Devil's Freedom by Everardo González
Santa & Andrés by Carlos Lechuga
The Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) wrapped up today announcing this year’s winners. The Cuban film Santa and Andrés, the sophomore production by director Carlos Lechuga was the winner of the Best Ibero-American Film Award, while Everardo González's documentary Devil’s Freedom / La Libertad del Diablo was the winner of both the awards for Best Ibero-American Documentary and Best Mexican Film.
In the past five years the battle against drug crime in Mexico has claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 people. González’s haunting documentary, which premiered earlier this year at Berlinale, looks into the real-life stories behind the statistics and headlines. The film also won the Premio Mezcal, Best Cinematography for María Secco.
Sofía Gómez Córdova won Best Director, in the Mexican competition for her film The Blue Years / Los Años Azules, a coming of age story about five young roommates who share expenses, dreams and lives in an old house on the brink of falling apart, in a traditional neighborhood of downtown Guadalajara.
In the Iberoamericano Feature Official Selection Lechuga’s Cuban-Colombian-French production also took home the award for Best Screenplay. In 1983 Cuba, a gay writer who is non-compliant with the government is blacklisted, and a local peasant woman working on a state farm is assigned to watch him. As she keeps a close watch on the man, they both realize they have a lot in common.
Best Director went to Joel Calero for his film One Last Afternoon / La Última Tarde, a Peru-Colombia co-production. After 19 years without seeing each other, two former “guerrilleros” reunite to sign their divorce papers. As they catch up with their lives and revisit their shared romantic and political past, they unveil intimate secrets to finally discover who they truly are and how much their country and convictions still hurt them.
Fabio Meira’s Two Irenes / As duas Irenes, from Brazil, won Best First Film. When Irene finds out that her father has another daughter, of the same age and the same name, she discovers a new Irene, utterly different from her, more self-confident and more mature that both fascinates her and causes her to question her identity.
Special Jury Prizes were awarded to Adriana's Pact / El Pacto de Adriana by Lissette Orozco from Chile for Documentary and Woodpeckers / Carpinteros by José María Cabral from the Dominican Republic for Feature Film.
The 32nd edition of FICG took place March 10-17, 2017 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
