Identifying Features / Sin señas particulares, the debut feature by Fernanda Valadez, was the big winner at the 63rd edition of Mexico’s Ariel Awards presented by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, winning in nine categories—out of 16 nominations—including for Best Picture, Best Director, Best First Film, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography.
Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Gotham Award for Best International Film, among many other accolades at numerous international festivals including Morelia, San Sebastian, Thessaloniki, Zurich, and Stockholm, Identifying Features tells the story of middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez), who has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., in hopes of finding work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth.
At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Valadez has crafted in her striking debut feature a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, constructed equally of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion.
Other Ariel winners include The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo / Las tres muertes de Marisela Escobedo by Carlos Pérez Osorio for Best Documentary; Alfonso Herrera for Best Actor for his performance in David Pablos’ The dance of the 41 / El baile de los 41; the Chilean documentary The Mole Agent / El agente topo by Maite Alberdi for Best Ibero-American Film.
Yulene Olaizola’s Tragic Jungle / Selva trágica won two Ariel Awards for Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Sound; Samuel Kishi Leopo’s Los lobos won the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Music. The Golden Ariel for lifetime achievement was presented to actress Ofelia Medina.
