The Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG27) just announced the winners of the Mayahuel Awards for its 27 edition, which comes to a close today. In a surprising decision, Mariachi Gringo by American director Tom Gustafson won the top prize, the Mayahuel Award for Best Mexican Film. The US-Mexico co-production, which had its world premiere as the opening night of the Miami Film Festival last week, stars Shawn Ashmore as a small-town man that runs away to Mexico to become a mariachi singer. The film also stars Mexican actresses Martha Higareda and Adriana Barraza, and renowned singer Lila Downs.
Everardo Gout won the Mayahuel Award for Best
Mexican Director for his debut feature film Días de gracia / Days of Grace, whilst Sebastián del Amo's El fantastico mundo de Juan Orol / The Fantastic World of Juan Orol, the biopic on the Mexican version of Ed Wood, won the prize for Best Mexican First Film.
The award for Best Ibero-American Film was for the Argentine film Abrir puertas y ventanas / Back to Stay by Milagros Mumenthaler, and a Special Jury Award for the Spanish-Swiss co-production Los pasos dobles / The Double Steps by Isaki Lacuesta. Sebastián Cordero got the award for Best Director in the same category for his film Pescador from Ecuador, and Brazilian Film Transeúnte / Passerby by Eryk Rocha was the winner for the Mayahuel Award for Best Ibero-American First Film.
The prize for Best Ibero-American Documentary was for ¡Vivan las antípodas! / Long Live the Antipodes!, the Argentine-Chilean-German-Dutch co-production directed by Russian director Victor Kossajovsky; whilst Chilean film El salvavidas by Maité Alberdi received a Special Mention from the jury.
Cuates de Australia / Draught by Everardo González won the Mayahuel Award as Best Mexican Documentary Film; and there were two Special Mentions in the same category for Juan Carlos Rulfo and Natalia Gil'sCarrière, 250 metros / Carrière, 250 Meters and Alejandro Solar's El paciente interno / The Convict Patient.
The Audience Award prize was for the Mexican film Espacio Interior/ Richness of Internal Space, Kai Parlange's debut feature film and the Argentine film Mía by Javier Van de Couter received the Maguey Award as Best LGBT Film, the first time the prize is given in the festival.
For the complete list of winners, click here.
