It may be better to give than to receive… But Emilio Portes is receiving plenty of attention this weekend…
The Mexican writer-director’s sophomore film Pastorela picked up seven awards at Mexico’s 54th Ariel Awards, including best picture and best director.
In addition, Portes’ holiday-themed film also won best original screenplay at the Saturday awards ceremony in Mexico City.
But Pastorela wasn’t the only big winner…
Everardo Gout‘s high-octane thriller Dias de Gracia, a furiously paced portrait of violence in contemporary Mexico, nabbed eight statuettes, with best first work going to Gout and a best actor nod for rising star Tenoch Huerta.
Gerardo Naranjo‘s actioner Miss Bala, also in the running for best picture and director, walked away empty handed despite having been selected as Mexico’s foreign-language Oscar submission.
In the Ibero-American category, best picture went to Agusti Villaronga‘s Catalan-language wartime saga Pa Negre, winner of nine of Spain’s Goya Awards last year.
Tatiana Huezo‘s El Lugar Mas Pequeno won the Ariel for best documentary. A big hit on the festival circuit, the film focuses on a village that was decimated during El Salvador’s civil war of the 1980s.
During the ceremony, the academy paid homage to veteran actor Pedro Armendariz, who passed away late last year. In one of the final performances of his five decade career, Armendariz appeared in the Will Ferrell’s Spanish-language film Casa de mi Padre.
Here’s a Complete Look at the Winners:
BEST PICTURE
Pastorela
DIRECTOR
Pastorela (Emilio Portes)
ACTRESS
Martha (Magda Vizcaino)
ACTOR
Dias de Gracia (Tenoch Huerta)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Dias de Gracia (Eileen Yanez)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Dias de Gracia (Carlos Cobos)
FIRST WORK
Dias de Gracia
DOCUMENTARY
El Lugar Mas Pequeno
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Pastorela
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dias de Gracia
EDITING
Dias de Gracia
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Dias de Gracia
SOUND
Dias de Gracia
ART DESIGN
Dias de Gracia
COSTUME DESIGN
Pastorela
MAKEUP
Pastorela
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Salvando al Soldado Perez
VISUAL EFFECTS
Pastorela
ANIMATED SHORT
Prita Noire
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Yuban
FICTION SHORT
Mari Pepa