09 · 01 · 23

Collaborative Cinema: Daniela Michel and Alfonso Cuarón in “México Siglo XXI” by Fundación TELMEX Telcel

Daniela Michel, founder and general director of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), was in charge of moderating one of the talks held at the annual gathering “México Siglo XXI” (Mexico 21st Century), with the participation of the multi-award-winning Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón. The Academy award winner has been a special guest at the FICM in 2007, 2013, and 2018.

The talk began with questions from some of the young people invited to the event, who expressed interest in how cinema will evolve in the coming years, to which the director of Roma (2018) said he was excited to see the audiovisual proposals of the new generations.

Michel and Cuarón talked about the beginnings of the director, the years in college where he studied Philosophy and Cinema at the same time. He told how since that moment he began to build work networks, as he recalled that at that time he began collaborating with Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematographer, thus establishing a successful collaborative career in movies. This led him to invite the young scholarship recipients to create similar networks among themselves, in order to develop ideas, and collaborative projects, while he also encouraged them to take risks and to take on all kinds of jobs that can lead them to achieve their true dreams, as well as to approach filmmaking as a collaborative exercise, in which it is important to be a team player.

He also addressed the technological breakthroughs in cinema and how they can be both a tool and a threat, taking into consideration the strike currently faced by the Hollywood film industry, due to the lack of regulations in the use of artificial intelligence in audiovisual productions. 

“I've always wanted to make movies, ever since I was a little kid,” said Alfonso Cuarón answering a question from a young man, who asked the director to tell them about the moment when he realized he wanted to be a filmmaker. He took the opportunity to encourage young people not to give up, not to disappoint themselves, and to make movies relying on the current technologies within their reach, and to look for new sources of knowledge. “You guys are the new generation born with a new set of tools. You have an intuitive way of relating with the technology. Follow those instincts to change the paradigms, you have to do what was unimaginable for us,” he added.

The filmmaker urged the young people to listen to “their original instinct,” that which motivated them to choose their work paths, in order to be faithful to their ideals when faced with doubts as to whether or not they chose their careers correctly. He also encouraged them not to confuse success with fame, as they are not directly related to each other.

“México Siglo XXI” is an event that has been held annually since 2002 by Fundación TELMEX Telcel, as part of ongoing support for its scholarship recipients. The event is held in Auditorio Nacional and brings together about 10 thousand scholarship recipients from different parts of the country, both from public and private colleges.