21 Top Titles from Mexico at Annecy, from Buzzy Competition Title ‘Humo’ to Gems ‘Down to the Bones,’ ‘La Bestia’ | instastori.com

Selected highlights from Annecy’s tribute to Mexico panorama, divided into 9 programs:

“La Bestia,” (Ram Tamez, 2020)

A champion student movie Annie Award victor and nan first Spanish-language movie from awesome Paris animation schoolhouse Gobelins, co-directed and co-written by Tamez, a Guillermo del Toro Gobelins scholar. A heartrending gem, group connected nan tile of La Bestia, a freight train hurtling done Mexico utilized by emigrants to hitch a accelerated thrust to nan U.S., nan wrench of emigration caught by a opus co-wrote by Tamez. 

“Cerulia,” (Sofia Carrillo, 2017)

Carrillo’s crowning stop-motion triumph to date, nan communicative of a small woman successful her grandparents’ location who revisits it years later erstwhile they are deceased and nan location up for sale. Sluiced by nostalgia and surreal touches, a adjacent tactile paean to Carrillo’s ain puerility and a world of pets and animals supposedly dormant and gone which lives connected successful nan head and now successful nan film. A Guadalajara and Morelia champion animated short winner.

“Dalia Sigue Aquí,” (Nuria Menchaca, 2019)

Set against flashing screenshots of newspapers articles, nan heartrending communicative of Dalia, a small woman killed by soldiers, and whose spirit, accompanied by her pet chicken, watches her begetter dedicate nan remainder of his life looking for her body. Written by Menchaca and Carlos Isaac and dedicated to nan 37,000 Mexican families still looking for their desaparecidos. 

“Disney Shorts: Feliz cumpleaños!” (Alonso Ramírez Ramos, 2015)

A curio watched by millions online, successful which a bunch of bandido piñatas frighten to ruin a Mexican Mickey Mouse’s day fiesta, pinch Minnie cooking a barroom and Donald Duck and Goofy serenading proceedings. But a valiant Mickey turns nan tables connected nan piñatas. None excessively funny, but animated pinch winning brio by Ramírez Ramos.  

“Dr. Gecko’s Show,” (“El Show del Dr. Gecko ‘Sex Gender,” Marcos Almada Rivero, 2022)

This colorful TV special, produced by Micufilm and Carlos Azcuaga – and presented astatine Annecy – shows Dr. Gecko, stuck successful his ways and abruptly forced to talk to a overmuch younger reptilian generation. While he is speedy to perpetuate gender stereotypes astatine first, he learns his lesson. So do nan kids, encouraged to find their ain way and identity. After all, girls want to beryllium scientists too.

“Down to nan Bones,” (“Hasta los huesos,” René Castillo, 2001)

In this stop-motion delight, filled pinch euphony and awarded besides astatine Annecy – and directed by stop-motion pioneer René Castillo, who precocious worked connected Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” – decease is conscionable nan beginning. Also, contempt immoderate first scares, it’s really not specified a bad point aft all, arsenic they judge cognize really to statement successful nan afterlife. Produced by Calavera Films.

“Elena and nan Shadows,” (“Elena y las sombras,” César Cepeda 2016)

Elena is emotion lonely. Nothing really happens successful her quiet vicinity and only a rodent comes complete for an occasional visit. The repetition is driving her crazy, until she meets Felix, who shows her really to entree different universes. Cesar Cepeda’s stop-motion stunner is simply a ceremony of friendship, and a telephone for group to yet unfastened their eyes – moreover erstwhile others deliberation you can’t see.

“En avant,” (Mitchelle Tamariz, 2019)

Rosa’s sweater catches successful nan woody wall of her homes, and a thread slow unravels arsenic she plods crossed nan godforsaken to nan U.S.-Mexico wall. Made astatine La Poudrière, 1 of France’s astir prestigious animation schools, and base its hallmarks: Exquisite 2D animation, arsenic Rosa remembers her home, and nan societal rumor heft of nan thread moving arsenic metaphor for what emigrants time off behind. 

“Flesh of God,” (Patricio Plaza, Argentina-Mexico)

Playing successful Annecy’s main short movie competition, a important humanities 17h period imagination movie group successful Oaxaca mixing scary and anime tropes. A friar chases and hits a small woman for collecting mushrooms. Fallen ill, he is taken to an aged healer who forces him to eat curative mushrooms, and fantasises that he’s pursued by a monster inspired by Indigenous mythology. Cured, nan friar resumes his authority successful Oaxaca. A Mar del Plata 2022 victor of nan Astor Piazzolla Prize for champion short successful Argentine Competition and an Imcine-backed Argentina-Mexico co-production. 

“Frankelda’s Book of Spooks,” (Arturo, Rodolfo Ambriz, 2019)

A existent shade writer, Frankelda, who died successful nan 19th century, battles for a grumpy book to statement down her supernatural tales. Lensed pinch verve, nan camera swooping and floating, astir nan haunted location arsenic nan Ambriz brothers show ghoulish cautionary tales of passions pinch echoes of Poe and Lovecraft. A instrumentality favourite, pinch a movie spinoff, presented astatine this year’s Annecy and bidding to go Mexico’s first stop-motion characteristic film.   

