Mexico City, September 26 (EFE).- “Bardo, false chronicle of some truths”, by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and “Pinocchio”, by Guillermo del Toro, two of the most anticipated films of the year, will open and close , respectively, the 20th edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

“This is the fifth time that Iñárritu has come to present a work in Morelia, he is a great friend. Since the Mexican Short Film Conference, he has been its main sponsor, he has always had a great commitment to Mexico,” FICM director Daniela Michel explained during a press conference.

Although the presence of the author of “Birdman” (2014) is expected for the return of the event in person, Michel underlined that the activities that the director will have within the framework of the festival are not yet clear, while Del Bull’s involvement virtually so far.

“It is always important to have the presence of two of the most remarkable filmmakers in the world, they have also been a bridge with other artists, like Maribel Verdú”, replied to Efe the vice-president of the festival , Cuauhtémoc Cardenas Batel.

The Spanish actress Verdú is part of los international guests to the event, y presenting “Raymond Ray” (2022), del director Rodrigo García, y parte de las películas que enmarcan su trayectoria como “El laberinto del fauno” (2006), de Guillermo of the bull.

Likewise, the American director who won the Oscar in 2017 for “Moonlight”, Barry Jenkins, will be among the special guests of this edition.

“I am very happy to return to Mexico to celebrate cinema with the FICM,” Jenkins wrote on Twitter.

In addition, personalities such as French director Claire Denis will have a special cycle of her work, while Oscar-winning producer and director Frank Marshall will present his documentary “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” (2022), while Jerry Schatzberg and Pierre Filmon will present “Jerry Schatzberg: Landscape Portrait”.

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Mexican director Luis Mandoki will present his film “Presences”, which marked the return of actress Yalizta Aparicio to the cinema and Fernando León de Aranoa will present his documentary “Feeling a lot”.

International premieres include “Moonage Daydream,” a documentary about British musician David Bowie, as well as “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song,” which tells the story of the Canadian singer-songwriter.

OFFICIAL SELECTION

This year, the official selection of the festival, which reaches its first two decades of life, is made up of 95 titles divided into 59 short films, 15 documentary feature films, 11 Michoacan works and 10 feature films.

In addition, this edition stands out for the female participation by having eight Mexican creators in one of the main pre-selection of this edition, a Mexican feature film.

Among these are cassettes such as “Ruido”, by Natalia Beristain; “The North Over the Void”, by Alejandra Márquez Abella, or “Días Fuzzy” by Marie Benito.

“The work is evaluated on the basis of quality. (…) The commitment to women has been permanent, I am a woman and I collaborate with many women whom I admire a lot, you cannot take programming for a tweet, ”replied the director about criticisms that arose in 2019 in around the absence of women in said list.

PROMOTING CULTURE

On the other hand, Directors reiterated the importance of governments paying attention and budgeting for culture in the country.

“I have always thought that culture is one of the pillars of development and that it should play a bigger role and budgets should be bigger. Ultimately, it is an instrument of peace and justice, (…) it is an issue that we must continue to insist on,” said Cárdenas Batel.

The FICM will be held face-to-face and this time without capacity restrictions after two years of the pandemic, from October 22 to 29.

(c) EFE Agency