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Presenting MEGALÓPOLIS at the 22nd FICM, An Offer Francis Ford Coppola Couldn't Refuse

Gustavo R. Gallardo

He gets out of his truck with renovated energy; hundreds are waiting to see him, to meet his gaze, to get a signature or take a picture wherever possible. They're waiting to be close to the living legend Francis Ford Coppola, who is in Mexico for the first time to present his latest film, Megalopolis, at the 22nd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

FICM president Alejandro Ramírez, vice president Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel and director and founder Daniela Michel accompanied Ford Coppola as he walked the red carpet. He talked to the press, waved politely and smiled occasionally before entering the Matamoros Theater.

Hours earlier, Ford Coppola had been awarded the UNAM Film Archive Medal in recognition of the director's unparalleled career. “I am literally holding the heritage of Mexican cinema in my hands,” said the director of The Godfather saga, Apocalypse Now and Dracula, among others. And that respectful and friendly language at the same time connected with the young audience, who affectionately referred to him as “Uncle Pancho” during his time on the red carpet, which is rarely seen for a filmmaker.

“We're watching history,” someone remarked. As he entered the theater, Alexander Payne, Special Guest of FICM and president of the Mexican Feature Film Jury, came by to greet him. Earlier, he spoke for several minutes with Liv Tyler, who is also a special guest of FICM and part of the same jury.

Francis Ford Coppola Receives FICM's Artistic Excellence Award

FICM screened a video prior to honoring him with the Award for Artistic Excellence. “For his restless imagination, which has conjured haunted cities and apocalyptic jungles; for the chiaroscuro that wraps his characters in romance and melancholy, and for his imagery of crimes past and the bright utopia to come, if we just listened to the architects of tomorrow. For embodying the American dream, coming from an immigrant family to master the most American genres: musicals and crime films; horror and war pictures. For his maverick personality that has faced the commonest of odds, as well as typhoons, both literal and symbolic. For being an ally to filmmakers of all kinds: avant-garde masters and classical industry heroes. But most of all, for being a friend to film itself, the Morelia International Film Festival presents the Artistic Excellence Award to our friend Francis Ford Coppola,” Alejandro Ramírez said.

"This is Megalopolis," said Ford Coppola after watching the video and expressed his gratitude at length for the acknowledgement: "I thank you very much for being here and for allowing yourselves to enter into this illusion".

“Megalopolis is a film I made with fragments of what I have felt throughout my life (...) You can laugh at it, you can cry with it, don't look at it too seriously. It's a story for children, but adults can get lost in it,” added the American filmmaker.

Francis Ford Coppola Unveils Armchair Bearing His Name

As part of a FICM tradition, festival president Alejandro Ramírez invited Francis Ford Coppola to unveil an armchair bearing his name so that, he said, “he will stay with us forever in Morelia." The applause became hugs, and yes, presenting Megalopolis in Morelia was an offer that Francis Ford Coppola could not refuse.