{"id":625703,"date":"2026-10-09T20:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T20:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625703\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T20:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T20:00:08","slug":"guillermo-del-toros-pans-labyrinth-screens-at-morelia-film-fest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625703\/","title":{"rendered":"Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ Screens at Morelia Film Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAt least two of the Tres Amigos are attending the 24th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM<\/a>) this year, with Guillermo del Toro<\/a> breezing into town to toast the 20th anniversary of his iconic \u201cPan\u2019s Labyrinth\u201d while Cuar\u00f3n attends opening night film \u201cCampe\u00f3n Gabacho\u201d by his son Jonas Cuar\u00f3n, which he produced. The fest will be missing the third Amigo, Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, whose \u201cDigger\u201d has earned $1.3 million since its debut on Oct. 1 in Mexico, according to National Film Chamber, Canacine.<\/p>\n

\n\tStar power is also in the official selection, which includes Diego Luna\u2019s latest directorial outing \u2018Ashes\u2019 <\/a>as well as those of Rodrigo Pl\u00e1 (\u201cThe Zone\u201d), <\/a>Fernando Tovar (\u201cSad Girlz,\u201d \u201cSuena\u201d) and Nathalia Acevedo (\u201cPost Tenebras Lux\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tOscar-nominated J. A. Bayona leads the jury for Mexican features that includes Basque filmmaker Jaione Camborda, Grammy-winning Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz and U.S. director-producer Amy Redford.<\/p>\n

\n\tSwiss documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe, film critic Jonathan Romney and Mexico\u2019s Juan Carlos Rulfo comprise the Mexican documentary jury.<\/p>\n

\n\tMorelia will also showcase a bevy of acclaimed international films, led by Martin McDonagh\u2019s \u201cWild Horse Nine<\/a>,\u201d which garnered John Malkovich a Venice Volpi Cup for Best Actor and Spain\u2019s submission to the Oscars, \u201cLa bola negra<\/a>\u201d by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor artistic director Daniela Michel one of the biggest changes at the festival in recent years has been introducing a hybrid format that allows access to part of the program online. \u201cInitially, this arose as a necessity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted moviegoers to be able to discover and enjoy the films competing in our 2020 edition, despite the lockdown. It was imperative that these Mexican films reach their audience even if people weren\u2019t going to movie theaters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe realized that making part of the Official Selection available online\u2014particularly the Mexican short films in competition\u2014would give greater visibility to the work of up-and-coming talents in Mexican cinema and would also provide a great opportunity for audiences who cannot travel to Morelia to experience the FICM.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tReflecting on the trends in Mexican cinema over the past five years, she said: \u201cWhat has changed mostly is the representation of certain issues in Mexican culture. We have seen in recent years more films oriented towards more intimate subjects like family issues, childhood, and motherhood. We have also seen a broader representation of the Mexican middle class at home. Those films have had a very profound impact on Mexican audiences because, through the films, they have seen a very accurate and tender representation of their own lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe good news is that there are female directors in the industry.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEvery year, the number of female directors participating in FICM has been growing, and I think this reflects the Mexican film industry, where more and more films are being made by women. Women have been gaining more and more ground, and I\u2019m really happy about that because a few years ago there were almost no female directors in Mexican cinema, and now there are so many\u2014many of whom have won awards in Morelia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut challenges remain. As with most of the festivals across Mexico, FICM faced cutbacks in funding from corporate and institutional sponsors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs a nonprofit, every year we face the monumental challenge of securing the conditions and resources needed to put on a festival of the quality and scale of FICM. Fortunately, we are a team of perfectionists and people who are deeply passionate about their work, which has allowed us to successfully overcome these challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe challenges have changed over the course of these 24 years. At first, the main challenge was to build an audience for the types of films that made up the festival in 2003: Mexican short films and documentaries. And one of my greatest sources of satisfaction is that there is now an audience for everything we present in Morelia\u2014for Mexican cinema. As time went on and our programming became much more diverse, the next challenge was to ensure we didn\u2019t feel like an outdated festival\u2014that each edition would be perceived as fresh.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 24th FICM edition runs Oct. 16-25.<\/p>\n