“Humo,” (Rita Basulto, 2023)

One of nan buzzed up shorts successful title astatine this year’s Annecy, nan communicative of a kid taken distant by a train, put successful location 48 and who is made to hide successful its sewers truthful he’s not taken distant to nan location pinch nan chimney. “There is truthful overmuch sadness retired location that it hurts nan soul,” Basulto has said. “Here’s a lawsuit successful point: The Holocaust told successful nan elemental words of a child, directed by 1 of Mexico’s preeminent figures of stop-motion, victor of 3 animated short Ariels, and a personnel of Guadalajara’s Taller del Chucho. coating nan achromatic rabbits connected “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio.”     

“The Girl of nan River,” (Gabriela Badillo, 2017),

Delivering a notably modern return connected a people communicative from Oaxaca’s Chinanteco, nan communicative pinch pencil drawn animation narrated successful Jumni of a woman who goes to nan stream to cry, because her parents person organised an arranged marriage. When they insist, she decides to forge her ain destiny. Part of “68 Voices, 68 Hearts,” an animated bid of Indigenous tales told successful their original language, tally by Badillo.

“The Hero,” (“El héroe,” Carlos Carrera, 1993)

In nan mediate of a bustling city, surrounded by anger and boredom, a man experiences a romance while waiting for a subway train. Sadly, it’s complete earlier it moreover begins. Carrera, who went connected to make nan likes of “The Crime of Padre Amaro” and “Ana and Bruno,” delivers a wordless communicative that really speaks volumes, and 1 that earned him a Palme d’Or for champion short astatine Cannes.

“K8,” (Miguel Anaya Borja, 2022)

PBA Producciones presents a mini movie that takes connected very large themes. After all, “K8” is nan hopeless telephone for help, coming straight from policemen ambushed by members of organized crime. Through charcoal drawings connected wood, Miguel Anaya Borja takes connected nan impacts of supplier trafficking connected a society, destroyed by fear, suffering and violence, reminding that successful Mexico, 80% of convulsive deaths are owed to supplier trafficking.

“Llueve,” (Carolina Corral, Magali Rocha, 2021)  

Made successful Morelos, portion of an Imcine location short movie competition, a hybrid portion unrecorded action documentary and crayon animated short narrated by María Hernández astir her conflict to find her son’s dormant assemblage aft it disappears from a Morelos authorities mortuary. Written by Corral, a ocular anthropologist who studied astatine Manchester U., produced by CCC alum Rocha and a prequel for doc characteristic “Volverte a ver,” distributed by Pimienta Films.

“My Grandma Matilde,” (“Mi abuela Matilde,” Miguel Anaya Borja, 2021)  

Little Maria has been near successful her grandmother’s care, but nan stern woman doesn’t want to play – instead, she wants to thatch nan woman immoderate useful skills truthful that she will beryllium capable to fend for herself successful nan future. The narration betwixt them becomes tense, until her grandma remembers a concealed she has kept since childhood. Adopting a child’s perspective, Miguel Anaya Borja has besides precocious delivered shorts “K8,” described above, and “Heaven.” 

“Ñihi,” (Tamara Cruz, 2019)

Remarkably for its maturity, Cruz’s postgraduate short astatine Mexico’s SAE Institute, a communicative of belief rebirth pinch a woman sitting successful a temazcal – ñihi successful Mixteco – a spot for herbal medicine cleansing, confronting her soul fears and uncovering last peace. Highly crafted successful its heavy 2D palette, prime usage of 3D and rotoscoping for an underwater scene, and evocative sound design, marking retired Cruz arsenic a talent to track.     

“Onyx Equinox: Jaws of nan Jaguar,” (Sofia Alexander, Kuni Tomita)

Episode 2 of a Mexican animation milestone, Crunchyroll Studios’ first Original but created and executive produced by a Mexican, Alexander, pinch a young Aztec slave, Itzel, crowned humanity’s champion, charged pinch closing nan gates of nan underworld. Equal parts painterly and harrowing – such arsenic erstwhile Itzel loses his sister to humor sacrifice – and frenzied imagination combat, recreating successful item Aztec, Maya and Zapotec deities and mythology.Playing astatine Annecy inMexico successful Hollywood TV.

“Poliangular,” (Alexandra Castellanos, 2017)

Produced by Ana Cruz astatine Casiopea, a mostly B&W title successful which disparate figures, hooded, made of string, aliases horned, pursuit aliases digit objects successful what look for illustration an endless desire for knowledge, nevertheless incomplete and aforesaid defeating. A fest favourite from Castellanos, a o-director of “A la Par,” a protestation astatine gender stereotyping, and a Casipea co-founder.   

“Shifting,” (“Trasiego,” Amanda Woolrich, 2023)

Woolrich listens to a bittersweet speech betwixt a grandma and her granddaughter, delivered done their notebooks and sketches, arsenic they support connected talking astir death, their journeys, fading memories and emotions,  only to recognize that perhaps, “death is much a portion of a cycle.” Produced by Productions Ocho and shown successful Annecy’s Perspectives Short Films.

“White Noise,” (Salvador Herrera, 2014)

A semi abstract, forged by Meso-American materials, sharded stone, a woody plaque, pinch eyes, which animate objects which unfold psycholdelically earlier nan spectator. About half measurement done nan two-minute short, Herrera, a salient Mexican ocular creator and experimental animator, cuts wrenchingly to nan aforesaid images replicated connected dozens of infinitesimal TV screens, which hardly let immoderate item to beryllium seen, arsenic Herrera questions sardonically nan thought of modern artistic advancement successful a TV era.