Güeros
Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico | 2014 | 111'
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Screenings
Sat 29 March H 18:30
Section
Original title
Güeros
Synopsis
1999, Mexico City. Tomás and his melancholic brother embark on a journey to pay tribute to their favourite singer. Upon discovering his disappearance, accompanied by Santos and Ana, the boys set off on an on-the-road adventure through Mexico City. Alonso Ruizpalacios’ debut feature film, Güeros, was presented at the Berlinale in 2014, where it won the award for Best First Feature. This captivating road movie is set in late 1990s’ Mexico and is inspired by the student protest movement at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), which ignited the streets of the Mexican capital in 1999. The film is an ode to youth, crafted through a cinema of repetitive patterns, minimalist landscapes, irony-filled dialogues, bodies, and emotions. A free and daring work that evokes the influence of Fellini and the Nouvelle Vague with a deeply personal approach.
Cast
Tenoch Huerta, Sebastián Aguirre, Leonardo Ortizgris
Films Distribution
Mundial
Production
Catatonia Cine, Mexlmcine/Conaculta
Editing
Alonso Ruizpalacios, Gibrán Portela
Cinematography
Damián García
Editing
Yubràn Asuad, Ana García
Language
Spanish
Subtitles
Italian
Premiere
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Main awards
Best First Feature Award (Berlin International Film Festival 2014); Grand Coral - First Work Prize, (Havana Film Festival 2014); FIPRESCI Prize, International First Film (Jerusalem Film Festival 2014); Grand Jury Prize - Special Mention, Audience Award (AFI Fest 2014); Jury Award, Best Cinematography; Special Mention, New Narrative Director (Tribeca Film Festival 2014); Feature Film Competition Award, Guerrero Press Award, Best Actor in a Feature Length Mexican Film, Best First or Second Mexican Feature; Audience Award, Best Feature Film (Morelia International Film Festival 2014); Special Jury Mention, International Program (Odesa International Film Festival 2014); Silver Ariel, Best Direction, Best First Work, Best Cinematography, Best Sound; Golden Ariel, Best Picture (Ariel Awards, Mexico 2015); Best Film (Lleida Latin-American Film Festival 2015); Silver Goddess, Best First Work (Mexican Cinema Journalists 2015); Youth Jury Award, Horizons Award (San Sebastián International Film Festival 2015); Young Adults Jury Award (Black Movie Film Festival 2015); Special Jury Prize (La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival 2015).
Biography
Alonso Ruizpalacios is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. His first feature Güeros (2013), won over 40 prizes in festivals around the world, including Best First Feature at the 2013 Berlinale and the Horizonte Award and the Audience Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Museo (2018), his second feature based on a true story, won the Silver Bear for the Best Screenplay at the 2018 Berlinale and Best Director in Athens and Morelia. His third film, Una película de policías (2021), halfway between documentary and fiction on the Mexican police system, premiered once again at the Berlinale and won the Prize for the Outstanding Artistic Contribution for editing. In 2024 Alonso was back at the Berlinale for the fourth time with La cocina, a delicate comedy inspired by Arnold Wesker's play The Kitchen.
Filmography
2024 - The Kitchen, ff
2021 - A Cop Movie, ff
2018 - Museo, ff
2014 - Güeros, ff