A mix of established and first-time Mexican filmmakers are presenting their upcoming projects at the Morelia Film Festival’s 12th Impulso Morelia, which features works-in-progress in varied stages of post-production. Out of the six entries, selected from around 90 submissions, three are women, led by Tatiana Huezo (“Tempestad,” “Prayers for the Stolen”) and Eliza Miller (“Hurricane Season”), both acclaimed for their award-winning pics and backed by leading producer Pimienta Films (“Roma”). The characters aren’t simply vulnerable—they’re contradictory and fragile.
But across all the films, there’s a desire to approach these characters with great empathy. They speak, in different ways, to the vulnerability of being human,” said Impulso head, Andrea Stavenhagen. What matters most to us is that the discussion and feedback we receive can help enrich and refine the films before they reach the public,” she told Variety.
It’s about opening things up and allowing other filmmakers and professionals to contribute to the process of finding the film’s final form.” Unspooling over Oct. 18-20, these selected pics-in-post will be assessed by a panel of industry experts led by Ted Hope, co-founder of The Good Machine, which worked with major talent including Ang Lee; notable Mexican producer-writer Julio Chavezmontes of Piano (“The Meltdown”); Tribeca director Cara Cusumano; French multi-hyphenate Sandrine Dumas and Carlos R. Rios, director of D’A – Festival de Cinema de Barcelona. Various awards in cash and kind are at stake, led by the José María Riba Impulso Morelia 12 Award, presented by Cinépolis Distribution and Profest 2026, which comprises a cash prize of $14,740. (250,000 pesos) to cover post-production and/or promotional processes and services.
The award will be granted by the international panel. Estudios Churubusco Azteca will award image and sound post-production services valued at $41,280 (700,000 pesos) which may be allocated entirely to a single project or divided between two projects. Estudios Splendor Omnia and Caffeine will also award post production services in kind, valid for two years.
The winner of the José María Riba Award LatAm also wins a promotional campaign valued at $1,500 from the digital media platform LatAm Cinema. Nicolás Celis, Tatiana Huezo, María Zamora/ Production companies: Pimienta Films, Elastica Films Huezo’s second fiction film, it follows Lúa and Noé whose mission is to cast first-time actors for a sci-fi pic. It’s their first time to work together and Noé has some doubts about Lúa’s qualifications.
Traveling through remote regions, they discover a Mexico that both welcomes and unsettles them, forcing them to confront their fears and prejudices while testing their resilience, tolerance and vulnerability. Camila Aguirre Beltrán / Production companies: Norteña del Sur, Documotora This debut feature documentary centers on Roberto Hernández, “Mr. Lucky,” who was deported to a country he barely knew.
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