The Morelia International Film Festival, or Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, was founded in 2003 to celebrate the cinema of Mexico. Twenty years later, FICM has become a festival both for new Mexican filmmakers — with a special emphasis on local talent from the state of Michoacán — and a destination for the international film community.

Hosted in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, the festival boasts more than a week of screenings, with a program full of national cinema — including new works from filmmakers like Carlos Carrera, Alexandra De La Mora, and Julián Hernández — and favorites from the festival circuit: Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things, Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, and many, many more.

When and where is this year's festival?

The 21st edition of the Morelia Film Festival will take place from Oct. 20-29 as a hybrid event, with in-person screenings held at cinemas in both Morelia and Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, and virtual screenings available through Canal 22 and FilminLatino.

Which films are screening at FICM?

This year's opening night screening is The Dead Don't Hurt, directed by and starring Viggo Mortensen, while Mexican director Michel Franco's Memory, for which Peter Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, will be presented as a Grand Gala.

FICM has four competitive sections highlighting the best of Mexican cinema: Michoacán (for filmmakers who reside in Michoacán), Mexican Feature Film, Mexican Documentary, and Mexican Short Film. This year's festival includes 96 works across the four programs.

The Mexican Feature Film jury will be chaired by three-time Oscar-nominated Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. The winning feature, as well as the winners for documentary feature, short, and animated short, are eligible for the 96th Oscars.

Mexican Feature Film Section

A cielo abierto, directed by Mariana Arriaga and Santiago Arriaga
Desaparecer por completo, directed by Luis Javier Henaine
Itu Ninu (Cumbres de maíz), directed by Itandehui Jansen
Latido, directed by Katina Medina Mora
lumbrensueño, directed by José Pablo Escamilla
No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea, directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra
Temporada de huracanes, directed by Elisa Miller
Todo el silencio, directed by Diego del Río
Todos los incendios, directed by Mauricio Calderón Rico
Tótem, directed by Lila Avilés
Valentina o la serenidad, directed by Ángeles Cruz

See the full Official Selection lineup here.

FICM will also host a selection of international and national premieres, as well as a presentation of films out of the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week. The screenings will feature special guests such as Eugenio Derbez, James Ivory, Frank Marshall, Olmo Schnabel, and Rosalie Varda.

International Premieres

All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh
Anatomy of a Fall, directed by Justine Triet
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, directed by Aitch Alberto
Banel & Adama, directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy
(Can't) Let It Go, directed by Roy Szuper
Cerrar los ojos (Close Your Eyes), directed by Victor Erice
La Chimera, directed by Alice Rohrwacher
Club Zero, directed Jessica Hausner
Conversations About Hate, directed by Vera Fogwill
The Colonists, directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle
Los Delincuentes, directed by Rodrigo Moreno
L'Été dernier, directed by Catherine Breillat
Ex-Husbands, directed by Noah Pritzker
Fallen Leaves, directed by Aki Kaurismäki
Fingernails, directed by Christos Nikou
The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne
How to Have Sex, directed by Molly Manning Walker
Wildcat, directed by Ethan Hawke
I Told You So, directed by Ginevra Elkann
Los impactados (The Impacted), directed by Lucía Puenzo
Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese
May December, directed by Todd Haynes
Next Goal Wins, directed by Taika Waititi
Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders
Pet Shop Days, directed by Olmo Schnabel
Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla
Rapito, directed by Marco Bellocchio
Le règne animal, directed by Thomas Cailley
Richelieu, directed by Pier-Philippe Chevigny
Robot Dreams, directed by Pablo Berger
The Shepherd, directed by Iain Softley
Teddy, directed by Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma
Three Brothers, directed by Francisco Joaquín Paparella
The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer

The official poster for the 21st Morelia International Film Festival, designed by Rodrigo Toledo-Crow.

What else is going on?

FICM is paying tribute to pioneering filmmaker Fernando de Fuentes, one of the most important directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, by screening nine of his films: Prisoner 13 (1933), Compadre Mendoza (1933), The Ghost of the Convent (1934), The Dressel Family (1935), Let's Go with Pancho Villa (1936), Out on the Great Ranch (1936), The Zandunga (1937), Doña Barbara (1943), and The Woman Without a Soul (1944).

Additionally, the festival will honor Oscar winner Jodie Foster with the UNAM Film Archive Medal (to "acknowledge figures whose work has enriched world film heritage, in all its aspects") and the Artistic Excellence Award (in recognition of her extraordinary career). While in Morelia, Foster will also host a Masterclass at the Melchor Ocampo Theatre.

How can I get tickets?

Tickets are on sale now. Tickets can also be purchased at the theater box office, and FICM offers a standby line to access screenings free of charge if seats are available.

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