Sin #77: Morelia Film Fest 2010

The Morelia Film Festival is celebrating its eighth year this October and I think it’s cause for celebration among Mexican cinephiles since year after year it delivers high quality productions from all over the world. I’ve felt an affinity to it from its very conception in 2003 even though I missed it that first year; I did, however, take my family on the year after and enjoyed some exceptional movies (like the fantastic documentary “Super Size Me”, the epic “Hero” and Richard Linklater’s brilliant sequel “Before Sunset”). The backdrop for the festival is a huge part of its appeal since the colonial city of Morelia is one beautiful place to visit.

The 2009 festival was personally outstanding since I stayed through its entire run (in about a week I saw 26 movies). The annual unveiling of the inauguration plate was performed that year by the great Quentin Tarantino, who was there to present his “Inglourious Basterds” (which was my favorite movie of the year). The eclectic selection ranged from the classics, like a print of “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (which is a wonderful movie), all the way to weirder gems like “Last Year in Marienblad” to more contemporary features like the indie “(500) Days of Summer” or the anime “Ponyo”. Every year they select a country as a special guest and 2009 brought a memorable collection of Rumanian films (like the delightful “12:08 East of Bucharest” and the exasperating and strangely haunting “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”). The energy is always high in a festival like this (it needs to be for one to be able to sustain 4, or even 5, movies a day) and the mood turns to excitement thanks to the talented guests that sometime accompany the films (one of the best moments came with the screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Tetro”, which was shot in gorgeous digital high definition; afterwards, the cinematographer talked to us about the film and working with the famed director).

The 2010 Film Festival promises to yet again deliver with some very high profile movies for the more art-house sensibilities. Its opening picture is “Biutiful” from Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu and starring Javier Bardem who won the best actor award in the Cannes Film Festival. The unveiling of the plate was recently performed by Iñarritu and director Terry Gilliam (whose “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” was actually last year’s closing feature).

There are some great films this year; from the creative mischief of Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse spin-off “Machete” to more offbeat works like the Palm d’Or winner “Uncle Boonmee Who can Recall his Past Lives” or Sofia Coppola’s latest “Somewhere” (which actually took the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and is the closing feature this year). There are also more commercial offerings like the acclaimed crime drama “The Town” and the posh romantic comedy “Tamara Drewe”. One of the most fascinating movies has to be Olivier Assayas’s “Carlos” about the famous Venezuelan terrorist; the festival is screening the complete 330 minute version in what is sure to be an interesting experience.

The Morelia Film Festival is a great experience for movie lovers. To learn more about it you can visit its official website at: http://www.moreliafilmfest.com/