The search for identity, sexuality and interracial dilemmas, war-torn countries trying to solve their problems, gender equality, education and art as a remedy against violence and crime, stories of drug lords and migrants are some of the outstanding themes of the 90 films that are part of the Official Selection in Competition at the 11th edition of the Monterrey International Film Festival.
For this edition, FIC Monterrey received 2,672 films, a number that easily surpassed those of previous years. From those films, 90 were selected for competing for the official award, the Cabrito de Plata, as part of the 2015 Official Selection.
It is important to mention that two cash awards will be given, a prize of $100,00.00 pesos for the categories of Best Mexican Fiction Feature Film and Best Mexican Documentary Feature Film, so that the filmmakers use those funds on their forthcoming productions, said the founder of FIC Monterrey.
Regarding the national production, there are 13 Mexican films –five from this very city, a record number– participating in the feature film category, according to Narce Ruiz, Program Director of FIC Monterrey.
For the FIC Monterrey it is a priority to promote the work of local filmmakers and offer them a space where they can showcase their film productions: “ The production of Nuevo León is having a breakthrough, every time we produce more…and we place special attention to the Nuevo León Short Film category because these are the filmmakers that are developing and that are generating our identity. We are very happy to witness their growth and development, and being able to see there are stories that have higher technical quality and distinct narrative. We are very please because there is a change, there is noticeable year-on-year improvement”, said Ruiz.
Likewise, Sergio Salazar, Associate Programmer, highlights that the common thread shared by the Official Selection stories is hope: “The strongest trend on the Short Films is that the world has to improve. Films have a positive tilt, stories that inspire to the change the existing paradigms, and that helps cinema”.
Juan Manuel González, director of the Festival, highlights that within the 2015 Official Selection, there are some filmmakers that have already participated on previous editions of the fest, and that come back with renewed purpose: “It is very interesting to see how filmmakers grow and develop. This evolution in their craft is great to witness and feel the satisfaction of seeing them develop as filmmakers”.
On this eleventh edition #LaPantallaEresTú (You are the screen). That is why, from August 25th to the 30th, at the Nuevo León Cineteca, Cinépolis Las Américas and the Plaza Fátima Cultural Center, we want to know which film represents your life, inspires you or makes you think of a major moment in your life: #LaPelículadeMiVida (The Film Of My Life)
FIC Monterrey, along with the support of the Council for Culture and the Arts of Nuevo León (CONARTE); The National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA) and Cinépolis – Sala de Arte invites you to check out the Official Selection here
The Monterrey Film Festival is an initiative born in 2005 with the objective of spreading international film culture in the city of Monterrey, as well as being a space for filmmakers to showcase their work and share their visions with the local audience, putting Monterrey on the map of the film festivals. The yearly staging of the FIC Monterrey has been possible thanks to the support of important public and private institutions as well as sponsors and media that have help to position it as one of the ten most important festivals in the country.