The Circuit

by Michael Scott O'Boyle
The Morelia Intl. Film Fest's selection of new Mexican docus, shorts and features may pale to the range of fresh offerings at Rio, Mar de Plata or Guadalajara's fests, but, in only five years, Morelia has become a not-so-hidden gem that continues to draw more and more high profile guests each year. Fest scored a major political goal this year, getting President Felipe Calderon (pictured with Bertrand Tavernier in center) to attend the inauguration and promise to increase government support for Mexico's struggling film industry.

Set in the capital of Michoacan, the fest's small size allows guests to bump into each other throughout the day as they stroll between hotels off the city's central plaza, with its striking cathedral, to the main theater, a hospitality suite where everyone gathers to lunch, the more intimate dinners for special guests and the nightly parties in charming colonial buildings. 

For fest goers used to the faced-paced, market-driven buzz of major fests, Morelia comes off as a breath of fresh air. Hospitality is universally acclaimed. International guests are coddled by fest's director, Daniela Michel, during their stay, swept off to such settings as a dinner on the lake of Patzcuaro, at one of the stately homes of the Ramirez family, owner of exhibition chain Cinepolis, the fest's sponsor.

Bertrand Tavernier, Stephen Frears and Arthur Penn were Morelia's guests of honor this year, and special guests included Argentine helmer Hector Babenco, Gael Garcia Bernal (pictured with Stephen Frears) and two of the "Three Amigos:" Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Carlos Reygadas made an appearance early in the fest to unspool the Mexican preem of his "Silent Light."

Tribeca director Peter Scarlet sat with Sundance programmer Trevor Groth and Mexican actress Cecilia Suarez on the feature jury, while Hot Docs' Sean Farnel, "Jesus Camp" helmer Heidi Ewing and European Documentary Network head Leena Pasanen ran the docu jury.

Other guests included a range of Latin American personalities, like Colombian novelist Fernando Vallejo, to the NGO crowd focused on Morelia's socially-relevant offerings, such as Renew Media head Brian Newman, to other filmmakers like docu helmer Lucy Walker.

Morelia's intimate and democratic setting allows young Mexican talent to rub shoulders with its A-list guests. Fest founders Michel, Cinepolis CEO Alejandro Ramirez and Shannon Kelly, formerly with the Sundance Institute, have continued to privilege Morelia as a space for dialogue, rather than a market catering to just biz.

Still, Morelia has become a must-attend industry event for the nation's distribs, from Alejandro Lebrija, topper of top indie outfit Gussi, to Mauricio Duran, the new head of Universal's solo outfit in Mexico, to the Major's local production execs, like Warner Bros. Leonardo Zimbron and Disney's Inna Payan.

Photos by Paulo Vidales/IMAGEN LATENTE.