mexican talents recognized with the ANIMEXICO Scholarship. This scholarship is a joint effort by Mexican director, screenwriter, producer and Academy Award winner, Guillermo del Toro, the CEO of Cinépolis and President of FICM, Alejandro Ramírez, and the prestigious GOBELINS animation school in Paris.

The series, which can be seen on October 12th, brings together six short films that were graduation projects by the scholarship recipients after they completed their master's degrees. These works reflect the diversity of styles and themes of their creators, who have brought Mexico's name to the national and international stage.

The ANIMEXICO Scholarship animated short film program will be presented at a special screening in Screening Room 3 at Cinépolis Morelia Centro. Alejandro Ramírez and FICM programmer and coordinator of FICM Presents, Pablo Baksht, will present on behalf of Daniela Michel.

"It is an honor and a profound joy for FICM to present this series featuring the work of young Mexicans who are part of the ANIMEXICO Scholarship. We are proud to know that this alliance, which is capable of changing lives and enriching Mexican animated cinema with creators trained at the highest international level, was forged within the festival. We hope that this screening will inspire new talent and reinforce the conviction that, by investing in emerging creators, we are sowing the seeds for the future of cinema," shared Daniela Michel, founder and general director of FICM.

Alejandro Ramírez added: "The Festival constantly strives to be a meeting point between new generations of filmmakers and the audience. With this series of short films from the ANIMEXICO Scholarship being shown on the big screen for the first time, we celebrate the creativity and ability of Mexican animation to engage with the world, and we reaffirm our commitment to opening spaces where these young voices can grow and be recognized."

"Nine young animators of different ages and from different places in Mexico have found in the ANIMEXICO Scholarship a way to showcase their talent on the highest stage of world animation. This diversity of backgrounds is proof that creativity has no borders or labels. I am proud to see how each of them carries the wealth of Mexico with them and reinforces that the future of cinema is built on diversity, hard work, and dreams," Guillermo del Toro added.

The short films that are part of this series are:

• La Bestia (The Beast) – ANIMEXICO Scholarship graduation project, 2018.

Directed by the winner Ram Tamez, co-directed by Marlijn van Nuenen and Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt.

A harsh and symbolic tale about migration. Guayaba, a young smuggler, transports Lupita, a migrant girl, on the freight train known as La Bestia. A wound on his leg triggers visions in which the train becomes a monster that threatens to devour them. The short film was conceived with transformation as the keyword, not only visually, but in terms of characters who evolve throughout the journey too. The directors wanted the train itself to become a character, mutating into a beast. The inspiration came from the real phenomenon of migration in Mexico, which gave the project additional emotional weight, as the three co-directors are immigrants pursuing their own dreams.

The film uses 2D digital animation, dark colors, and a stylized design that emphasizes the harshness of the journey. The music is by Thomas Pirronneau and Ram Tamez, and the sound design is by Clément Naline and Cédric Denooz. Produced at GOBELINS and distributed by Miyu Distribution, it won the Annie Award for Best Student Film, considered one of the highest honors in global animation, in 2021.

• Nube (Cloud) – ANIMEXICO Scholarship graduation project, 2018.

Directed by the winner Christian Arredondo, co-directed by Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera.

A visual metaphor steeped in poetry. Noma, a fluffy white cloud, witnesses the death of an elderly cloud and realizes that her dark and stormy daughter, Mixtli, could rain prematurely. The story addresses themes of motherhood, grief, and fragility through delicate visual language. 

Produced in partnership between GOBELINS, Cub Animation (Hungary), and Avec ou sans Vous (France), it combines pictorial backgrounds with 2D digital animation and ambient music by Thibault Cohade. The sound design by Théophane Bertuit adds emotional depth. The short film received the Premio Ojo to Best Animation Short Film at FICM 2023 and was nominated for the Ariel Award, consolidating its artistic and critical relevance.

• Descansa en Paz (Rest In Peace) – ANIMEXICO Scholarship graduation project, 2019.

Directed by the winner Deborah Balboa, co-directed by Karien Benz, Kai-Hsun Chan, Aparna Hegde, and Yuk Yan Tsoi.

