Director, screenwriter, and producer born in Mexico in 1971. He graduated from the Free School of Law, in Mexico City, and earned an MA in the Law of Armed Conflict and Use of Force from King’s College, in London. He later decided to embark on a self-taught film career; in the late 1990s, he began directing short films.His debut feature, Japan (2002), screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and received a Caméra d’Or Special Mention; it was also shown at Toronto and Rotterdam. His next film, Battle in Heaven (2005), competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Silent Light (2007) also competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Jury Prize at Cannes. In addition, it won Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival; the First Coral Prize at Havana; Best Screenplay at Stockholm; and the Golden Columbus for Best Feature and Silver Columbus for Best Director at Huelva, among other honors. The film won five Ariel Awards in 2008, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. With Post Tenebras Lux (2012), he won Best Director at Cannes. His second--to-last film, Nuestro tiempo (2018), premiered in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival.His work as a producer includes projects by other filmmakers through No Dream Cinema and the Splendor Omnia post-production studio. He is considered one of the most influential Mexican directors in recent decades. Special Guests 2026 James Gray Gael García Bernal Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Special Guests in Other Editions Kleber Mendonça Filho Charlie Kaufman Oliver Laxe Robin Campillo Lucrecia Martel Juliette Binoche Francis Ford Coppola Ira Sachs Liv Tyler Alexander Payne James Ivory Ava DuVernay Leos Carax Kathleen Kennedy Jodie Foster James Ivory Luis Mandoki Jerry Schatzberg Maribel Verdú Laurent Cantet Frank Marshall Claire Denis Barry Jenkins Ciro Guerra en Rosalie Varda J. M. Coetzee Luc Dardenne Robert Redford Alfonso Cuarón Damien Chazelle Paul Weitz Patrice Leconte Julie Bertuccelli Carol Littleton John Bailey Olivier Assayas Lynne Ramsay Al Gore Michel Hazanavicius Bob Rafelson Fred Kelemen Aaron Eckhart Casey Affleck Giada Colagrande Audrey Tautou Isabelle Huppert Tim Roth Rodrigo García Peter Greenaway Pawel Pawlikowski Pierre Rissient Amos Gitai Juliette Binoche Edward James Olmos Robert Rodriguez John Sayles Alejandro Jodorowsky Danny Trejo Bruno Dumont Quentin Tarantino Pablo Larraín José María Prado Whit Stillman Dieter Kosslick Geraldine Chaplin Seifollah Samadian Gregory Nava Sally Potter Abbas Kiarostami Damián Alcázar Demián Bichir Elena Anaya Thierry Frémaux Marisa Paredes Michel Gondry Volker Schlöndorff Luis Valdez Béla Tarr Lucrecia Martel Javier Bardem Edgar Ramírez Fernando Trueba Doris Dörrie Serge Bromberg Terry Gilliam Julio Alemán Kelly Reichardt Jennifer Lawrence Steven Soderbergh Michael Nyman Nicolas Philibert Todd Haynes Stephen Frears Héctor Babenco Gael García Bernal Carlos Reygadas Alejandro González Iñárritu Cristian Mungiu Bertrand Tavernier Arthur Penn Jean-Claude Carrière Guillermo del Toro Mike Hodges Diego Luna Tommy Lee Jones Valeria Sarmiento Raúl Ruiz Gus Van Sant Manoel De Oliveira Fernando Vallejo Julia Ormond Salma Hayek Werner Herzog Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck Barbet Schroeder Guillermo del Toro Alfonso Cuarón Casey Affleck
Director, screenwriter, and producer born in Mexico in 1971. He graduated from the Free School of Law, in Mexico City, and earned an MA in the Law of Armed Conflict and Use of Force from King’s College, in London. He later decided to embark on a self-taught film career; in the late 1990s, he began directing short films.His debut feature, Japan (2002), screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and received a Caméra d’Or Special Mention; it was also shown at Toronto and Rotterdam. His next film, Battle in Heaven (2005), competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Silent Light (2007) also competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Jury Prize at Cannes. In addition, it won Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival; the First Coral Prize at Havana; Best Screenplay at Stockholm; and the Golden Columbus for Best Feature and Silver Columbus for Best Director at Huelva, among other honors. The film won five Ariel Awards in 2008, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. With Post Tenebras Lux (2012), he won Best Director at Cannes. His second--to-last film, Nuestro tiempo (2018), premiered in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival.His work as a producer includes projects by other filmmakers through No Dream Cinema and the Splendor Omnia post-production studio. He is considered one of the most influential Mexican directors in recent decades.
