The Guadalajara International Film Festival () is a week-long

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

held each March in the Mexican city of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other important festivals from around the world has helped

Mexican cinema The cinema of Mexico dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ...

to have a strong international presence in the last twenty years. The festival has also helped to revitalize the careers of some older more established Mexican and English speaking artists like

Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...

Gabriel Figueroa Gabriel Figueroa Mateos (April 24, 1907 – April 27, 1997) was a Mexican cinematographer who is regarded as one of the greatest cinematographers of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He has worked in over 200 films, which cover a broad range ...

María Félix María de los Ángeles Félix Güereña (; 8 April 1914 – 8 April 2002) was a Mexican actress and singer. Along with Pedro Armendáriz and Dolores del Río, she was one of the most successful figures of Latin American cinema in the 1940s and ...

Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Delgado (22 January 1942 – 13 January 2020) was a Mexican film director, often compared to Spain's Pedro Almodóvar. Born in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, Hermosillo's films often explore the hypoc ...

Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (12September 193128November 2024) was a Mexican actress. She began her career in theatre before venturing into cinema in 1949. She became one of the greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and, with her p ...

Ignacio López Tarso Ignacio López Tarso (born Ignacio López López; 15 January 1925 – 11 March 2023) was a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He acted in about 50 films and appeared in documentaries and in one short feature. In 1973 he was given the ...

Ana Ofelia Murguía Ana Ofelia Murguía (8 December 1933 – 31 December 2023) was a Mexican actress. She was best known, in the English-speaking world, for voicing the titular character of the 2017 animated film ''Coco.'' Life She was born in Mexico City. Her e ...

Felipe Cazals Felipe Francisco Enrique Cazals Siena (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative film directors of hi ...

Jorge Fons Jorge Fons Pérez (23 April 1939 – 22 September 2022) was a Mexican film director. He belonged to the first generation of film directors of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). His short film, ''Caridad'' (1973), is still con ...

Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado ( , ), was a Mexican actress. She acted in popular Western films of the 1950s and 1960s. Her talent for playing a variety of ...

, and

Ismael Rodríguez Ismael Rodríguez (October 19, 1917 – August 7, 2004) was a Mexican film director. Rodríguez rose to fame due to the movies he directed starring Pedro Infante, and directed many major stars, including Dolores del Río, María Félix, Tos ...

as well as many others. The festival features an official competition, similar to other festivals like

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, and an international jury presents awards in several category at the end of each festival, many of which are accompanied by cash prizes.

Activities

* Guadalajara Film Market & Producers Network (

Marché du Film The ''Marché du Film'' (), also called Cannes Film Market, is an annual marketplace for films and one of the world's largest film markets. Established in 1959, it is held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. In the 2020s, mor ...

Festival de Cannes 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 t ...

) * Iberoamerican Film Market * Short Up!!! (Short Film Program) * Digital Space (Digital Cinema Keynotes) * Iberoamerican Co-production Meeting * Guadalajara Build (Post-production Market) * Expotec (Technology Show) * Iberoamerican Film Crossing Borders (Foreign Market Training)

Sections and awards

* Mezcal Award: consisting of Mexican films or co-productions, from 2000 to 2012 a series of awards named Mayahuel were also given to Mexican films. * Ibero-American Fiction Feature Film: consisting of fictional feature films from countries within

Ibero-America Ibero-America (, ) or Iberian America is generally considered to be the region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former colony, territories of Spain or Portugal). Sp ...

. * Ibero-American Documentary Feature Film: consisting of documentary feature films from countries within

. * Ibero-American Short Film: consisting of short films from countries within

, including Mexico. * Maguey Award: consisting of films with

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

topics. * Hecho en Jalisco: consisting of films produced in

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

. * Socio-Environmental Cinema Award: consisting of films with socio-environmental topics. * International Animation Feature Film: consisting of animated feature films from all over the world. * Rigo Mora Award: consisting of animated short films from all over the world.

Gallery

File:Eva_Longoria_@_Festival_Internacional_de_Cine_en_Guadalajara_01.jpg,

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, and businesswoman. After several guest roles on television, she became recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS day ...

at the festival. File:Salma_Hayek_(Guadalajara).jpg,

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

at the festival. File:Guadalajara_Filmfestival.png, Open-air screening at Guadalajara Film Festival. File:Inflable openaircinema.jpg, The Guadalajara International Film Festival offers outdoor free-access projections at certain points within the city. File:Guadalajara_Filmfestival.JPG, Open-Air-Cinema with an AIRSCREEN on the Guadalajara Film Festival. File:Doris_Dörrie_(Guadalajara).jpg,

Doris Dörrie Doris Dörrie (; born 26 May 1955) is a German film director, producer and author. Early life and education Born in Hanover, Dörrie completed her secondary education there in 1973. The same year, she began a two-year attendance in film studies ...

on the talent panel.

Award winners

Mexican Feature Films Competition (Mezcal Award)

;Best Film ;Best Direction ;Best Actor ;Best Actress ;Best Performance ;Best Cinematography

Ibero-American Feature Films Competition

;Best Film ;Special Jury Mention ;Best Direction ;Best Actor ;Best Actress ;Best Performance ;Best Screenplay ;Best Cinematography ;Best First Feature Film

Ibero-American Documentary Films Competition

;Best Ibero-American Documentary Film ;Special Mention From 2007 to 2012, two special mentions were presented, one for a Mexican documentary film and other for an Ibero-American one. ;Best Direction ;Best Cinematography ;Best Mexican Documentary Film

Short Films Competition

;Best Ibero-American Short Film ;Special Mention ;Best Mexican Short Film

Animated Short Films (Rigo Mora Award)

;Best Animated Short Film ;Special Mention

International Animated Feature Films Competition

;Best International Animated Film ;Special Mention

Maguey Award

;Best Feature Film ;Special Mention ;Special Jury Prize ;Best Performance

Mayahuel Award

From 2000 to 2012 a series of awards under the name of Mayahuel Awards were given to Mexican films within the festival. These awards would eventually be replaced by the current Mezcal Awards. ;Best Film ;Best Director ;Best Actor ;Best Actress ;Best Screenplay ;Best Cinematography ;Best Art Direction ;Best Score ;Best Sound ;Best Editing ;Best First Feature Film

References

External links

Official website
{{Portal bar, Mexico, Film 1986 establishments in Mexico Film festivals in Mexico Spring (season) in Mexico

Film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

Film festivals established in 1986