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The 23rd FICM to Present a Retrospective of María Félix, “La Doña”

 

-PRESS RELEASE-

 

August 22, 2025.

 

The 23rd FICM to Present a Retrospective 

of María Félix, “La Doña.”

 

Thanks to the invaluable support of Cineteca Nacional (Mexican National Film Archive),  UNAM Film Archive, Televisa Foundation, and Carlos Vasallo / Video Universal, the 23rd edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) will pay tribute with a retrospective to the legendary actress María Félix “La Doña,” considered the greatest international film star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

"Person and character, desired and unattainable. Neither the lucid pens of Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Salvador Novo, Carlos Monsiváis, Paco Ignacio Taibo, and Enrique Krauze; nor the cameras of Philippe Halsman, Lord Snowdon, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo; nor the brushes of Diego Rivera, Chávez Marión, or Antoine Tzapoff managed to even sketch her contours. Only she herself could convey such an unusual personality: uninhibited, belligerent, tomboyish, seductive, scathing. ‘María Félix is a very womanly woman who has had the audacity not to conform to the idea that men have of women,’ she wrote in her memoirs," writes Héctor Orozco, curator of Televisa Foundation.

This retrospective, which includes collaborations with leading directors like Emilio Fernández, Julio Bracho, Fernando de Fuentes, and Roberto Gavaldón, will showcase seven films—six Mexican and one French-Italian—in which she starred between 1943 and 1955, and in which she displayed her unique style as an untouchable and haughty woman.

"There are all kinds of fascinating and scandalous anecdotes about María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña. However, it is clear that the impact of her beauty, sensuality, poise, charisma and personality, the hallmark of her film career, began when the engineer, producer, director and screenwriter Fernando A. Palacios (Hambre, La china poblana, Cadetes de la naval) discovered her around 1940 on Palma Street in the Historic Center of Mexico City. María was then about 26 years old and would make her debut in El peñón de las ánimas (directed by Miguel Zacarías, 1942) alongside Jorge Negrete, the greatest figure of our cinematography, in a role designed for Gloria Marín, his wife at the time. María and Jorge loathed each other at the time and fell in love a decade later, shortly before the Charro Cantor’s death, following their brief and lavish wedding in 1952”, writes researcher and film critic Rafael Aviña.

The films that make up the retrospective tribute to María Félix "La Doña" are:

The Rock of Souls

Dir. Miguel Zacarías | Mexico, 1943

Due to an old family feud, landowner Braulio Valdivia reminds his grandson Felipe and Manuel to eliminate Fernando Iturriaga. Meanwhile, María Ángela, also Don Braulio’s granddaughter and Manuel’s childhood sweetheart, arrives from Spain. The captivating young woman falls in love with the hated Fernando, but gets engaged to Manuel to avoid bloodshed.

Doña Bárbara

Dir. Fernando de Fuentes (with the collaboration of Miguel M. Delgado) | Mexico, 1943

In Venezuela, lawyer Santos Luzardo arrives in the plains to gain control of his lands, but is locked in a terrible conflict with landowner Doña Bárbara, a brave woman turned by fate into a man-eater with a pact with the devil, and who owns the haciendas—and people’s lives.

La mujer de todos

Dir. Julio Bracho | Mexico 1946

A Spanish woman travels to Mexico with a Mexican soldier, only to discover he is married. While waiting in hope that he will divorce his wife, she meets young Captain Jorge, who rekindles the thrill of falling in love—unaware that he is related to the man who believes he owns her.

A Woman in Love

Dir. Emilio Fernández | Mexico, 1946

Zapatista General José Juan Reyes leads a revolutionary army, taking the city of Cholula. The elites protest as the rebels confiscate property to support their movement. Reyes faces resistance from Beatriz, the daughter of businessman Carlos Peñafiel. The General falls madly in love with her and woos her, despite her engagement and imminent wedding.

The Kneeling Goddess

Dir. Roberto Gavaldón | Mexico, 1947

Antonio gives his wife, Elena, a statue of a nude woman for their anniversary. However, the model who posed for it is Raquel, his lover. Elena dies under mysterious circumstances, and Raquel demands that Antonio marry her or she will expose him. Antonio le regala a su esposa, Elena, una estatua de una mujer desnuda por su aniversario. Sin embargo, la modelo que posó para la escultura es Raquel, su amante. Elena muere en circunstancias extrañas y Raquel le exige a Antonio que se case con ella para no delatarlo.

Maclovia

Dir. Emilio Fernández | Mexico, 1948

The great love between José María and Maclovia is threatened by Sergeant De la Garza’s wild passion for the beautiful woman. Determined to possess her no matter the consequences, the sergeant imprisons José María and offers Maclovia his freedom in exchange for her honor.

French Cancan

Dir. Jean Renoir | France, Italy, 1955

In 1880s Paris, Monsieur Danglard is recruiting beautiful young women for his theater company, as he plans to open a new cabaret in the city: the Moulin Rouge, where can-can will be the main attraction. One of the girls is the naïve Nini, who is seduced by Danglard, but her main admirer is Prince Alexandre. Things are further complicated by the jealousy of Lola, a dancer in love with Danglard.

As part of the tribute to La Doña, the 23rd FICM, in collaboration with Televisa Foundation, will present the photographic exhibition Una diosa para una diosa. María Félix en la colección de Fundación Televisa (A Goddess for a Goddess: María Félix in the Fundación Televisa Collection) at the Andador Hidalgo in Morelia's Historic Center from October 7 to 22.

“With this exhibition, consisting mainly of images from the archive of Guillermo Vázquez Villalobos, preserved in the Film Division Fund of Televisa Foundation, we join FICM in paying tribute to this fundamental figure of 20th-century Mexico. A diva whose life, work, and myth have been revitalized in the popular imagination of the digital age,” adds Héctor Orozco.

Recently, the Museum of Modern Art, New York City (MoMA) showcased a selection of her most significant works, made between 1942 and 1957. This program called “María Félix ‘La Doña’” was organized by Dave Kehr, MoMA Curator in the Department of Film, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, in partnership with FICM and the support of Cineteca Nacional (Mexican National Film Archive), UNAM Film Archive, Televisa Foundation, Carlos Vasallo / Video Universal, and América Móvil.

#FICM2025 will be held from October 10 to 19 with in-person screenings in Morelia, Michoacán, and virtual screenings via nuestrocine.mx. There will be pre-opening screenings on October 9, and the opening screening will take place on October 10.