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FICM Kicks Off Its 20th Edition with the Screening of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS

The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) kicked off its 20th edition with the Mexican premiere of the film BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths by the extraordinary Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who was there to present the film. This screening wouldn’t have been possible without Netflix’s invaluable support.

The ceremony, conducted by actress Cassandra Ciangherotti and conductor and film specialist Óscar Uriel, was attended by the founder and director of FICM, Daniela Michel; the president of FICM, Alejandro Ramírez; and the vice president of the festival, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel. Alfonso Martínez Alcázar, Municipal President of Morelia; Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, Governor of Michoacán; María Novaro, and General Director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE) were also present.

During his speech, Alfonso Martínez Alcazar, municipal president of Morelia, acknowledged the work of the festival’s founders, who joined forces to create what we know as the Morelia International Film Festival and which has its origin in the Mexican Short Film Cycle, which began in 1994 at the Cineteca Nacional.

María Novaro, general director of the IMCINE, praised the work that the festival has carried out over the past twenty years to bring the best of contemporary cinema to audiences and for "bringing us closer to a diverse and quality cinema." She also spoke of the place and importance FICM has given to classic and restored cinema.

The Governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, highlighted the cultural value of the state of Michoacán, "we are a proud of our cultural diversity," he said, taking the opportunity to talk about the importance cinema has had in México’s cultural development and the way in which art has kept the country hoping to find new forms to coexist.

Alejandro Ramírez reminisced about presenting state authorities with a proposal to create a film festival that would serve as a platform to show the work of Mexican filmmakers while also serving as a meeting point to enjoy the best of world cinema, without ever imagining that twenty years later it would become one of the most important festivals in Latin America.

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel thanked the invaluable work of all those who have been part of the festival's work team. Similarly, he highlighted the importance of allocating resources to cultural development to expand its access to the population and build a peaceful Mexico.

During the ceremony, Daniela Michel extended a warm thank you to the jurors who have been part of the festival and introduced Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022), the opening film at this twentieth edition of the Film Festival.

The director thanked all the attendees for their presence and acknowledged the work of the festival’s founders, since he has been a witness to the growth of the festival over the past twenty years. As a tribute to the film’s cast and production team and their work, Alejandro González Iñárritu invited everyone to join him on stage.

Prior to the screening, art director Eugenio Caballero, director and special guest Claire Denis, and the cast of the film, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid and Íker Sánchez Solano, among others, walked FICM’s red carpet. 

The 20th FICM will be a hybrid edition with both face-to-face screenings in the Michoacan capital at Cinépolis Morelia Centro, Cinépolis Las Américas, Mariano Matamoros Theater, University Cultural Center, and Plaza Benito Juárez, and free virtual screenings through Cinépolis Klic, Canal 22, and FilminLatino.

This year, the Official Selection is made up of 11 works in the Michoacan Section (9 short films and 2 feature films), 60 titles in the Mexican Short Film Section (15 animation, 16 documentary and 28 fiction), 14 titles in the of Mexican Documentary, and 10 titles in the Mexican Feature Film Section that total 94 filmmakers from different states of the Mexican Republic.

The Mexican Feature Film Section includes: Días borrosos, by Marie Benito; Dos estaciones, by Juan Pablo González; La hija de todas las rabias, by Laura Baumeister; Huesera, by Michelle Garza Cervera: Manto de gemas, de Natalia López Gallardo; El norte sobre el vacío, de Alejandra Márquez Abella; Ruido, by Natalia Beristain; Santa Bárbara, by Anaïs Pareto Onghena; Trigal, by Anabel Caso; and Zapatos rojos, by Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser.

In a great gala of our 20th anniversary, we will have the Latin American premiere of Pinocchio, by the great Guillermo del Toro, thanks to Netflix’s support.

This edition has the privilege to count among its guests of honor American Oscar®-winning filmmaker, Barry Jenkins, who will present Moonlight (2016), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), The Underground Railroad (2021) and The Gaze (2021) during the festival.

Acclaimed French director Claire Denis will also present a special series of her extraordinary work.

Legendary Oscar® nominated producer and filmmaker, Frank Marshall, will join us to present his documentary Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story (2022), co-directed with Ryan Suffern. He will also present a special screening of The Other Side of the Wind (2018), the last Orson Welles film, produced by Marshall, and A Final Cut for Orson (2018), by Ryan Suffern.

