08 · 20 · 09

Rehje and Carretera
del norte winners at FICDH

By Clara Sánchez/Translated by Cindy Hawes

During the closing ceremony held at Casa
Francia, French Counselor-Minister in Mexico Jean-Baptiste Chauvin said that
last year when the 60th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration
was commemorated, Casa Francia was baptized the Home of Human Rights.

Lorena Guillé Laris, director of the
second FICDH, expressed her appreciation to the 4,000 people who attend the
festival this year. "We must commit ourselves to these [human rights] projects,"
she said. "We must listen and look at what we don´t want to hear or see, even
if it hurts us."

Emilio Álvarez Icaza, president of the
Mexico City Human Rights Commission and member of the Documentary Jury at the
International Human Rights Film Festival, presented the festival´s Mano
Abierta award to Anaïs
Huerta and Raúl Cuesta for their film Rehje. Journalist Javier Solórzano
and filmmaker Natalia Almada also formed part of the jury.

Huerta gave the award to Antonia, the star
of the film, an indigenous Mazahua woman who has lived in Mexico City for the
past 40 years.

"Antonia changed our lives, she taught us
so many things," said the director who dedicated the award to Antonia. "She is
a very courageous woman who would like to return to her village but is unable
to because of the lack of work and the scarcity of water due to the Cutzamala
system [which supplies water to Mexico City]." She announced Rehje will be shown in rural areas where
there are no movie theaters.

Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho and
filmmaker Gustavo Loza, members of the Short Film Jury along with Clara
Jusidman, advisor to the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, presented the
festival?s prize to Cinematographer Iván Vilchis. He received the award in name
of director Rubén Rojo Aura for his short film Carretera del Norte. The jury also presented an Honorable
Mentioned to Yerbabuena, comunidad en resistencia by Nicolás
Défossé.

Among those present during the ceremony
were filmmaker Luis Mandoki and Mexico City Environment Secretary Martha
Delgado, who called on all those present to reflect on the use of water. "Wasting it violates,

'

" right to water, we should conserve it and pay for
it," she said.