Filmmakers Rodrigo Moreno and Tatiana Huezo
Argentine director Rodrigo Moreno and Mexican director Tatiana Huezo were among the top winners at the 59th edition of the Chicago International Film Festival. Moreno was the winner of the Silver Hugo: Jury Prize for his latest film The Delinquents / Los delincuentes, while Huezo won the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary Feature for The Echo / El eco.
In a written statement, the jury described The Delinquents as “a fable that takes you on an unexpected journey, the film is filled with invention and intellectual surprise. Joyfully playing with existing genres of film, it makes one constantly wonder: what kind of movie am I watching?”
In its deliberation statement, the documentary jury stated that “Tatiana Huezo presents an engrossingly cinematic and poetic portrait of modern family life in rural Mexico. Huezo’s nuanced, observational storytelling weaves a rich tapestry of a family and community who live off the land in a mountainous terrain, herding sheep. The film is a meditation on cycles of life, birth, death, work, home, a deep and profound respect for nature, and the inevitable clash between cultural tradition and the modern world. Through the eyes of three generations, the film presents a deeply moving portrait that subtly reveals the flashpoints of struggle in everyday life, observations of shifting gender roles and the ever-encroaching pull of a world outside of their own.
“The power of the storytelling is in the smallest details, and Huezo’s directorial choices displayed an intentionality that elevated the narrative from thoughtful to profound. The textured cinematography and the immersive sound design create a cinematic landscape that is expansive and breathtakingly intimate.”
Additionally, the Argentine movie Carnal Sins / Almamula by Juan Sebastián Torales received a Special Mention in the Out-Look Competition for LGBTQ+ films. The jury decided to give the Special Mention to the film for “its demonstration of characters that naturally defy and explore their own curiosities through the world. The scenes and dialogue are visually and linguistically chain-linked presentations of the adversities and pleasures that come from nascent desires.”
The 59th edition of the Chicago International Film Festival took place October 11-22, 2023.