\n\tMexican Fiction Features<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAgainst Nature\u201d (\u201cContra la naturaleza,\u201d Axel Bertha, C\u00e1rcava Cine, Domme Cinema, M\u00e9xico)
Jon\u00e1s returns home and begins working as a stonemason, becoming immersed in a drama seemingly triggered by nature itself. Axel Bertha\u2019s stark debut explores humanity\u2019s oldest struggle against forces beyond its control, building toward an unsettling outcome that suggests some conflicts are as old as civilization itself.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAshes\u201d (\u201cCeniza en la boca,\u201d Diego Luna, La Corriente del Golfo, Animal de Luz Films, Inicia Films, Perro Azul, M\u00e9xico, Spain)
Luna\u2019s fifth feature-length directorial outing, \u201cAshes,\u201d adapted from the eponymous novel, follows Lucila as she leaves Mexico with her brother to reunite with their mother in Madrid, confronting the harsh reality of immigrant life. Pic premiered at Cannes<\/a>\u2019 Special Screenings section. Netflix will stream it in Latin America, Spain and Portugal in 2027 following a theatrical run, while Luxbox handles international sales.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBeauty Salon\u201d (\u201cSal\u00f3n de belleza,\u201d Nathalia Acevedo, Kintsugi Cine, Farol, M\u00e9xico, France)
In an unnamed city, a beauty salon becomes a refuge for marginalized people suspended between life and death. Nathalia Acevedo\u2019s film transforms the salon into a liminal space where memory, imagination and time converge, gradually allowing the outside world to intrude. Beauty and mortality become intertwined in a meditation on existence, care and the fragility of life.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEverything Else Is Noise\u201d (\u201cLo dem\u00e1s es ruido,\u201d Nicol\u00e1s Pereda, En Chinga Producciones, Welt Film, M\u00e9xico, Canada, Germany)
Nicol\u00e1s Pereda\u2019s absurdist comedy centers on composer Rosa, who records a television interview at her colleague Tere\u2019s apartment, where interruptions steadily derail the shoot. The film, which world premiered at the Berlinale<\/a>, turns artistic pretension, female friendship and domestic chaos into a comic ensemble piece. It won the Lady Harimaguada de Oro prize at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Film Festival. Acquired by U.S.-based distributor Pragda.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGarden Chest\u201d (\u201cToda una vida,\u201d Ariel Guti\u00e9rrez, Varios Lobos, SPC, Nobody, Tulip, M\u00e9xico)
Arm\u00edn is a lonely teenager cut off from the outside world. When his mother is kidnapped, grief pushes him beyond his isolation and into a journey toward maturity and reconciliation. Ariel Guti\u00e9rrez\u2019s intimate coming-of-age drama examines how sudden loss can force an adolescent to confront fear, responsibility and the possibility of rebuilding a life after trauma.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSad Girlz\u201d (\u201cChicas tristes,\u201d Fernanda Tovar, Daniel Loustaunau, Araceli Vel\u00e1zquez, Carlo D\u2019Ursi, Samuel Chauvin, M\u00e9xico, Spain, France)
Fernanda Tovar\u2019s debut feature follows Paula and La Maestra, inseparable friends and standout swimmers whose bond is tested after an incident at a party forces them to choose between silence and speaking out. The film premiered in Berlinale\u2019s Generation 14plus, where it won the Crystal Bear, and is represented internationally by Alpha Violet. It also competed in Tribeca\u2019s international narrative section.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSix Months in a Pink and Blue Building\u201d (\u201cSeis meses en el edificio rosa con azul,\u201d Bruno Santamar\u00eda Razo, Ojo de Vaca, Desvia Produ\u00e7\u00f5es, Snowglobe Films, M\u00e9xico, Brazil, Denmark)
Bruno Santamar\u00eda Razo\u2019s fiction debut revisits his childhood in 1990s Mexico City, where first love collides with his father\u2019s HIV diagnosis. The autobiographical drama premiered at Cannes Critics\u2019 Week, where it became the first Mexican feature to compete in the section in 20 years. It won the Best Project Award and the DALE! Award at the San Sebasti\u00e1n Co-Production Forum. Luxbox acquired international sales, while Epicentre Films took French distribution rights.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Days of Poncho\u201d (\u201cLos d\u00edas de Poncho,\u201d Faustino Alan\u00eds, Centro de Capacitaci\u00f3n Cinematogr\u00e1fica, M\u00e9xico)
Poncho spends his days freestyle rapping on Mexico City streets until his father discovers he has dropped out of school and makes him work delivering gas tanks. Faustino Alan\u00eds\u2019 coming-of-age story follows a teenager caught between artistic ambition and family responsibility, using the rhythms of street culture to explore masculinity, adulthood and the difficult transition from childhood to independence.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Garden We Dreamed\u201d (\u201cEl jard\u00edn que so\u00f1amos,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn del Paso, Amondo Cine, C\u00e1rcava Cine, Pen\u00ednsula Films, Producci\u00f3n Espiral, Lookbook Entertainment, Sula Entertainment, At\u00f3mica, Pixel, M\u00e9xico)
