Mexican Film Desierto Adentro (Desert Inside) by Uruguayan director Rodrigo Plá was the most acclaimed film at the 23rd Guadalajara International Film Festival winning the Mexican feature award and five others for best actor, actress, script, cinematography, the audience Award and the Youth Jury Mescal Prize.

The festival closed on Friday (March 14) with the screening of the best Iberoamerican feature winner - 14 Kilometros, (14 Kilometers) directed by Spanish filmmaker Gerardo Olivares. Both best film awards included $20,000 for distribution support.

Desert Inside, the follow-up to Pla's acclaimed La Zona, is a $1.5m period film that starts in a little town of Mexico during the 1930s. Written by Pla and his wife Laura Santullo, the film is based on the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, but adapted to Catholicism.

It tells the story of Aureliano, son of Elias, who is predestined, the same as his brothers, to die prematurely as a result of a divine punishment for a sin committed by his father. To gain God's forgiveness, the entire family starts to build a church in the middle of the desert were they are forced to live, apart from the civilization.

Gussi-Artecinema will distribute the film in Mexico and a sales agent is close to being signed.

14 Kilometros, which is in French, is Olivares' third film and is the story of two people leaving North Africa for Spain. Wanda Vision and Explora films produced the film and Latido Films is the sales agent.

Lake Tahoe director Fernando Eimbcke won best director.

Best First Mexican Film Award went to Conozca La Cabeza De Juan Perez (Meet the Head Of Juan Perez) directed by Emilio Portes. The award comes with $10,000 cash prize for distribution support.

Gonzalo Arijon's Stranded was named best Iberoamerican documentary and Christiane Bukhard's Trazando Aleida was selected as Best Mexican Documentary, both winning $10,000 in distribution support.

The FIPRESCI award went to Isthar Yasin's Costa Rican film El Camino (The Road) which was one of the projects chosen for the Films In Progress prize last year.

This year the Films in Progress which received a total of $220,000 for post-production support were Vedado, by Asori Soto and Magdiel Aspillaga (Cuba), and Cronicas Chilangas by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).

The festival this year screened 247 titles from 38 countries; 43 of them were Mexican.

The festival attracted a number of big international names including Brian De Palma and John Sayles.

Argentine directors Fernando Birri, Fernando Solanas and producer Lita Stantic, received a special tribute as well as popular Mexican actor Tin Tan.

Oscar-winner composer Gustavo Santolalla received the Guadalajara Award, which honors Latin American Films personalities, and Mexican producer Bertha Navarro received the festival's Mayahuel de Plata award for her longstanding career.

AWARDS:
IBERO-AMERICAN FICTION FEATURE FILMS

BEST FILM:
14 KIL'METROS by Gerardo Olivares (Spain)
SPECIAL JURY MENTION:
Ishtar Yasin (Costa Rica) for EL CAMINO

SPECIAL JURY AWARD:
A OUTRA MARGEM by Luis Filipe Rocha (Portugal)

BEST FIRST FEATURE:
EL BAÑO DEL PAPA by Cesar Charlone & Enrique Fernández (Uruguay/Brazil/France)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Eliseo Subiela (Argentina) for NO MIRES PARA ABAJO

BEST SCREENPLAY:
MATAHARIS by Iciar Bollain & Tatiana Rodriguez (Spain)

BEST ACTOR:
Marlon Moreno (Colombia) for PERRO COME PERRO

BEST ACTRESS:
Maria d'Aires (Portugal) for A OUTRA MARGEM

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Pedro Farkas (Brazil) for OS DESAFINADOS

MEXICAN FICTION FEATURE FILMS:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Serguei Saldivar Tanaka for DESIERTO ADENTRO

MEZCAL AWARD:
DESIERTO ADENTRO by Rodrigo Plá.

AUDIENCE AWARD:
DESIERTO ADENTRO by Rodrigo Plá.

MEXICAN FICTION FEATURE FILMS:

IBERO-AMERICAN FICTION FEATURE FILMS

BEST FILM:

14 KIL'METROS by Gerardo Olivares (Spain)

SPECIAL JURY MENTION:

Ishtar Yasin (Costa Rica) for EL CAMINO

SPECIAL JURY AWARD:

A OUTRA MARGEM by Luis Filipe Rocha (Portugal)

BEST FIRST FEATURE:

EL BAÑO DEL PAPA by Cesar Charlone & Enrique Fernández (Uruguay/Brazil/France)

BEST DIRECTOR:

Eliseo Subiela (Argentina) for NO MIRES PARA ABAJO

BEST SCREENPLAY:

MATAHARIS by Iciar Bollain & Tatiana Rodriguez (Spain)

BEST ACTOR:

Marlon Moreno (Colombia) for PERRO COME PERRO

BEST ACTRESS:

Maria d'Aires (Portugal) for A OUTRA MARGEM

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Pedro Farkas (Brazil) for OS DESAFINADOS


DOCUMENTARY

BEST IBERO-AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY:
STRANDED: VENGO DE UN AVI'N QUE CAY' EN LAS MONTAÑAS by Gonzalo Arijon (Uruguay/Spain/France).

SPECIAL JURY MENTION: LUCIO by Aitor Arregi & Jose Mari Goenaga (Spain)

BEST MEXICAN DOCUMENTARY:
TRAZANDO ALEIDA by Christiane Bukhard.

SPECIAL JURY MENTION:
NIÑO FIDENCIO DE ROMA A ESPINAZO by Juan Farre.

SHORT FILMS

BEST IBERO-AMERICAN SHORT FILM:
DIENTE POR OJO by Eivind Holmboe 'Salmon' (Spain).

BEST MEXICAN SHORT FILM:
CAFÉ PARAÍSO by Alonso Ruizpalacios.

BEST ANIMATION:
JACINTA by Karla Castañeda (Mexico).

SPECIAL MENTION IBERO-AMERICAN SHORT:
UN RAMO by Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra (Brazil).

SPECIAL MENTION MEXICAN SHORT:
PRIMER MOVIMIENTO PARA 20 HOMBRES EN UN CUARTO VACÍO by Gabriel Herrera.

TVE AWARD:
LATINOS by Victor Gaviria (Colombia)

FEISAL AWARD:
SIETE INSTANTES by Diana Cardozo (Mexico).

FIPRESCI AWARD:
EL CAMINO by Ishtar Yasin (Costa Rica)

AUDIENCE OF THE FUTURE AWARD:
ÁNGELES S.A. by Eduard Bosch (Spain)

GUADALAJARA CONSTRUYE:

NEW ART DIGITAL PRIZE:
VEDADO by Asori Soto & Magdiel Aspillaga (Cuba).

SWISS EFFECTS PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).

LATINOFUSION PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).

ASTRO ESTUDIO PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).

CHURUBUSCO PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).

SIGNIS-OCLACC PRIZE:
VEDADO by Asori Soto & Magdiel Aspillaga (Cuba).

THE LIFT PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).
VEDADO by Asori Soto & Magdiel Aspillaga (Cuba).

TITRA CALIFORNIA PRIZE:
CR'NICAS CHILANGAS by Carlos Enrique Enderle Peña (Mexico).
VEDADO by Asori Soto & Magdiel Aspillaga (Cuba).

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