Impulso Morelia 12 The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) is pleased to announce the titles selected to participate in Morelia 12, the festival’s section that showcases Mexican features films in diverse stages of editing and post-production, in the aim to establish a constructive dialogue about the proposals and offer international visibility. These titles will be presented exclusively to a panel of international experts summoned by the Morelia Film Festival in order to create a unique space for reflection on the selected projects. Additionally, Impulso Morelia 12 grants important awards, both in kind and in cash that will directly contribute to the conclusion, promotion and visibility of the proposals.Impulso Morelia 12 selected projects are: GALERNA FictionDir. Tatiana Huezo Prod. Nicolás Celis, Tatiana Huezo, María ZamoraProduction companies: Pimienta Films, Elastica FilmsLúa and Noé are tasked with casting non-professional actors for a sci-fi film. Working together for the first time, Noé doubts Lúa is the right person for the job. Immersed in an unfamiliar reality as they travel through remote locations, they encounter a Mexico that embraces them yet confronts them with their fears and prejudices, testing their tolerance, endurance, and fragility. HOMEBOYS Documentary | First filmDir. Alonso Garibay, Alejandro BernalProd. Camila Aguirre BeltránProduction companies: Norteña del Sur, DocumotoraRoberto Hernández, “Mr. Lucky,” was deported to a country he barely knew. After surviving prison, addiction, and displacement, he founded La Casa de Vida, a shelter that for fifteen years has reached out to deported gang members and ex-convicts. When a profound crisis threatens his life’s work, Roberto must confront his past and ask himself whether it still makes sense to keep fighting for what he believes in. KATECHON DocumentaryDir. Javier ToscanoProd. Javier ToscanoProduction companies: Didascalia FilmsKatechon is a documentary film that follows three human-rights activists from the Western Sahara, Kurdistan, and Palestine, intertwining their struggles for freedom into a visual tapestry of memory, intimacy, and desert landscapes. Framed as a dialogue from a Global South perspective, the film offers a portrait of resilience, self-determination, and the unyielding pursuit of justice and hope. LEGÍTIMA FictionDir. Elisa MillerProd. Nicolás CelisProduction companies: Pimienta FilmsYakiri Rubio is kidnapped and raped by two brothers. Instead of supporting her, the justice system convicts her of homicide for killing her attacker in self-defense. Her charismatic lawyer, Ana Katiria Suárez, overcomes countless obstacles and fights against everyone and everything until securing her release. Together, they triumph over a corrupt, misogynistic, and patriarchal system that tries to silence them at all costs. PRIMAVERA Fiction | First filmDir. Alfredo Mendoza AguilarProd. Sally Donette Talavera SoresProduction companies: Fontana Films, Oriente CineConsumed by depression and a debilitating illness, MARÍA CARMELA has come to see death as the only escape from her suffering, yet she cannot bring herself to take her own life. When she meets FITO, a troubled, drug-addicted teenager consumed by anger toward his family and community, she sees in him an unexpected possibility. If he agrees to help her die, she offers him something in return: a reason to improve his life. RAKÁ DocumentaryDir. Teresa CamouProd. Yuli Margarita Rodríguez Rodríguez, Teresa Camou GuerreroProduction companies: EFICINE, Teresa Camou Guerrero, La Furia Cine, Avalancha StudioThis story´s metaphor is the tree: They take root where they sprout, the cracks in their bark mark time, needles and cones show bounty and promise new life. Like pines in the Sierra Tarahumara, a Rarámuri couple, Miguel (81) and Rosa (79), tell a story rooted in violent lands and plundered forests, one that flows through their stubborn, sacred commitment to make the rivers swell and the forests nourish life with rain so that the cycle will go on. International Experts’ PanelThe Morelia Film Festival has brought together an international experts’ panel that will analyze with strict, constructive and respectful spirit all the proposals included in Impulso Morelia 12 and will establish a useful dialogue with their creators.The panel will feature Cara Cusumano, one of the key figures in film programming in the United States and Director of the Tribeca Festival; Julio Chavezmontes, a prominent producer and screenwriter, co-founder of PIANO, whose career includes collaborations with some of the world’s most renowned filmmakers; Sandrine Dumas, a French actress, screenwriter, director, and producer, with extensive experience working alongside leading international filmmakers and founder of Pio & Co, where she champions distinctive cinematic voices; Ted Hope, one of the most influential producers in American independent cinema, with an extensive career that includes working with major talents and award-winning projects, as well as expanding independent cinema into new models of production and distribution; and Carlos R. Ríos, a leading figure in independent cinema in Spain and Director of the D’A – Festival de Cinema de Barcelona, with vast experience in the promotion, programming, and distribution of international cinema. Impulso Morelia 12 AwardsThe José María Riba Award bestowed by Cinépolis Distribución and Profest 2026 consists in a cash incentive of $250,000 MXN ($150,000 contributed by Cinépolis Distribución and $100,000 by Profest 2026) destined to post-production services and/or promotion. This incentive will be awarded to one selected project by the international experts’ panel.Estudios Churubusco offers $700,000 Mexican pesos in image and sound post-production services. The full amount may be allocated to a single project or divided between two projects. A co-production agreement will be signed with the production company(ies) of the selected project(s), with a term of two years (November 2026 – November 2028). The support does not include materials, operator fees or Dolby license. It will be awarded by Estudios Churubusco.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 will award image post-production services with a total value of $387,000 Mexican pesos. The support includes sessions for post-production workflow design created by a specialized supervisor; one week in Caffeine’s color grading suite at its facilities in Roma Norte, Mexico City, valued at $120,000 Mexican pesos; and a voucher worth $100,000 Mexican pesos to be used in Graphics. The award is valid for two years and includes materials and Graphics and Post-Production Workflow Design 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.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. Impulso Morelia 12 will be held from October 18th trough 20th. Winners will be announced during the closing ceremony of the 24thFICM.
