10 · 08 · 05

Guillermo Arriaga Wishes to Focus on the Death Penalty

Clara Sánchez

Guillermo Arriaga, winner of the Best Screenwriter Award at Cannes for Los tres entierros de Melquíades Estrada, gave a press interview during the red carpet walk at the Morelia Film Festival’s gala opening, where he stated his wish to make a film trilogy about the Mexico-US border.

“I’ve made one on accidents, now I’d like to keep exploring the border and to take on the issue of Mexicans on death row. Have you read the statistics? There’s an atrocious amount of Mexicans that are sentenced to death each year in the US.”

Arriaga walked down the red carpet with wife, Maru de Arriaga, and was offended when asked about the possibility of writing a script about the hundreds of women and girls that have been killed in Juarez: “The mere fact that you would ask such a question makes me really angry. I would never write about something like that, I wouldn’t dare exalt those murderers. I think it’s really good that documentaries are being made on the subject, but I’m not willing to fictionalize and give publicity to those heartless killers.”

The author of Amores Perros and 21 Grams stated that the industry desperately needs new screenwriters “in Mexico and abroad. More stories need to be brought into existence.”