Joaqu\u00edn del Paso follows a Haitian family traveling north in search of a better future before settling in a remote Mexican forest shaped by illegal logging. The film world premiered at Berlinale\u2019s Panorama sidebar and is represented internationally by M-Appeal.<\/a> Against monarch-butterfly migrations and environmental destruction, the family\u2019s struggle becomes a story of displacement, resilience and fragile belonging.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Huntress\u201d (\u201cLa Cazadora,\u201d Suzanne Andrews, Zafiro Cinema, M\u00e9xico)
Set in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, Suzanne Andrews Correa\u2019s feature follows an unlikely defender confronting violence against women in a city where crimes are perpetrated with impunity. Inspired by true events, the film world premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it was selected for the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Cast is led by \u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez\u201d star Adriana Paz<\/a>, a Cannes 2024 best actress winner.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Newcomers\u201d (\u201cLos nuevos,\u201d Rodrigo Pl\u00e1, Buenaventura Cine, Mr Miyagi Films, M\u00e9xico, Spain)
Tiana and her family seek refuge in a village, only to discover that the pollution they fled has followed them. Rodrigo Pl\u00e1\u2019s environmental adventure puts three children at the center of a mystery surrounding poisoned rivers, combining ecological concerns with a story of displacement and childhood solidarity. Germany\u2019s Patra Spanou Films boarded <\/a>after its world premiere at Locarno\u2019s Kids Screenings.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cUs\u201d (\u201cNosotros,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn Ruano, Cine Concepci\u00f3n, Cine Murci\u00e9lago, M\u00e9xico, Guatemala)
Romero leaves his village for work as a security guard in the city, where he meets Nubia and discovers tenderness, sex and darkness. Joaqu\u00edn Ruano\u2019s drama traces a relationship unfolding amid escalating tensions with Romero\u2019s fellow guards, using violence as an ever-present pressure that exposes what the characters attempt to conceal and what can no longer be sustained.<\/p>\n

\n\tMexican Documentaries<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDance of the Souls\u201d (\u201cEl baile de las \u00e1nimas,\u201d Ram\u00f3n Llaven, Fata Morgana, Lost Time Media, Eudaimonia, M\u00e9xico, Canada)<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the Day of the Dead in the Etla Valley, Oaxaca, a soul returns to visit its loved ones and wander the places it once cherished, taking us on a vibrant sensory journey that honors how community and tradition help us to cope with loss.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDaughters of the Forest\u201d (\u201cHijas del bosque,\u201d Otilia Portillo, Oscura Producciones, M\u00e9xico)
Daughters of the Forest is an immersive sci-fi documentary following Eliseete and Julieta, indigenous scientists from Oaxaca and Mexico State. As deforestation and social barriers threaten their lands, they unite generational ecological knowledge with Western science to study fungi. Through a mycelial lens, the film explores new possibilities for human and non-human coexistence, resilience, and survival in a changing world.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cForensita\u201d (\u201cForensita,\u201d Pablo Vaca, Caribou Visual Studio, M\u00e9xico)
The life of 14-year-old In\u00e9s is much like that of her friends: she goes to school, takes urban dance classes, and is getting ready for her fifteenth birthday party. But during her free time, she helps her uncle, the local coroner, in performing autopsies.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJaripeo\u201d (\u201cJaripeo,\u201d Efra\u00edn Mojica, Rebecca Zweig, Jaripeo Documentary LLC, ITVS International, Survivance, Fiasco, M\u00e9xico, U.S., France)<\/p>\n

\n\tA hybrid documentary travels into Michoac\u00e1n\u2019s hypermasculine rodeos, where tradition gives way to memory, queer desire and longing. Participated in the Next sidebar of Sundance 2026, described as a journey toward a reckoning with \u201cthe wounds and beauty of a home left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMickey\u201d (\u201cMickey,\u201d Dano Garc\u00eda, Venado Films, Phototaxia Pictures, Estudio Errante, Estudios Churubusco, M\u00e9xico)
Mickey spent the last ten years exploring her transition process within the conservative context of Sinaloa, Mexico. Through digital archives, artistic reenactments, and deeply personal encounters, the film moves between tenderness and rage, transforming memory into an act of freedom. An exploration of self-perception and a non-punitive confrontation with the past.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNational Odyssey\u201d (\u201cOdisea nacional,\u201d Mariano Renter\u00eda, El Relicario Cine, M\u00e9xico)
A lyrical, evocative voyage composed of intimate microstories that explore the deep relationship between architecture and everyday life, uncovering universal human experiences such as identity, inequality, faith, nature, art, and the need to belong. An immersive cinematic experience about how spaces shape us as humans and their profound impact on our lives.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cQuerida F\u00e1tima\u201d (\u201cQuerida F\u00e1tima,\u201d Lorena Guti\u00e9rrez, Rodrigo Reyes, La Maroma Producciones, Reawakening Pictures, Grumpy Squared, M\u00e9xico, U.S.)