The Spanish actress Maribel Verdú will present Raymond y Ray (2022), by Rodrigo García, as well as a special series of her extraordinary work made up of the films Blancanieves (2012), by Pablo Berger; Pan's Labyrinth (2006), by Guillermo del Toro, and Siete mesas de billar francés (2007), by Gracia Querejeta.

We are also privileged to have the presence of: Jerry Schatzberg and Pierre Filmon, who will present Jerry Schatzberg: Landscape Portrait; Laurent Cantet, who will present Arthur Rambo; Jeremy Thomas, who will present Eo, by Jerzy Skolimowksi, an award-winning film at the last Cannes Film Festival; Luis Mandoki, who will present Presencias; Fernando León de Aranoa, who will present his new documentary Sintiéndolo mucho; Amy Redford, who will present Roost; Julie Bertuccelli, who will present her documentary Jane Campion: The Cinema Woman; and Barnabás Tóth, who will present Those Who Remained.

Thanks to the invaluable support of Cineteca Nacional, the UNAM Film Library, Fundación Televisa, Raul and Rodolfo de Anda/Cinevisión, America Movil, David Agrasánchez/Nuevo Cinema Latino, Mr. Carlos Vasallo, and STPC of the RM, the 20th FICM will render tribute to the extraordinary Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Galindo, with a program of special screenings.

As is tradition, the Morelia International Film Festival will present the Indigenous Peoples Forum, with the screening of works by filmmakers Xun Sero, Isis Ahumada, Roberto Olivares, Julio César Saavedra Castro, Aracely Méndez, Florencia Gómez Santiz, Xóchitl Enríquez Mendoza, Galileo Beethoven Genaro Domínguez, José Lomas Hervert, and Salvador Martínez Chacruna.

In addition, the eighth edition of Impulso Morelia will take place at the 20th FICM. This year, the panel will be made up of Laurent Cantet, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes; Patricia Riggen, renowned Mexican filmmaker; Daniela Alatorre, multiple award-winning producer and director; Claudia G. Covarrubias, production and marketing director of the Churubusco Azteca Studios; Mathilde Henrot, renowned curator, programmer, and co-founder of the online service Festival Scope; Alessandro Raja, prominent programmer and co-founder also of Festival Scope; and Kyzza Terrazas, renowned Mexican writer and filmmaker.

We want to thank the Government of the State of Michoacán, which, as every year through the Secretary of Tourism, gives us their unconditional support for the realization of this great Morelia International Film Festival, thanks to Secretary Roberto Monroy García and the entire team that makes up the Secretary of Tourism.

We especially thank the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo for their kind support. A large part of the official venues of the festival are possible thanks to the enormous willingness of the rector, Dr. Raúl Cárdenas Navarro, the Secretary for Diffusion and University Extension and all the staff who make it possible for us to occupy their spaces during the duration of the festival.

We also appreciate, as always, the invaluable and generous support of the various dependencies of the Government of the State of Michoacán, the Honorable Municipality of Morelia, the Secretary of Culture of the Government of Mexico, Cinépolis, the Mexican Institute of Cinematography, the Cineteca National, from the General Directorate of Cinematographic Activities - UNAM Film Library, the Televisa Foundation, the Michoacán University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo, all our allied media and from each one of the instances that make the realization of this event possible.

Likewise, we would like to offer a very special thanks for all their support to the Embassy of France, the Embassy of the United States of America, the Embassy of Hungary, the Embassy of Spain, UniFrance, Channel 22, Canal Once, Cinépolis Klic, Cinépolis Distribución, FilminLatino, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Netflix, Piano, Mubi, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures México, Walt Disney Company Latin America, Tulip Pictures, Interior XIII, Diamond and Cine Caníbal; as well as Mundet, HSBC, Kansas City Southern de México, Lexus, 400 Conejos, and Nespresso.

We also thank the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Mexico, with whom we have expanded our collaboration to promote recognition of diversity, respect for differences, the dissemination of the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination, and the prevention of violence based on sex and gender. With these actions, FICM seeks to spread forms of social and community development focused on people, to be a space for the construction of other ways of inhabiting cinema, focused on inclusion, as well as building a safe space for all the people who come together in it.

Check out the complete program and all screenings at the 20th FICM at www.moreliafilmfest.com/programacion.