Screening of Ana and Bruno, by Carlos Carrera, at the end of the 15th FICM

Marco Antonio Mejía

After nearly a decade, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Carrera presented the animated film Ana y Bruno, as part of the closing ceremony of the fifteenth edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

The movie tells the story of Ana, a curious girl who escapes from a psychiatric clinic in search of her father to save her mother. With the help of strange and funny fantastic beings that she meets in that place, she embarks on a journey full of exciting and moving adventures.

Prior to the show, Daniela Michel, director of FICM, welcomed the production team and dubbing actors, including Regina Orozco, Silverio Palacios and Galia Mayer:

"We are delighted to have this long-anticipated screening we've been waiting a decade for. I am happy to see that they have created such an exciting and moving film. I want to congratulate you all, it's easy to see everyone is very passionate, thank you very much for sharing this project at the festival."

Regina Orozco, Silverio Palacios, Galia Mayer, Daniel Carrera, Carlos Carrera

Daniela Michel also recalled that FICM, in large part, began thanks to the creation of short films by Carlos Carrera, "In 1994, Carlos won the Palme d' Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with a short film called El Héroe. It was then that a colleague and I decided to create a space for shorts with a retrospective of Carlos. He was a great inspiration for the emergence of the festival because, after these days in 1994 at the Cineteca Nacional, the short films became the Morelia International Film Festival."

After the screening of Ana y Bruno, the director Carlos Carrera described what were the biggest difficulties to finish the animated project. "All the films are very difficult to boost anywhere in the world, but here it gets more complicated. I'm glad we made it happen. Like all films we have problems, and it is not the first time that it happened to me, the times in animation are longer (...) Then I got money and it was more complicated because it cost more than normal, more than a Mexican film, the screenplay matured to over the years, we did tests and it's a lot of work."

Carlos Carrera said he talked about the psychological theme of the plot and the visual style of the film and said that he has always been interested in madness. "I have a documentary on that subject, I identified some influences in the history of world animation and in painting, such as expressionism. This film is a product of a style already developed and has to do with the influence of Czech animation; Russian, with which we grew and what we saw on television every day," he said.

Regina Orozco, who participates in the dubbing, reinforced Carlos Carrera’s words when talking about the importance of talking with children about complex situations. "I emphasize the subject of madness, being able to explain it in this way to children, who are sometimes told that they are crazy. Take all children to the movies for them to feel at home. This movie is beautiful and how great that it is Mexican," she added.

Regarding the distribution of the film, the producer Monica Lozano assured that Ana y Bruno will arrive in countries like India, place where a considerable part of the production equipment comes from. "This film has been invited to many places for more than a year, but we were hoping to be in Morelia before sending it to one of the hundred festivals that already requested it. We have just reached an agreement with Corazón Films and in April of next year will premiere in Mexico at a national level. We're hoping that all sorts of audiences like it".

During the press conference, the actors Silverio Palacios, Galia Mayer and Daniel Carrera Pasternac, responsible for the dubbing, were also present.