Cinema23, an association created to promote the film culture of Latin America, Spain and Portugal, recently unveiled the Fénix Awards for Ibero-American Cinema, which will be presented for the first time in October 2014 in Mexico City.
In an event that took place at the Cannes Film Festival few days ago, the association made the official announcement of the Fénix Awards with the participation of Ricardo Giraldo, director of Cinema23; Rodrigo Peñafiel, executive director of the awards; and the actresses Maria de Medeiros, Alice Braga, Ana de la Reguera and Paz Vega (pictured).
“We have a great diversity of cinemas with different languages and structures, which we fail to enjoy in our countries and in many cases reflects part of who we are. The activities that we hold at Cinema23 help develop a complicity and a closer relationship between the audience and the filmmakers," said Giraldo. "Therefore, it is important to have a platform that give us greater visibility so people learn what we do. This is the reason behind the creation of the Fénix Awards."
The Fénix Awards for Ibero-American Cinema will be presented by more than 350 film professionals from Latin America, U.S.A., Europe and Canada, in 12 different categories and four special awards.
Some of the Cinema23 members include filmmakers Karim Aïnouz, José Carlos Avellar, Hector Babenco, Demian Bichir, Sebastián Cordero, Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, Amat Escalante, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Iván Giroud, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Salma Hayek, Pablo Larraín , Sebastián Lelio, Emmanuel Lubezki , Diego Luna, Fernando Meirelles, Wagner Moura, Luis Ospina, Fito Paez, Edgar Ramírez, Carlos Reygadas, Catalina Sandino, Ilda Santiago, Rodrigo Santoro, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Juan Carlos Tabío, and Monika Wagenberg.
The maiden ceremony of the Fénix Award will be held in October 2014 in Mexico City and will be broadcast live on E! Entertainment Television.
