Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron at Morelia Fest

Mexico’s official entry to the Oscars, “Sujo,” made a sweep of the 22^nd Morelia Int’l Film Festival (FICM), winning the festival’s Ojo Awards for Best Film, Director and Screenplay.

Co-helmer-scribes Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, whose debut pic “Identifying Features” won a couple of Sundance awards and took the Best International Feature prize at the Gotham Awards in 2021, also snagged the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema with “Sujo,” their sophomore feature, in January.

Hailed by Variety as an “optimistic alternative to violent drug war movies,” the poignant coming-of-age story revolves around the impact of drug cartels on the youth. The tale follows young Sujo (played by Kevin Uriel Aguilar Luna and Juan Jesús Varela) who grows up surrounded by their violence. When his father, a sicario (hired assassin), is killed, he becomes a target but Sujo’s intrepid aunt rescues him.

Sujo’s win caps a luminary-packed festival that included Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuaron, Liv Tyler, Ava DuVernay, Ira Sachs and Leos Carax in attendance.

The festival led by Daniela Michel opened Oct. 18 with France’s submission to the Oscars, “Emilia Pérez” by Jacques Audiard, which won the Cannes Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for its four leads, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz. The latter two were special guests at the 22nd FICM.

Coppola’s latest opus “Megalopolis” was featured among the festival’s gala screenings, where the five-time Academy Award winner was bestowed FICM’s Artistic Excellence Award.

Furthermore, multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto presented his directorial debut, “Pedro Páramo,” a film adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s literary classic for Netflix.

Prieto has been nominated for his lens work in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” and Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” “The Irishman” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Cuaron, winner of multiple Academy Awards for “Gravity” and “Roma,” closed the festival Oct. 25 with his latest work, the AppleTV+ limited series, “Disclaimer.”

FICM, which recognizes and showcases the best Mexican works of the year, also hosted the Mexican premieres of such prominent titles as Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist, “Mark Cousins’ documentary “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” Luis Ortega’s “El Jockey,” DuVernay’s “Origin,” Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man,“ and the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion winner, Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door,” as well as Sean Baker’s “Anora,” winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

22^nd FICM Winners:

Best Mexican Fiction Film

“Sujo,” Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez

Best Director

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best Screenplay

Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, “Sujo”

Best Actor

Andrés Revo, “Fine Young Men” (“Hombres íntegros”)

Best Actress

Diana Laura Di, “Violent Butterflies” (“Violentas mariposas”)

Best Mexican Documentary

“I Died” (“Li cham”), Ana Ts’uyeb

Special Mention for Mexican Documentary

“Cracked” (“La falla”), Alana Simoes

Best Mexican Fiction Short Film

“Spiritum,” Adolfo Margulis

Best Mexican Animated Short Film

“The Black Stain” (“La mancha negra”), Yareni Velázquez Mendoza

Best Mexican Documentary Short Film

“Looking for a Donkey” (“Buscando un burro”), Juan Vicente Manrique

Special Jury Prize

“Renta Imagen: Niño halcón duerme entre visiones de un incendio,” Mauricio Sáenz-Cánovas

Best Michoacan Short Film

“Imprint” (“Impronta”), Rafael Martínez-García

Best Michoacán Short Film Screenplay

“Antesala al primer beso,” Adrián A. González Camargo