A Better World by Jannett Juárez
The Mexican film A Better World / Un mundo mejor by Janett Juárez and the Venezuelan drama The Shadow of the Sun / La sombra del sol by Miguel Ángel Ferrer were the top winners at the 19th edition of the Monterrey Film Festival (FICMonterrey) in Mexico. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Fundidora Park last night.
A Better World was the winner of the Award for Best Mexican Film. Starring Raúl Briones, Mateo Díaz, and Sonia Franco, the film tells the story of Víctor, a kidnapping survivor who is forced to live abroad. He holds on to self-confinement and monotony. His safe world gets in crisis with the intrusion of his neighbor Santiago, a seven-year-old boy, who will show Víctor that “when everything seems lost, the hope of a better world is what keeps us afloat.”
The Shadow of the Sun, which is Venezuela’s Oscar submission, was the winner of the Best Latin American Film Award. Ferrer’s drama tells the story of Leo, a salt-of-the-earth blue collar worker who is going through the motions of life in the city of Acarigua, nestled in Venezuela's arid inland empire. Plagued by economic hardship, he does any job he can muster to make ends meet and keep his flailing relationship afloat.
Alex, his deaf younger brother, offers an unusual proposition: To join him in a musical contest and sing a song that he has written, for a chance to win a cash prize that will get them both out of their financial troubles. Leo refuses his brother’s "fantasy," but when a workplace incident gets him fired and ridiculed, Leo must take a leap of faith, rediscover his long dormant musical abilities, and win against all odds in order to change his and his brother’s future.
Miguel Pérez’s Female Tanker Driver / La Pipera was the winner of the Best Documentary Award. The film follows legendary Miriam Ochoa “La Pipera,” the first female trailer driver in the world to transport dangerous materials and waste. Her story portrays her beginnings, her passion for trailers, what led her to leave her medical profession, and the transfer of her legacy to “La Diablita.” Personal testimonies and archive material show the history of almost 40 years of traveling the roads of Mexico.
The award for Best Film from the State of Nuevo León was presented to Mountain Dust / Polvo de Montaña by Marlén Ríos-Farjat. The film tells the story of Jessy, who is a domestic worker in Monterrey. His father suffers from respiratory illness due to pollution caused by the extraction of stones in the mountains. Jessy wants to save her father but is alone before the dominant forces in power.
Argentina’s La Gauchada / The Favor by Juan Follonier and Gastón Calivari was the winner of the Best Latin American Short Film Award; while Roberto Salvador Rodríguez’s I Am the Queen / Yo soy la Reyna was the winner of the Best Mexican Short Film Award. My Kingdom / Mi reino by Luis J. Arellano received a Special Mention in the same competition and Family Reserve / Reserva familiar by Isaac Areizaga won the KinoStart Award for Best Short Film.
And director Daniela Soria was the winner of the Canacine Shorts 2023 for the pitch for her short story Cuando las niñas crecen, and Juan Carlos Tame received a Special Mention for the pitch for his short film El amor pinta color Oxxo.
The 19th edition of FICMonterrey took place September 28-October 4,
