Chilean director Juan Pablo Sarato’s black-and-white feature debut, Red Hangar, documents the long-hidden details behind the military coup that ousted Chilean President Salvador Allende, and swept the Ibero-American section of the 41st Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), winning all categories.
In the Best Performance category, Nicolas Zarate, who starred in “The Red Hunger,” shared the award with Maria Magdalena Sanizo, who starred in “The Condor’s Daughter.”
“To build a better future, it is essential to look to the past, especially at a time when fascism is making a comeback,” Zarate said at the closing ceremony on Saturday, April 25.
red hangar
Red hangar courtesy of Villano Prods.
In the Premio Mezcal category, which recognizes Mexican films, “Querida Fátima” swept the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Audience. The documentary explores the unsolved murders of women in Mexico and highlights how Lorena Gutierrez, the mother of 12-year-old victim Fatima, went to President Claudia Sheinbaum to complain. “Justice is built by listening,” she said. “For a long time, no one listened to us until now.”
Elena Vilardel, Technical Secretary and Executive Director of Ibermedia, received an award from the industry for her tireless efforts to foster cooperation across Ibero-American countries.
“Everything good that has happened in my program for over 28 years has happened in Guadalajara…The program was born here,” Villadel declared.
Meanwhile, FICG Board President Guillermo Arturo Gomez paid international tribute to “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky has professed a deep love for Mexico, calling it his favorite destination. “Storytelling is a unique human skill. It’s what makes us human and what makes us better. Being here reminds us how important it is to keep creating.”
The evening concluded with a screening of “A Child of My Own,” directed by Chilean Maite Alberdi and set in Mexico. The film is a documentary-fiction hybrid about Alejandra, a Mexican woman who fakes a pregnancy for several months, triggering a complex psychological and social crisis that escalates into a media scandal.
“When I first heard this story, I could hardly believe it,” Alberdi said. “Reality can be more surprising than fiction,” Alberdi said.
The 41st Guadalajara Film Festival was held from April 17th to 25th.
FICG industry spreads large-scale services
Guadalajara Construyer, a leading figure in the industry, said in a posted photo that the Argentine-Spanish co-production “Poor Daniel” won five awards, almost guaranteeing its completion. This is Argentine actor and playwright Santiago Gobernori’s directorial debut, adapted from his own stage play, and depicts a married couple whose life together falls apart when the woman’s brother is released from a psychiatric hospital.
The 22nd Co-Production Conference, which showcased projects in development in Latin America and Spain, received many generous in-kind awards, including genre dramas The Whisperer and (La Susurradora) by Ale García and Carla Sierra, which won two of the biggest awards. The Other Side, from Colombia’s Rayuela Films, which had its world premiere at the festival with the late director Jaime Osorio’s The Awakening, also won two major awards.
Both films have a horror theme, highlighting the growing interest in genre films in Mexico and Latin America as a whole. “Names and Surnames,” a Colombian-French co-production by Evidencia Films directed by Franco Loli, producer of Cannes-winning “La Pera,” won the biggest prize from BDC Prods, valued at $350,000, which covers the project’s pre-production, production and post.
The beginning of iverfest
Eleven Ibero-American film festivals, including Guadalajara, Chile’s Sanfiq, Málaga, Lima, Rio, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Morelia, Havana and Bogota, launched Iberfest at FICG, with the aim of streamlining and promoting mutual cooperation. Bogota’s Andrés Bayona hopes this will optimize communication between film festivals and, if possible, lead to the sharing of costs, equipment and materials as much as possible.
“This breaks the urban myth that festivals compete with each other. It is true that everyone wants the best program, but we have learned for some time now that collaboration and a meeting of common intentions can always go further towards achieving the goal. Unity creates strength,” said Juan Antonio Bigar from Málaga.
The beginning of iverfest
©FICG / Ana Cristina Rodrigue
Chile brings out big weapons
Chile’s joyous presence as a nation of honor at the FICG meant panels, tributes, masterclasses, and fiestas galore. The nearly 100-person delegation was led by filmmakers Pablo Larraín, Sebastian Lelio, Maite Alberdi, and Daniel Laguna, the newly appointed executive director of Chile’s Audiovisual Development Fund. Discussions were also held to revitalize co-production between Mexico and Chile. Among the festival’s highlights was a masterclass featuring Fabra’s Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain, moderated by Francisco Ramos, Netflix’s vice president of Latin American content.
“I was told, ‘Ballet fans don’t like horror, and horror fans don’t like ballet,'” Darren Aronofsky said of ‘Black Swan.’
Darren Aronofsky wowed the large audience at his masterclass with anecdotes about the struggles behind the making of acclaimed pictures such as “The Wrestler,” “The Whale,” and “Black Swan,” as well as some advice. It took 10 years to cast “The Whale,” he said, and he ultimately plucked out relatively inactive Brendan Fraser to play the life-changing role that won him an Oscar. Despite the extraordinary success of The Wrestler, raising funds for his next film, Black Swan, was a major challenge. “One film executive said, ‘Ballet fans don’t like horror, and horror fans don’t like ballet.'” The film won Natalie Portman an Oscar, apart from four other nominations. He concluded the hour-long session with one of the most vibrant images of the festival, jumping with moderator Gonzalo Lira with the audience in the background.
