The 16th edition of the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF), one of Mexico's most important film festivals, will begin on Friday, July 19 with the Mexican premiere of Sundance and Cannes winner Fruitvale Station. This and the rest of activities were announced yesterday during a press conference in Mexico City.
GIFF 2013 will be celebrated in two cities of the Guanajuato state: San Miguel de Allende (from July 19 to 23) and Guanajuato Capital (from July 24 to 28). The opening film in Guanajuato Capital is Amat Escalante's Heli, being the film's Latin America premiere (Heli will open in Mexico until August 9). But my most anticipated film of the festival is actually the one programmed for the closing day: Nicolas Winding Refn's newest Only God Forgives.
Colombia is the "spotlight country" this year, with Andy Baiz's Roa and the documentary Apaporis: In Search of One River having premieres. The independence day of Colombia is on July 20, so it looks like a huge Colombian celebration in Guanajuato! The company Canana is hosting the horror-oriented part of GIFF 2013, with very special screenings, red carpet included, of a couple of remakes: Makinov's Come Out and Play and Jim Mickle's We Are What We Are.
However, the most amazing news is that both Danny Boyle and Darren Aronofsky are making the trip to Guanajuato! GIFF is paying them homage, showing some of their films as well as offering master classes with these great directors. All of Aronofsky's features are part of the festival (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler and Black Swan), while only four Boyle films will be exhibited (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire). There will be other homages to María Novaro, producer Mafer Suarez, and the Colombian-born Mexican actor Fernando Luján.
The official selection of GIFF 2013 consists of short and feature length films, documentaries and animations from 44 different countries. There are eight official selection categories: short documentaries, short animations, short experimental films, short fictions, Guanajuato, feature length documentaries, feature length first film and Mexico. The jury includes film personalities like Lucrecia Martel, Brigitte Broch, Dogville and Only God Forgives producer Lene Børglum, Amores Perros and Babel actress Adriana Barraza, and Everardo González. I'm covering GIFF 2013 for ScreenAnarchy, so be alert for news, reviews, interviews and photos!
This is part of the lineup:
Official Selection Feature Length First Film
Mariage à Mendoza (France), by Edouard Deluc
The Rocket (Australia), by Kim Mordaunt
Dios Nunca Muere (Mexico, Spain), by Santiago Esteban Mohar Volkow
Fruitvale Station (USA), by Ryan Coogler
Inercia (Mexico), by Isabel Muñoz Cota Callejas
Más Amaneceres (Mexico), by Jorge Y. Leyva Robles
Nothing Bad Can Happen (Germany), by Katrin Gebbe
No Hay Nadie Allá Afuera (Mexico), by Haroldo Fajardo
The Weight of Elephants (Denmark, New Zeeland) by Joseph Borgman
Potosí (Mexico) by Alfredo Castruita
Salvo (Italy), by Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza
Shopping (New Zeeland), by Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland
Somos Mari Pepa (Mexico) by Samuel Isamu Kishi Leopo
Soldier Jane (Austria), by Daniel Hoesl
Guest Films
Heli (Mexico), by Amat Escalante
Only God Forgives (USA, France, Thailand, Sweden), by Nicolas Winding Refn
Tercera Llamada (Mexico), by Francisco Franco
Cinema Amongst the Dead
Ahí Va el Diablo (Mexico), by Adrían García Bogliano
Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman (Mexico), by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Come Out and Play (Mexico), by Makinov
V/H/S 2 (USA, Canada, Indonesia), by Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, et al.
We Are What We Are (USA), by Jim Mickle
You're Next (USA), by Adam Wingard
Full lineup and schedule here!