Skip to main content

Impulso Morelia 11

SELECTION

Chicas tristes

Chicas tristes

Fiction, first film
Dir. Fernanda Tovar
Production companies: Colectivo Colmena, Martini Shot Films, Potenza Producciones, Promenades Films

Maestra and Paula are the strongest swimmers on the team and best friends, until an incident at a party changes everything. Maestra, intense and unstoppable, notices that something in her friend has changed: now she seems sad. She insists again and again until the truth comes to light. Then they face an impossible decision: Paula wants to remain silent, but Maestra wants to seek justice, determined not to give up. Their friendship, once invincible, will be tested like never before.

GUERRAS INVISIBLES

Guerras invisibles

Documentary
Dir. Marcela Arteaga
Prod.: Fabián Hofman, Mao Padilla
Production company: Gefilte Films

Through two radiation “accidents” that occurred in Mexico (1984) and Brazil (1987) and the nuclear disasters in Chornobyl* (1986) and Fukushima (2011), The Invisible War explores how our voracious consumption has deepened social and economic inequality as radiation has become another weapon in our invisible war for survival

La gran familia

La gran familia

Fiction
Dir. Matías Meyer
Prod. Gabriela Maldonado
Production companies: Luc la película, Les Films d´Ici

At fifteen, Chama is sent to La Gran Familia, a shelter run with an iron fist by Mamá Rosa. There, he meets Gato, a rebellious teen dreaming of escape and freedom on the streets. But fleeing isn’t easy—Rosa has allies beyond the walls, and punishment can be brutal. Inspired by true events, the film portrays forgotten childhood in a society that often chooses to look the other way.

Mickey

Mickey

Documentary
Dir. Dano García
Prod. Indira Cato, Dano García, Joceline Hernández, Alejandra Guevara Castillo
Production companies: Venado Films, Phototaxia, Estudio Errante

A collage made by two friends over 10 years in their bedroom ended up as a film. Through acting, re-appropriation, and lots of play, they explore Mickey's self-search and that of those who grew up with her. A journey through self-perception and the anti-punitive confrontation of the past.

Nosotros

Nosotros

Fiction, first film
Dir. Joaquín Ruano
Prod. Pamela Guinea, Joaquín Ruano
Production companies: Cine Murciélago, Cine Concepción

A journey from the deepest mountain territories to the hidden corners of the city. Romero drives a tuk tuk in a village in the Guatemalan highlands. He is bored with his life as a family man, he is searching for something in the margins of life. He migrates to the city to work as a security guard leaving behind his wife and son. He meets Nubia, an older, wiser trans woman, they find shelter and laughter, sex and darkness.

Sueños que migran

Sueños que migran

Documentary
Dir. Juan Javier Pérez
Prod. Daniela Contreras, Nicolas Défossé
Production company: Terra Nostra Films

A young Tsotsil man living undocumented in New York City seeks to maintain his identity, from his now-forced exile, while exploring the profound meaning of migrating, the value of origins, and community. Inspired by the tradition of direct cinema, the documentary takes us from New York to a Tsotsil Mayan village, introducing us to various dimensions of migration.

EXPERTS

Ava Cahen

Ava Cahen

Ava Cahen has been the artistic director of La Semaine de la Critique since the 61st edition (2022). In 2017, she co-founded the website frenchmania.fr, dedicated to French and Francophone cinema, and is still its co-chief editor. She has been a commentator on Canal +'s Le Cercle since 2014, and between 2021 and 2023, she took part in a number of Le Masque et La Plume programs on France Inter. She has published several books on cinema and series (Woody Allen, profession cynique, Cheforama, la gastronomie au cinéma, FrenchMania la revue, Game of Thrones, décodé, Nos premiers films, conversations). She regularly takes part in juries and workshops at international festivals such as Morelia IFF, Busan IFF, Reykjavik IFF, Xining IFF (First), Jerusalem IFF Workshop, Marrakech IFF Atlas Workshops, Sarajevo IFF and Sundance.

Cristian Calónico

Cristian Calónico

He studied Sociology and Film at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He has been director, photographer, scriptwriter and editor in several short films and television programs. He has made several independent documentaries, among which are El Plebiscito: una experiencia democrática, Chiapas: historia inconclusa, Marcos: historia y palabra, Chiapas: la historia continúa, Chiapas: historia y dignidad and El cauce de la memoria.

He has given courses, workshops and conferences in universities and cultural spaces in Mexico and Latin America. He was a professor at UNAM for 15 years, since 1985 he has been a professor of film and video at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and has been a guest professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

He coordinated and taught community video documentary production workshops to groups of young people in Mexico City. He is founder and general director of the video production company Producciones Marca Diablo and general coordinator of the first ten editions of the Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Cine y Video Documental Independiente: Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces, as well as president of Voces Contra el Silencio. Video Independiente, a civil association that promotes projects for the dissemination of the documentary genre, including the Ibero-American Film and Independent Documentary Video Library, which consists of nearly 6,000 documentaries that are loaned free of charge to anyone who requests them for cultural and educational purposes.

He has been a juror in audiovisual calls in Mexico and festivals in Mexico, Asia and Latin America. He has held the General Direction of the Trust for the Promotion and Diffusion of Mexican Cinema in Mexico City (PROCINECDMX) and is currently General Director of Churubusco Studios. His main concern is the dissemination of socially themed documentary film and video, as well as Mexican cinema.

