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Desierto by Jonás Cuarón to Premiere in Mexico at FICM

The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) is pleased to announce that Desierto (2015), by the talented Mexican director Jonás Cuarón, will have its premiere in Mexico during the 13th edition of FICM.

Desierto presents the story of a group of Mexican migrants who try to cross the border into the United States. In their attempt, the journey turns into a nightmare when, in addition to the constant surveillance of the border patrol to prevent them from crossing, a deranged armed “vigilante” waving the Confederate flag is bent on killing each one of them.

Jonás Cuarón studied Studio Art and English Literature at Vassar College. His first film Año Uña (2007), which was his thesis project, was presented at the 5th edition of FICM. Last year, during the 12th edition of the festival, he was awarded the Cuervo Tradicional Award which is given to young filmmakers whose career over a year has been remarkable. “For his talent, passion and perseverance” he was named one of the 10 new exceptional film directors by The Hollywood Reporter. [1]

Now, after co-writing with his father, Alfonso Cuaron, the screenplay of the multi-awarded Gravity (2013), he presents his own story and with great skill, a riveting thriller – co-written with Mateo García – in which like Gravity, survival is the only goal of the characters who have virtually nowhere to hide or possibly escape. With the splendid photography of Damián García (Güeros), powerful performances by Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and a musical score by Woodkid, Cuarón achieves an intense cinematic experience full of surprises and dangers amid the vastness of the Sonoran desert that looks both bleak and stifling.

Desierto received the International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI) at the last Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for using a “pure cinema that produces an intense physical sensation of suffocation in a vast space and, at the same time, of being captivated by hatred in its most primitive form.” [2] It also competed in the official selection of the last London Film Festival where it was presented as an impressive second film in which Cuarón is able “of handling with skill and astuteness the pace of a relentless, tragic and wild ride.”[3]

This is a film that García Bernal defines as a tribute to all those who have undertaken this difficult and torturous journey in search of a better future. It is an indispensable parable essential to see and reflect on today where the migrant issue, in the words of Jonás Cuarón, “should not be seen as a problem but as a phenomenon, where human beings should stop being considered as illegal.”

FICM is proud to announce that the gala event of Desierto will feature the invaluable presence of award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón, whose film Gravity opened FICM in 2013. Also featured will be the talented director Carlos Cuarón, close friend of the festival and who has been on the jury in past editions of FICM. The producers of the film are Jonás Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón, Carlos Cuarón, the renowned and visionary producer Alex García and Charles Gillibert.

For FICM it is an honor to present Desierto by Jonás Cuarón, which enriches and embellishes the program of its 13th edition.