GALERNA FictionDir. Tatiana Huezo Prod. Nicolás Celis, Tatiana Huezo, María ZamoraProduction companies: Pimienta Films, Elastica FilmsLúa and Noé are tasked with casting non-professional actors for a sci-fi film. Working together for the first time, Noé doubts Lúa is the right person for the job. Immersed in an unfamiliar reality as they travel through remote locations, they encounter a Mexico that embraces them yet confronts them with their fears and prejudices, testing their tolerance, endurance, and fragility.
HOMEBOYS Documentary | First filmDir. Alonso Garibay, Alejandro BernalProd. Camila Aguirre BeltránProduction companies: Norteña del Sur, DocumotoraRoberto Hernández, “Mr. Lucky,” was deported to a country he barely knew. After surviving prison, addiction, and displacement, he founded La Casa de Vida, a shelter that for fifteen years has reached out to deported gang members and ex-convicts. When a profound crisis threatens his life’s work, Roberto must confront his past and ask himself whether it still makes sense to keep fighting for what he believes in.
KATECHON DocumentaryDir. Javier ToscanoProd. Javier ToscanoProduction companies: Didascalia FilmsKatechon is a documentary film that follows three human-rights activists from the Western Sahara, Kurdistan, and Palestine, intertwining their struggles for freedom into a visual tapestry of memory, intimacy, and desert landscapes. Framed as a dialogue from a Global South perspective, the film offers a portrait of resilience, self-determination, and the unyielding pursuit of justice and hope.
LEGÍTIMA FictionDir. Elisa MillerProd. Nicolás CelisProduction companies: Pimienta FilmsYakiri Rubio is kidnapped and raped by two brothers. Instead of supporting her, the justice system convicts her of homicide for killing her attacker in self-defense. Her charismatic lawyer, Ana Katiria Suárez, overcomes countless obstacles and fights against everyone and everything until securing her release. Together, they triumph over a corrupt, misogynistic, and patriarchal system that tries to silence them at all costs.
PRIMAVERA Fiction | First filmDir. Alfredo Mendoza AguilarProd. Sally Donette Talavera SoresProduction companies: Fontana Films, Oriente CineConsumed by depression and a debilitating illness, MARÍA CARMELA has come to see death as the only escape from her suffering, yet she cannot bring herself to take her own life. When she meets FITO, a troubled, drug-addicted teenager consumed by anger toward his family and community, she sees in him an unexpected possibility. If he agrees to help her die, she offers him something in return: a reason to improve his life.
RAKÁ DocumentaryDir. Teresa CamouProd. Yuli Margarita Rodríguez Rodríguez, Teresa Camou GuerreroProduction companies: EFICINE, Teresa Camou Guerrero, La Furia Cine, Avalancha StudioThis story´s metaphor is the tree: They take root where they sprout, the cracks in their bark mark time, needles and cones show bounty and promise new life. Like pines in the Sierra Tarahumara, a Rarámuri couple, Miguel (81) and Rosa (79), tell a story rooted in violent lands and plundered forests, one that flows through their stubborn, sacred commitment to make the rivers swell and the forests nourish life with rain so that the cycle will go on.
Impulso Morelia 12 will be held from October 18th trough 20th. Winners will be announced during the closing ceremony of the 24thFICM.
