Ernesto Contreras (born 1969 in

Veracruz, Veracruz Veracruz (), also known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and the most populous city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located along the c ...

) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Contreras graduated from the Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos of the

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

. His shorts have received several national and international awards, like the

Ariel Award The Ariel Award () is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas, Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award reco ...

of the Mexican Academy for ''Best Short Film'' in 2004, for The non-invited. In 2007, ''

Párpados azules ''Blue Eyelids'' () is a 2007 Mexican drama film directed by Ernesto Contreras. Plot ''Marina Farfán'' works at a cloth factory, and during a work ceremony the owner of the company draws Marina's name on a contest, and she wins a paid trip t ...

'' (''Blue Eyelids''), his first feature-film received the Best Iberoamerican Film and Script awards, as well as the Mezcal Award of the Young Jury in the XXII

Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival () is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other important festivals from around the world has helped M ...

. He was later nominated for the Camera d’Or of the 60th

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

competing in the official selection of the 46th

International Critics' Week Critics' Week (), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. History Critics' week was created in 1962, after the French Syndicate of ...

. In September of that same year, he received a Special Mention in the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

, and he also received the National University Distinction Award in Artistic Creation. In 2008, the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and the

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...

gave him both a Special Jury Prize, and he received the

of the Mexican Academy for Best First Work. In January 2017, Contreras accepted the World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival for his film '' Sueño en otro idioma''. On November 1, 2017, Contreras began a two-year term as the president of the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences ( Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas ), also known as AMACC. His term will end in October 2019. Paralleling, he produced and coedited the feature documentary '' The Last Heroes of the Peninsula'', by director José Manuel Cravioto, with whom he is currently codirecting a documentary on the Mexican rock band

Café Tacvba A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

’s 20th Anniversary.

Filmography

* '' Blue Eyelids'' (2007) * '' Seguir siendo: Café Tacvba'' (2010) * '' The Obscure Spring'' (2014) * '' I Dream in Another Language'' (2017) * '' Impossible Things'' (2021) * '' El Último Vagón (film)'' (2023) * El Secreto del Río (2024)

Short films

* ''Sueño polaroid'' (1997) * ''Sombras que pasan'' (1998) * ''Ondas hertzianas'' (2000) * ''Gente pequeña'' (2000) * ''El milagro'' (2000) * ''Los no invitados'' (2003)

Awards

IV Concurso Nacional De Cortometraje - 1998

* The ''IV National Contest for Short Films'' ** ''El milagro''

Guadalajara Film Festival - 1999

*Mayahuel for Best Short Film ** For ''Ondas hertzianas''

Guadalajara Film Festival - 2000

*Mayahuel for Best Short Film ** For ''El Milagro''

Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival () is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other important festivals from around the world has helped M ...
- 2007

*Best Iberoamerican Film *Best Iberoamerican Script *Best Mexican Film, by the Young Jury *Best Director, Script, Actor, Actress, and Film, by Press ** For ''Párpados azules''

Alba International Film Festival - 2008

*Premio Subti and Premio Signis - Gazzetta d’Alba

Ariel Award - 2008

Silver Ariel

* Best First Work (Mejor Opera Prima) ** For ''Párpados azules''

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...
- 2008

Special Jury Award

** For ''Párpados azules''

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
- 2008

Special Jury Prize

** For ''Párpados azules''

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
- 2017

World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic

** For ''Sueño en otro idioma''

Nominations

Cannes Film Festival - 2007

* Camera d'Or 60th ** For ''Párpados azules''

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...
- 2007

Grand Prize

* For ''Párpados azules''

References

External links

Profile
at the

site
Profile
at the ''

'' site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Ernesto 1969 births Ariel Award winners Mexican film directors Living people National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni People from Veracruz (city)