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A Restored Version of MACARIO was Presented at the 21st FICM

Said García

A restored version of Macario (1960), directed by Roberto Gavaldón, was presented at the 21st edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

Macario tells the story of a humble peasant who longs to enjoy a meal all alone. When this opportunity presents itself, he flees to the forest, where a host of deities will come to him to propose a deal. 

Daniela Michel, founder and general director of FICM, began the presentation by saying: "It's very important for us to present this heritage cinema, free of charge so that audiences can enjoy it and get to know it. It gives me great pleasure to see young people interested in the film preservation of our heritage."

He then gave the floor to Héctor Orozco, curator of Fundación Televisa, who thanked the festival for its interest in preserving film classics. He also shared his excitement at seeing a full house.

Duani Castelló, Coordinator of the Collection and Archive, took the floor to thank the UNAM Film Archive, The Film Foundation and Fundación Televisa for making the preservation of Macario possible.

He explained that the restoration of the film began with the search for the best copies available, which were located from the original negatives at the UNAM Film Archive. They were then sent to L'Immagine Ritrovata, a laboratory specializing in film restoration in Bologna, Italy, where color correction was performed.

At the end of the film screening, Castello held a Q&A session with the audience, where he opposed the idea of color reproduction of the film: "The film was created in black and white, that's how it was idealized and I don't think it's appropriate to influence color in something that was not conceptualized in that way". Finally, he said: "Part of the project is the distribution of this work. We have not contemplated the idea of commercializing copies, but it will be available for public consumption for a long time in movie theaters."