Portes Named Best Director at Mexico’s Ariel Awards

It may be better to give than to receive… But Emilio Portes is receiving plenty of attention this weekend…

Emilio Portes

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