08 · 28 · 17

XV anniversary, 15 questions to Tatiana Huezo

In the ninth edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), Tatiana Huezo's The Tiniest Place (2011), won her the Best Documentary Award by a Woman. Her name had previously appeared as a photographer and editor in the credits of three documentary short films and one fiction that were presented in former editions of the festival, but it was her first feature that gave the definitive entry to FICM's history. In 2015, her short film Absences (2015) was in competition in the Documentary Short Film Selection, and her feature, Tempestad (2016), still under development, was selected to participate in Impulso Morelia. In the next edition, the documentary took a Special Mention and the Audience's Award.

Today, to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of FICM, Tatiana Huezo answers these 15 questions.

1. When was the first time you came to FICM?

In 2011.

2. How many editions of FICM have you attended?

Four.

3. What is your favorite FICM image?

A room crowded with people before your premiere.

4. What kind of movies do you like to see at FICM?

The Documentary Feature Section is the best, always.

5. Name a movie you've seen at FICM that marked you as a viewer.

Toni Erdmann (2016), by Maren Ade.

6. What is your favorite place of cinema? How close to the screen do you like to be?

In the middle and exact center of the room.

7. What invites you to watch a movie? (the director, the poster, the theme, the synopsis, a recommendation, a prize, etc.)

The director, a recommendation, the poster, other festivals.

8. What is your favorite place in Morelia?

The Las Rosas Conservatory.

9. Why do you like to attend FICM?

Intimate encounters, incredible food, and a lot of cinema.

10. What personalities have you met at FICM?

Nicolas Philibert and Laurent Cantet.

11. Name a classic Mexican movie that you like a lot.

The Exterminating Angel (1962), by Luis Buñuel.

12. Name a contemporary Mexican movie that you like a lot.

Silent Light (2007), by Carlos Reygadas.

13. What have you presented at FICM?

The Tiniest Place (2011), Absences (2015) and Tempestad (2016).

14. Share a special memory of FICM.

In 2015, I presented a cut of Tempestad in Impulso Morelia, it was the first edition. I was nervous, I had never verbalized the movie in front of anyone, and my fear was having to explain something. When the screening ended, someone from the audience (practically all of them were festival programmers and some directors) raised his hand and said that the film's narrative form was a terrible decision. I wanted to answer, but other voices rose immediately, some in favor of those decisions, others against. The discussion between them was very passionate, almost shouting, which excited me a lot. That same day Tempestad jumped to the Berlinale, which has been one of the most pleasant experiences I have had on my path.

What do you wish for FICM in its 15th anniversary?

A long road with more and more auteur cinema.