07 · 08 · 13 Heli by Amat Escalante, winner at the Munich Film Festival Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard The exceptional work of Mexican Amat Escalante, Best Director at Cannes 2013, has been recognized one more time. In the 31st edition of the Munich Film Festival, which came to an end on July 6, his film Heli won the ARRI/OSRAM Award to the best foreign film. An independent jury selects the winner of this award, who receives 50 thousand euros. After rewarding Heli in Munich, the jury, composed by Steven Gaydos, Maria Schrader and Peggy Siegal, declared: "Through the intimate story of one Mexican family's ordeal, Heli powerfully humanizes the plight of an entire country caught in the middle of a devastating drug war that has claimed by some estimates 100,000 lives in the past few years. Heli is an unforgettable portrait of the struggle for dignity in the face of a human catastrophe. Not only does the film touch us through it's simple, restrainted depiction of this tragic subject matter, but Amat Escalante demonstrates the writing and directing sureness of a master filmmaker." Another Mexican that triumphed at the 2013 Munich Film Festival was Sebastián Hofmann, whose opera prima Halley (FICM 2012 Official Selection) won the CineVision Award, of 12 thousand euros. The award has been presented to the best international newcomer film since 2007, in order to support upcoming directors and provide them with exposure in Germany. The jury, composed by Aggeliki Papoulia, Jean-Marc Barr and Luis Miñarro, also granted this award to the Slovakian film My Dog Killer by Mira Fornay. The jury of the CineVision Award gave the following statement: “…both films were created with simplicity. They were able to tell a story, make cinema and were audacious in presenting a contemporary sociopolitical reality while exploring the existential human condition. Both films revealed talented new directors using strong leading actors that drove the story. " Congratulations to Amat Escalante and Sebastián Hofmann for their impressive success in international platforms such as the Munich Film Festival!
