Juan Ernesto Regalado Morales is celebrating a special honor…

The Mexican filmmaker is this year’s winner of the Jenkins-del Toro Scholarship, which is awarded through an agreement between the Jenkins Foundation; the board of trustees of the Guadalajara International Film Festival, the University of Guadalajara, the University of Guadalajara AC Foundation and Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro.

With the honor, Regalado Morales receives a $60,000 scholarship.

Regalado received the honor in recognition of his first film Nendok entre lagunas, which was featured at Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal’s Ambulante Festival, and was described by the jury as “a work that demonstrates a transformative point of view, visual quality, a decisive capacity and commitment to his community and society.”

The film was selected by a jury that included del Toro, his longtime producer Beth Navarro, Mexican scream queen Issa Lopez, animator Jose Solorzano, film critic Silvestre Lopez Portillo and actor Daniela Schmidt.