The 40th edition of the Guadalajara International Film Festival announces the official selection of the Mezcal Award, dedicated to Mexican fiction and documentary feature films. The awards consist of a Mayahuel statuette and $500,000.00 Mexican pesos awarded to the majority production company winning Best Mexican Feature Film; a Mayahuel statuette and $100,000.00 Mexican pesos awarded to the director of the film winning the Audience Award; and a Mayahuel statuette for Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Acting.
LIST OF SELECTED
Fiction
Cars, pot and rock 'n' roll (2025)
José Manuel Cravioto
Mexico
Justino and el Negro wanted to organize some car races and a small concert. But everything went wrong and they ended up doing the biggest concert in the history of Mexico: the Avándaro festival, described by the press as a disgusting hippie orgy of stripping, mariguaniza, sexual degeneracy, filth, hair, blood and death enough to sink the business and flee the country.
Chairel Coffee (2025)
Fernando Barreda Luna
Mexico
Set in the port of Tampico, Mexico, Café Chairel tells the story of Alfonso and Katia, two lonely people burdened by loss, who find solace in each other's company at a small café. While their days may seem trivial, an unspoken transformation is quietly taking place, revealing the subtle but profound impact of their shared grief and their unexpected connection.
Crocodiles (2025)
J. Xavier Velasco
Mexico | United States
Santiago Ortiz (Hoze Meléndez), a young photojournalist in the port of Veracruz, risks his life by embarking on a journey in a tireless search for the truth after his mentor, Amanda González (Teresita Sánchez), a respected journalist, falls victim to organized crime. Santi resumes his latest investigation and tests the limits of his courage to uncover a chilling reality that will define his destiny.
Twelve moons (2025)
Victoria Franco
Mexico
After a devastating loss, Sofia, a 40-year-old architect, must navigate through her emotions while trying to stay true to herself. Struggling with her fertility and her identity as a woman, both her personal and professional lives begin to deteriorate, forcing her to look inward to find the light that will carry her forward.
A world for me (2024)
Alejandro Zuno
Mexico
After receiving the news that the sex of their baby cannot be determined due to a disorder of sexual development, Maria and Nico are plunged into uncertainty. He advocates following medical protocol and surgically assigning a sex to their baby, while she embarks on a journey of research and self-discovery. As Mary learns more about intersex, she begins to consider the possibility of her baby growing up with her body as it is. Facing the most difficult decision of their lives, the couple questions their ideas about gender and identity as they open their eyes to a new world for them: intersex.
Documentary
At the End of the World (2025)
Abraham Escobedo-Salas
Mexico | Belgium
Cecilio, an addict and drug dealer, tries to get out of the drug world while surviving by squatting in Lisbon. Despite his efforts to change his life by taking a new job, the ruthless system and his inner demons keep pushing him to the margins of society. This dark journey into his own self will lead him to find dignity and solidarity along the way.
Old mouth (2025)
Yovegami Ascona Mora
Mexico
Boca Vieja is the place of my maternal roots, a small village of fishermen and farmers in southern Mexico who enjoy the land and the sea. However, with the arrival of the rainy season, the town must retreat to let nature take its place. This cycle repeats itself as the community resists the latent threat of dispossession of their territory.
Islander (2025)
César Talamantes
Mexico
A mirror of difficulties and possibilities where anyone can look at themselves, family life on the islands takes place in the context of an impressive cultural and scenic heritage. Isleño is a documentary portrait of life on the inhabited islands of Baja California Sur. The exploration of a marginal culture, forged by geographic isolation and scarcity of resources, shares testimonies captured during daily activity, weaves an intimate and complex overview that highlights the beauty and fragility of life, the problems and the desire to overcome them, with a discourse between waves that plunge us into the depths of the experience.
I watched the drops fall, illuminated by the lightning, and every breath I took, I sighed, and every time I thought, I thought of you. (2025)
Pepe Gutiérrez, Carlos San Juan
Mexico
Exploring the origins and development of colonialism, several stories weave through the tides of the Pacific Ocean. Following the route of the Manila Galleon (which sailed between the Philippines and the ports of New Spain, transporting Chinese goods between 1565 and 1815), time slithers like a snake: past and present coexist through automated humans, spaces that become figures and lights that are extinguished in the darkness.
To be called Olympia (2025)
Indira Cato
Mexico
Olimpia Coral Melo never sought to become a feminist icon. The humiliation of seeing her intimate video go viral made her want to abandon her own name. For thirteen years she fought to push for a law against digital sexual violence in Mexico. Now, while the Olimpia Law is spreading strongly throughout Latin America, she must reconcile with her wounds and reappropriate the name that shame wanted to take away from her.
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