Morelia Presents Standout Shorts at Cannes’ Critics Week

variety.com:

Anna Marie de la Fuente In keeping with a tradition that began in 2005, the Morelia Int’l Film Festival will showcase a selection of shorts at Cannes’ Critics Week.As festival director Daniela Michel explained: “The selection is made by the Critics’ Week team directly.

Every year, a member of that team is invited to participate in our Mexican Short Film jury; they make a shortlist of films for the program in Cannes and the programming team narrows it down to four shorts.”The shorts chosen from Morelia’s prior edition underscore the diversity of themes and genres that are currently explored in Mexican cinema, from family ties that bind to black and white animation.

It’s a strategic alliance between the festivals that has allowed some 40 short Mexican films to screen in Cannes through the years, with the presence of some of the filmmakers and talent behind them.

Reflecting on how the pandemic has affected the festival, now on its 20th edition, Michel said: “It has been a difficult two years, but I’m proud to say we have managed to hold a festival every year since the pandemic began!”While the festival was a reduced and “cautious in-person affair with a much larger hybrid element” in 2020, the following year saw a larger number of screenings.“We’ll be focusing even more this year on our Mexican competition, which has always been the heart of the festival – Mexican features, documentaries and short films,” said Michel adding: “We hope to hold an event that represents what Morelia has achieved over the last 20 years, since it began in 2003 as a short film showcase – to celebrate our mission to support Mexican films and filmmakers and offer a meeting place for lovers of film from all over the world.”The short films screening.