San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato will see its streets flooded by art and creation as the International Film Festival Guanajuato opens on Friday, July 19.
The opening ceremony will take place in the Main Garden of San Miguel at 8:00 pm, with a parade, red carpet, and a tribute to the first Mexican actor José Carlos Ruiz. In addition, he will receive the Medal of the Film Library of the UNAM. This award, made with celluloid silver, is given to personalities from the film industry who with their activities, trajectory and analysis contribute to enrich the world’s film heritage. Subsequently, the film “Stored”, by Jack Zagha, will be screened, which earned José Carlos his sixth Ariel.
In the international scene, GIFF will offer well-deserved tributes to great personalities of the seventh art. In San Miguel de Allende, the prominent American director Gus Van Sant, will receive the Silver Cross. Director of films such as Good Will Hunting, Milk or Do not Worry, He Will not Get Far on Foot has proven to be one of the most unique voices of the independent cinema of the United States, exploring with a unique vision the dark side of the American dream.
In addition, the great American actor Nicolas Cage will receive a tribute in recognition of his career as one of the most outstanding and original actors of recent decades. Movies like Vampire’s Kiss, Leaving Las Vegas and the latest Mandy show (just to name a few) have proven Cage to be an artist committed to expanding the boundaries of his own acting method.
This year the Guest Country of Honor is the Philippines, a country that celebrates the first centenary of its cinematography. With this motif GIFF offers a historical tour through Philippine cinema, with more than 30 films on display, presented by the National Commission for Culture and Arts of the Philippines, the Film Institute of the University of the Philippines, QCinema, NETPAC, ABS -CBN and Archipielagic Shorts.
As part of the celebration, GIFF pays tribute to Kidlat Tahimik, one of the patriarchs of Filipino cinema, who with films like Turumba, Lakbayano, Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow has contributed to solve some of the most pressing dilemmas of the Philippine society.
Committed to the integral development of our society, GIFF presents the Zero Violence Against Women campaign, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health of the State of Guanajuato. Yalitza Aparicio, actress nominated for the Oscar as best leading actress, for her work in Rome by Alfonso Cuarón, will serve as spokesperson for this program that seeks to raise awareness among Guanajuato’s people about the serious problem that violence against women in our state means.
GIFF encourages innovation by exploring different technological formats and new forms of narrative that also allow to explore current issues
in a creative way, with special emphasis on the eco-social impact.
Epicentro is a platform for the promotion and dissemination of immersive narratives, as well as a space for fostering the industry that has been developed in recent years through incipient research in these new formats of assisted reality.
For the second consecutive year, GIFF presents the Critics’ Room. With a series of conferences, workshops, screenings and discussion panels, the aim is to stimulate the formation of new professional critics and bring the consecrated critics of our country closer to the younger generations. We will have the presence of critics such as Luis Tovar, Silvestre López Portillo, Sonia Riquer, José Antonio Valdés, Adriana Fernández, Columba Vértiz, Arturo Aguilar, Sergio Huidobro, Marcela Vargas Reynoso, Anaid Ramírez and Julio Durán.
As every year, the Festival presents a selection with the best of the international film scene, with 223 films on display and 120 in competition, from 47 countries, showing the pulse of world cinema and promoting dialogue between the filmmakers and their audience, as well of strategic alliances that are a crucial to develop the creativity that shapes the future of cinematography.
From the 19th to the 23rd of July, San Miguel de Allende will welcome the cinema-goers with performances from 11:00 to 23:00 at the Teatro Ángela Peralta, Bellas Artes, and Cinemex La Luciérnaga.
From July 25 to July 28, GIFF moves to Guanajuato capital. All functions are free and open to the general public.
You can check the complete program in giff.mx
San Miguel Times Newsroom
