Café (pictured right) by Hatuey Viveros and Navajazo (pictured below) by Ricardo Silva were the top winners in the 3rd edition of the Riviera Maya Film Festival winning the Kukulkán award ex-aequo for Best Film in the Mexican platform section.
Vivero's Café is a hybrid film mixing fiction and documentary to portray the traditions, values, and customs of a family in the village of San Miguel Tzinacapan. This family struggles to survive as they face difficult situations and the absence of a father who died almost a year before; now, Tere, Jorge, and Chayo must organize a traditional ceremony as a commemoration for this event while their personal lives pass through difficult and decisive times. The way of life and the social problems faced by modern indigenous communities are presented together with their ancient and sacred rituals. After a difficult year in their household, each member has redefined him or herself in order to find his or her own destiny while the family offers a tribute to the memory of a deceased father.
Silva's debut feature Navajazo is an imaginary apocalypse is presented to us through the portraits of people struggling to survive in a hostile environment where they have no one but themselves and the only thing they share is a wish for keep on living, no matter what the cost might be. A home video director, a junkie who lives by the Tijuana River, a collector of toys, and an old Satanist who plays songs in a Casio keyboard are some of these survivors. The film mixes documentary with fiction to present a portrait of some outcasts living in Tijuana, a border city in northern Mexico.
Additionally, Gabriel Nuncio's film Cumbres, was the winner of the Jurado Joven Award. The 3rd edition of the Riviera Maya Film Festival ran March 9-15 in Mexico.
