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Gatopardo and the FICM presented the documentary film talk at the 17th FICM

In collaboration with Gatopardo, the 17th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) organized a documentary film talk moderated by Guillermo Sánchez Cervantes, editorial coordinator of the magazine, in the presence of directors of documentary feature films that are part of the Official Selection.

The talk was attended by Sergio Morkin, director of Maricarmen, Javier Ávila, director of Niña sola, Acelo Ruiz Villanueva, director of Oblatos: el vuelo que surcó la noche and Juan Antonio del Monte, director of Bad hombres.

Sánchez Cervantes thanked the festival for creating the space for this type of conversations because he mentioned that "it has been an important window in the projection of the documentary genre" and began a discussion which addressed themes such as the motivation to make the films, the processes and main filming problems, and the approach to the social issues that each one tackles.

About documentary cinema, Acelo Ruiz Villanueva, whose documentary talks about the government repression against student and worker organizations during the 1970s in Mexico, mentioned that "reality cinema allows you to get closer to real characters who have a life before and after the film," compared to fiction cinema.

The process of approaching the characters and the narrative structure are one of the most important parts of a documentary and, in this regard, Sergio Morkin, referring to his experience with Maricarmen, expressed that "when you are making the documentary, a discovery process of the project begins in which time becomes the screenwriter. The same structure begins to develop from the character’s transformation process." Maricarmen talks about the daily portrait of a woman who is a musician and a writer, and who lives with a visual impairment.

On the documentary as a tool for social change, Javier Ávila who in Niña sola tackles the femicide of a 19-year-old woman and the macho violence that surrounds her family, mentioned that they sought "that the documentary emerged as a complaint platform, but also as a reflection that takes place in the movie theaters."