A decade after her 12-year-old daughter F\u00e1tima was murdered in a brutal feminicide, Lorena Guti\u00e9rrez sets up camp outside of the National Palace, demanding an audience with Mexico\u2019s President Claudia Sheinbaum. This visceral portrait captures the intersection of personal grief and political resistance in a country where, according to the U.N., ten women and girls are murdered everyday. Docu swept the Premio Mezcal section of the 41st Guadalajara Film Fest.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cReportage\u201d (\u201cReportaje,\u201d Nicol\u00e1s Guti\u00e9rrez, Cauce, Manantial, M\u00e9xico)
Reportage explores the relationship between death and crime journalism in Mexico City. Through photographers, printers, and newspaper vendors, it observes how violence is transformed into narrative and how storytelling becomes a way to inhabit and transcend death. In parallel, a group of formerly incarcerated actors stages a crime that resonates with their own histories, turning performance into an act of memory and redemption.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Lost Mariachis\u201d (\u201cLos mariachis perdidos,\u201d Francisco Ohem, Diandra Arriaga, Alexander de Graaf, Tania Zamora, Francisco Ohem, M\u00e9xico)
Blending road movie, archival footage, and essayistic elements, this documentary chronicles a filmmaker\u2019s journey through the Balkans in search of the last Yu-Mex singers. Through a lost film by Emilio \u201cEl Indio\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez, this bittersweet story takes a playful approach in exploring how cinema and music migrate and are reinterpreted in distant contexts.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Oil in My Blood\u201d (\u201cMi sangre es petr\u00f3leo,\u201d Vania Carolina Quevedo, Disruptiva Films, Rupestris Films, M\u00e9xico)
Reimagines an oil platform as a sea monster confronting a mermaid. It reflects on promises of progress, exploitation by Pemex, and Tabasco\u2019s poisoned waters, where families endure precarious labor. Through memory and metaphor, it reveals how sacrifice sustains livelihoods while endangering land, sea and future generations, exposing survival\u2019s fragile balance.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTraces of Home\u201d (\u201cRastros del hogar,\u201d Colette Ghunim, Sara Maamouri, Dan Rybicky, Capella Fahoome, U.S.)
Filmmaker Colette Ghunim travels with her parents to find the ancestral houses they were forced to flee as children in Mexico and Palestine. Colette\u2019s initial desire to heal her disconnect from her cultures and her parents reveals an internal quest to discover home within herself.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTwo Journeys\u201d (\u201cy\u0101tr\u0101,\u201d Alejandro Rugama, Diario de Expedici\u00f3n, M\u00e9xico)
A young adventurer spends years riding a motorcycle across Asia, chasing a great story to tell. But when an unknown illness slowly begins to paralyze him, he is forced to abandon everything he thought he was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At least two of the Tres Amigos are attending the 24th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) this year,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[35033,143869,35493,156,307336,13270,224804,307337,409,111,139,69,257798],"class_list":["post-625703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-alfonso-cuaru00f3n","tag-berlinale","tag-cannes","tag-entertainment","tag-ficm","tag-guillermo-del-toro","tag-la-bola-negra","tag-morelia-film-festival","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-wild-horse-nine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}