A contemporary fable with dark humor that criticizes populism and manipulation. In a happy town, a tragic incident causes a reaction from the governor, who decides to organize a festival to calm locals, while ignoring protests that point to a sinister truth. The short film was created with the explicit intention of criticizing politicians and their governing methods. Inspired by presidents and governors from their own countries, the directors portray how leaders deceive people, distract them with superficialities, and ignore what is truly important, even going so far as to cause the deaths of their own citizens in real life.

The film stands out for its colorful palette and digital 2D animation, which contrasts with the seriousness of the subject matter. Arthur Dairaine's music serves as an ironic counterpoint, and Laurent Jiménez and Cedric Denooz's sound design creates festive atmospheres that conceal the disturbing. Balboa brings a critical perspective from Mexico, working with a multicultural team that collaborated on GOBELINS.

• El Ombligo de la Luna (The Navel of the Moon) – ANIMEXICO Scholarship graduation project, 2021.

Directed by the winner Ezequiel Garibay, co-directed by Sara António, Julia Grupińska, Bokang Koatja, and Tian Westraad.

A journey of reconciliation between a father and his son, told through the lens of magical realism. Chava, a Mexican mechanic, receives an unexpected visit from Nacho, who brings him his mother's ashes. Together, in a red Volkswagen, they embark on an odyssey to take them to the Moon. Inspired by the Nahuatl meaning of Mexico as “the navel of the moon,” the film combines humor, melancholy, and myth in a lively 2D digital story. Coming from different backgrounds and countries, the co-directors blended their own experiences with universal themes such as empathy, forgiveness, and grief. They chose Mexican characters because the plot resonated with a reality present in Mexico, and also because of the influence of Latin American magical realism and ancestral folklore associated with the Moon.

With music by Aldo Martínez and sound mixing by Clément Naline and Mathieu Tiger, specialists in sound atmospheres, the short film plays with Mexican cultural references and universal imagery. It was nominated for the Student Academy Awards and selected for international festivals, such as the Framed Animation Film Festival in the Netherlands.

• Layla – ANIMEXICO Scholarship graduation project, 2022.

Directed by the winner Narda Rodríguez, co-directed by Oscar Baron, Emma Ferréol, Rachel Gitlevich, Diego H. Blanco, and Lucille Reynaud.

An irreverent coming-of-age story with a '90s aesthetic. Three eleven-year-old boys get a sex robot with the intention of initiating themselves into adulthood, but end up discovering friendship and innocence. They were also inspired by films about young friendship, such as The Goonies, E.T., and Mid90s, as well as skater culture and even the stunts on Jackass, trying to capture the energy of childhood and the desire to imitate adulthood. The short film was animated in TVPaint, with props created in Blender, backgrounds designed in Photoshop, and composition edited in After Effects.

The music by Scott Ampleford, a British composer specializing in animated shorts, brings teenage energy, while Laurent Jiménez's sound emphasizes the absurd. Distributed by Miyu Distribution, Layla has attracted attention for its thematic boldness and visual freshness, consolidating Rodríguez's voice as a representative of a generation unafraid to break taboos.

• El Último Show de los Famosos (The Last Celebrity Show) – ANIMEXICO 2023 Scholarship

Directed by the winner Alejandra Ané Quintana, co-directed by Celia Alcina, Fuxuan Deng, Pontheera Nimmanakiat, and Hongru Su.

A tragicomedy about artistic obsession and family ties. Bruce, a young theater director convinced that he will die at age 27, stages his birthday as his “last show.” His family participates as the cast, but when the script falls apart, chaos invades the scene and confronts him with his most intimate relationships. 

Made in 2D digital, the short film stands out for its messy aesthetic that reflects the chaos of life itself. The music by Pierre Mendola and the sound by Clément Naline and Mathieu Tiger reinforce the genre's tension. Selected for European circuits, this title represents the narrative audacity of the newest generation of ANIMÉXICO.

The ANIMEXICO Scholarship: A Platform for Mexican Animation

The ANIMEXICO Scholarship was created in 2018, thanks to the collaboration of Guillermo del Toro, Cinépolis, and GOBELINS Paris. It covers tuition and living expenses, allowing beneficiaries to study at the prestigious Master's program in Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking at GOBELINS Paris, one of the world's top 2D animation schools.

This program, which brings together the work of six generations who have taken Mexican animation to international stages, not only celebrates their achievements but also reaffirms ANIMEXICO's commitment to promoting young artists, fostering cultural exchange, and ensuring that the future of national animation shines on the global stage.