Darren Aronofsky and moderator Gonzalo Lira toast at the end of the masterclass Credit: Diego Gasca
Film subsidies in Mexico, Portugal and Spain
A panel discussion on film incentives in Spain, Mexico and Portugal brought together industry leaders to explore funding opportunities and co-production pathways. Speakers highlighted Portugal’s combination of state funding and rebates, Spain’s support for all stages of film production, especially for emerging female directors, and Mexico’s new incentive program offering up to 30% tax credits to boost domestic production and attract global investment. Filma Jalisco’s cash rebates also stood out as a tool to attract foreign players. The important point was clear. These incentives are not just financial, but a gateway to international collaboration, with co-production as the creative engine for telling stories that cross borders and have cultural resonance.
Films from Latin America to be screened
A new regional theatrical release initiative for Latin American films was announced at the festival to address the ever-thorny issue of theatrical distribution in Latin America. The plan, led by producer and distributor Guillermo Blanco, will operate a coordinated release circuit across the region, following a touring model across Latin America, with four films released consecutively, one per week in each country. According to Blanco, “The same four titles travel from one region to the next, recreating their theatrical release in each market, with a typical run time of two weeks per film.” Abracadáver, a heist thriller from Mexican director Pancho Rodríguez, begins showing in Latin America. The picture was screened during FICG’s opening weekend and was accompanied by a posthumous tribute to the director, who passed away last November 2025.
FICG 2026 winners:
mezcal award
Best Mexican Feature Film: “Querida Fátima,” Lorena Gutierrez, Su Kim, Jesús Quintana Vega, Rodrigo Reyes, Dawn Valadez
Best Director: “Querida Fátima,” Lorena Gutierrez Rangel, Su Kim, Jesus Quintana Vega, Rodrigo Reyes, Dawn Valadez
Best Cinematography: Diego Tenorio, “City of the Dead” (“Ciudad de muertos”)
Best Acting Award: Austin de Leon, “I Am Mario” (“Soy Mario”)
Audience Award: “Querida Fátima” Lorena Gutierrez Rangel, Sue Kim, Jesús Quintana Vega, Rodrigo Reyes, Dawn Valadez
Youth Jury Award: “La Misma Sangre” Angel Ricardo Linares Colmenares
Ibero-American fiction feature film
Best Ibero-American Fiction Film: “Red Hunger” (“Hangar Rojo”)
Special Award: Vereniz Benitez “Nuncuy”
Best debut film award: “Barrio Triste” Stiltz
Best Cinematography: “Red Hunger”
Best Director: Juan Pablo Sarato, “The Red Hangar”
Best Original Screenplay: Luis Emilio Guzman “The Red Hangar”
Best Performance Award: Former Nicolas Zarate for “The Red Hangar” and Maria Magdalena Sanizo for “The Daughter of the Condor”
Ibero-American documentary feature film
Best Ibero-American Documentary: “The Scarlet Girls” (“Niñas Escallata”), Paula Curie
Special Award: “Flowers for Antonio” (“Antonio Flores”), Elena Molina, Isaki Lacuesta
Best Director: “The Scarlet Girls” (“Niñas Escallata”), Paula Curie
Best Cinematography: “Fabulous Time Machine” (“Fabulous Machina do Tempo”) Eliza Capai (Brazil)
Maguey Award
Best Picture: “Fate Pipa” Alan Everton
Honorable Mention: “Our Bodies are Expanding Stars” (“Nuestro cuerpo es una estrella que se Expande”) Semirites Hernández Velasco, Tania Hernández Velasco
Jury Maguey Award: “I Am Mario” (“Soy Mario”), Sharon Kleinberg
Best Performance: Yuri Gomez, Teka Pereira, “Fate Pipa”
international animated feature film
Best Animated Feature: Rogelio Nunez, “Coração das trevas”
Made in Jalisco
Best Feature Film: “El círculo de los mentirosos”, Nancy Cruz Orozco
Best Haliscan Short Film: “Mi lugar favorito”, Alejandro Hydrogo Arechiga, Luis Zamaroni, Mariana Salazar, Sergio Campestre
Social Environmental Film Award
Best Social and Environmental Film: “Black Water” Nacho Luza
genre movie
Best Picture: “Alpha” Julia Ducournau
Special Note: “Mother Witch” Minos Papas. “Habrando con Extraños” Adrian García Bogliano
Ibero-American short films
Best Short Film: “Tres” Juan Ignacio Ceballos
Honorable Mention: “Replikka”, Pirata Huaula, Eloisa Passos
Rigo Mora Award
Best Animated Short Award: “Una vez en un Cuerpo” Maria Cristina Pérez González
Honorable Mention: “El Fantasma de la Quinta” by James A. Castillo
Faisal
Best Picture: “Oca” Carla Badillo
Fiplessi
Best Picture: “Aquí se escucha el silenceo” Gabriela Peña, Picho García