Benjamín Domenech

Benjamín Domenech

Benjamín Domenech is a producer and founder of Rei Pictures, an international film label based in Argentina, Spain, and Mexico focused on developing, producing, and financing films, series, and interactive projects. He is a member of AMPAS (Oscars®), the Argentine Academy of Film, the European Film Academy (EFA), and the producer associations ACE and EAVE.

His most recent credits include: Nuestra tierra (2025) by Lucrecia Martel, which premiered in the Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival; Magic Farm (2025) by Amalia Ulman, which premiered at Sundance and Berlinale and was distributed worldwide by MUBI; El jockey (2024) by Luis Ortega, which premiered in the Official Competition at Venice Film Festival, winner of the Horizontes Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival, and an Argentine candidate for the Oscars; Los colonos (2023), Felipe Gálvez's debut feature film, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard) and a Chilean candidate for the Oscars; El rapto (2023) by Daniela Goggi, an original Paramount+ production premiered in Venice (Orizzonti Extra) and Toronto (Special Presentations); El prófugo (2020) by Natalia Meta, premiered in the Official Competition at the Berlinale; La reina del miedo (2018) by Valeria Bertuccelli, winner of the Best Actress Award in the Official Competition at Sundance; Acusada (2018) by Gonzalo Tobal, a box office hit in Argentina and with multiple remakes after its world premiere in the Official Competition at Venice; Los perros (2017) by Marcela Said, premiered during Critics' Week at Cannes; and the acclaimed Zama (2017) by Lucrecia Martel, which received more than 50 awards worldwide and was listed among the most important films of the century.

Cédric Succivalli

Cédric Succivalli

Cédric Succivalli is a programmer and film critic. He studied under Positif editor-in-chief Michel Ciment and graduated with a Master’s thesis on My Own Private Idaho by Gus Van Sant and a thesis on David Cronenberg’s Crash at the University of Paris VII. He subsequently taught French and cinema at the University of Bath and UWE Bristol and worked for Arte France Cinéma as part of the film funding committee as a screenplay consultant.

He has served as President of the International Cinephile Society for nineteen years, and during that time he has been regularly attending and writing about festivals around the world. He has served on juries at the Noir In Fest, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Morelia, Göteborg, Cairo, Rome, Lecce, Istanbul, San Sebastián, Thessaloniki, Biarritz, Bilbao, Tromsø, the Doha Film Institute, Locarno, the FICUNAM in Mexico City, Scanorama in Vilnius and the 2023 Queer Palm at Festival de Cannes. In 2018 he became a programmer for the Giornate degli Autori sidebar section of the Venice Film Festival.  He is the guest curator of the 22nd Ciclo Rosa LGBTI+ Film Festival at the Bogotá Cinemateca and a script reader and juror for the Doha Film Institute.

He is a member of the European Film Academy, the Golden Globes, L’Académie des Lumières, the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (SFCC) and the FIPRESCI.

Alberto Valverde

Alberto Valverde

Alberto Valverde coordinates ECAM Forum, Madrid's new international co-production forum. Throughout his career, Alberto has combined his work with film funds and industry initiatives with film programming and exhibition. A founding partner and programmer at CinemaAttic, an audiovisual collective programming seasons and festivals around Spanish and Latin American cinema in the United Kingdom, he has worked for Screen Scotland and was in charge of the Creative Europe MEDIA Office in the UK-Scotland between 2018 and 2021, promoting European cinema and advising producers, professionals, and audiovisual companies. He has been part of the teams at D'A Festival Cinema Barcelona, D'A Film Lab, and Abycine Lanza. In 2023, he led the Spanish Screenings program for the internationalization of Spanish cinema for the ICAA. Since 2024, Alberto joined the Industry Department of ECAM, the School of Cinematography and Audiovisuals of the Community of Madrid.

Impulso Morelia 11 Awards

  • The José María Riba Award bestowed by Cinépolis Distribución and Profest 2025 consists in a cash incentive of $250,000 MXN ($150,000 contributed by Cinépolis Distribución and $100,000 by Profest 2025) destined to post-production services and/or promotion. This incentive will be awarded to one selected project by the international experts’ panel. 
  • Estudios Churubusco Azteca will award one project with $750,000 MXN in post-production and sound services. A co-production or collaboration agreement will be signed with the production of the project. The support does not include materials, operator fees or Dolby license. It is valid for two years and will be awarded by the international experts’ panel. 
  • The Splendor Omnia Studios award consists of a week of 5.1 sound mixing and another week of color correction at its facilities in Tepoztlán, Morelos, with an approximate value equivalent to $300,000 Mexican pesos, valid for two years. The support does not include technician’s fees or accommodation expenses that will be defined at the time, under a special rate scheme. It will be awarded by Splendor Omnia Studios. It can be awarded entirely to a single project or assign color correction to one proposal and sound mixing to another.
  • Caffeine Post will award image post-production services with a total value of $387,000 pesos. The support includes sessions for post-production workflow design created by a specialized supervisor, a voucher of $120,000 MXN to be used in the VFX category, and a voucher of $100,000 MXN to be used in Graphics. The award is valid for two years and includes materials and technician’s fees. It may be awarded in its entirety to a single film or distributed among several projects. The prize will be awarded by Caffeine Post. 
  • The José María Riba Award winner will also receive from the specialized information web portal LatAm cinema.com a promotional campaign, which includes an advertising page in one of the magazine’s numbers, as well as a communication strategies counseling with an approximate value of USD$1,500.