Some days ago it was confirmed that the magic town of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán is no longer home to the Mórbido Film Fest, one of Mexico's top genre festivities and a favorite of the ScreenAnarchy folk.
The reason is clear: the government's lack of support, as the festival's director Pablo Guisa said, but I think it has to do as well with the insecurity that the whole state of Michoacán is suffering in consequence of the so-called war against drugs. The current state of Michoacán hurts tourism and, certainly, the sponsors begin to retire their support too. I think it is worth noting that Reforma, a major newspaper in Mexico, published a report indicating that the Morelia Film Festival is suffering the same situation due to Michoacán's sociopolitical problems.
During a press conference in Mexico City, Guisa revealed that for the upcoming seventh edition (November 13-16), the capital of Puebla is hosting the festival. While the whole thing is sad for Pátzcuaro, it is also very good news that Mórbido is not stopping this year. Life goes on, after all.
The city of Puebla, declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Centre, is a place of study and encounter for young people of all the country and a tourism attraction in which cultural manifestations live together. Hence it is the perfect scenario to show to all the national and international guests of Mórbido the best of the world's cinema and Mexican culture. Some of our venues in Puebla will be: Teatro Principal, Cinemateca Luis Buñuel, San Pedro Museo de Arte, Teatro de la Ciudad, and Zócalo, among others.Mórbido also announced the first programming details for its 2014 edition. The festival is honoring Mexican actor Joaquín Cordero, who passed away in 2013 and is best known for such films as Pepe El Toro and Santo Contra el Cerebro del Mal.