Udo Kier headlines Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF)

Published September 8th, 2021

The hybrid format of the Guanajuato International Film Festival returns this year with the participation of German actor Udo Kier, who will give an online lecture and the presence of Mexican actress María Rojo.

“Swan Song,” by director Todd Stephens, will be the opening film of the festival, which will take place in several cities in the central state of Guanajuato from September 18 to 26.

The film is an LGBT comedy, starring Kier, that follows the life of a retired hairstylist who resumes his job to fulfill a client’s last wish.

The city of León, where the festival begins, will be followed by the venues of San Miguel de Allende from September 21 to 23, where the film by Tatiana Huezo, “Noche de Fuego”, already awarded at Cannes, will premiere, and Irapuato, which from September 24 to 26 will have the inaugural screening of “Los días francos” by director Ulises Pérez Mancilla.

Both films are part of the official selection of feature films Mexico, which also includes “Distrito Olvido” by Thom Díaz, “Mírame” by Pavel Cantú, “Guiexhuba” by Sabrina Muhate, “Los hermosos vencidos” by Guillermo Magariños, “Malibú” by Víctor Velázquez, “Lo que queda en el camino” by Danilo do Carmo and Jakob Krese, “Mapa de sueños latinoamericanos” by Martín Weber and “Fiesta Nacional” by Augusto de Alba.

This is part of the 26 feature films of the official selection of GIFF, plus 119 short films from the country and the world that will compete in the 10 categories of the festival that will also take place from September 17 to 26 in digital format on the official website of the event.

To recognize the work of women in film and television, the emblematic actress María Rojo will be honored for her great career along with screenwriter, playwright, and poet Beatriz Novaro.

Also, on September 20, actress Bárbara Mori will maintain a message of equality by being the official spokesperson for the campaign that the festival promotes together with the Guanajuato State Ministry of Health, “Zero violence against women”.

Also present at the conference will be Mexican producer Fernando Rovzar (“Matando Cabos”, 2004) and U.S. director and producer Norberto Barba (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, 2007), to talk about his experience in the television industry.

The festival will be dedicated to the co-founder of the event, Ernesto Herrera, who passed away this year of covid, and several cultural institutions will pay tribute to this cultural personality from Guanajuato.

The event will once again feature the virtual campus, which will be open from September 24 to 26, where conferences, parties, concerts, and films from the Official Selection, among other things, will be held.