Gael Garcia Bernal and the cast of Defecit, Photo Courtesy of FICM
The 5th Annual Morelia Film Festival was held October 5 – 14, 2007, in Michoacan’s picturesque capital city. Just four hours north of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and well worth the trip, this film festival just gets better every year. Well on its way to becoming a truly important event for international cinema, I highly recommend attending. But be forewarned, this festival is no longer a secret. Book your hotel early or risk being shut out of central Morelia where almost all hotels were booked solid for the entire week. I recommend staying in central, most events are at the centrally located Cinepolis theater, four blocks from the cathedral, or within walking distance.
This year’s Guests of Honor were Stephen Frears, (director of Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, The Queen, et al), Bertrand Tavernier, (writer, director, producer, film historian), and Arthur Penn (director of Bonnie and Clyde, Little Big Man, The Miracle Worker, et al). The special Invited Guests were Hector Babenco, (director of Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carandiru, El Pasado, et al), Alfonso Cuarón (director of Y tu mama tambien, Children of Men, et al), Gael Garcia Bernal (actor and director of Deficit) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (director of Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel, et al). This year’s show stealer was again Gael Garcia Bernal, whose arrival—as in years’ past—caused a near riot on the tiny street in front of the theater. The affable Gael was in attendance to greet fans and to attend multiple festival events including his two world premiers held during the week. The first premiere was of Hector Babenco’s enjoyable, El Pasado, in which he starred—a dark and wry look at a lasting love that just won’t quit; And the second his very own directorial debut, Deficit, which created an unlikely buzz. Whether is was the attractive young cast, the attractive young director, or the attractively serious themes of social, racial and class struggles in today’s Mexico that drew the buzz…Deficit, raised a lot of questions. A deceptively simple film about class and race struggles with a good dose of misspent youth, depicted by a bunch of rich kids throwing a party; Garcia Bernal stated that he felt it was the responsibility of filmmakers to tackle social issues, and of young people to call attention to the struggles of their times, and judging by the amount of politically minded documentaries on show at this year’s fest he is not alone in that stance. Many of this year’s most thought-provoking documentaries focused on class struggles, political protests, searches for national and personal identity, and the rights of indigenous people to protect their heritage, some even focused on all of the above. Pável Antonio Aguilar Martínez’s documentary debut, Quién soy tu?, held enough diverse footage of global protests and conflicts to lead one to believe that we are all pretty intolerant when it comes to our own opinions, and what a loud screaming mess this world is in. The festival’s categories for competition were shorts, documentaries and feature length films, all of a wide range of themes and some of especially high quality. Last year’s FICM winner, 25-year old Elisa Miller, went on to win Cannes’ Palme d’Or for her short film, Ver, proving that the Morelia fest not only provides a good selection of what talent Mexico has to offer, but that Mexico’s talent is world class.
In addition to the films in competition, the fest also hosted a selection of touring films from the Cannes film festival. Including Cannes’ 2007 Palme d’Or winner, Cristian Mungiu’s, 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days, about the unforgivable indignities faced by two young women during Ceausescu’s Romania, an extremely impressive work likely to ruin your whole day. Another one of those beautiful works that can effect you so much you’re likely to be depressed, was the Edith Piaf bio-pic, La Vie en Rose, that was shown as one of the selected feature films in wide release. Not likely to depress but very likely to impress was Micha Wald’s feature debut, Voleurs de Chevaux (Horse Thieves), shown as part of the Cannes International Critics week that focuses on emerging talent. A simply and beautifully effective film, its sharp fluid directness called to mind Leonardo Da Vinci’s obsession with the perfect circle. Da Vinci believed that only a true artist could draw a complete perfect circle with one unbroken line and he often showed off by drawing circles of unbroken lines in his paintings. Micha Wald’s story feels that tight, that technically executed. Seamless story telling that effortlessly sweeps the audience along is enjoyable in any film but for a debut, quite remarkable. Wald said his story of two sets of brothers had been something he had been working on since his childhood, where growing up with four siblings taught him about the complex relationships among siblings and how hate as often as love can define brotherly love. And for an even bigger plus, the Belgian director who came from Europe to attend—one of the few Cannes participants who came to Morelia—not only seemed genuinely pleased to be here, but genuinely thrilled with the audience’s enthusiastic praise.
Those are just a few of the great films I was fortunate to see in the short time I was in Morelia, and there were many more I was sad to miss. As usual, having to go home is the only real disappointment of the Morelia International Film festival. For my cine-obsessed brain, there is not much better way to spend a weekend than in a movie theater, soaking up hours upon hours of wildly diverse stories. But even for the casual film enthusiast the festival has lots to offer: shorts, documentaries, feature films: indie and wide-release, as well as great films from the past, retrospective and homage to Mexican and international film greats. A well made film can often be the closest substitute to travel, a way to experience other cultures, other views—step into other realities, and with this diverse and dynamic festival taking root just up the road, there is really no reason not to go see for yourself what all the buzz is about. Check www.moreliafilmfest.com for more information.
Adrein Jolivet, star of Micha Wald´s Horse Thieves
Director Micha Wald (right) discusses his film at the FICM screening
Gael Garcia Bernal
A young director discusses his work after his screening.
Special invited guest, Stephen Frears
