Filmmaker Juliana Fanjul recipient of the most audience votes for her film Silencio Radio ‘Radio Silence,’ won the Cinelatino & DishLATINO Audience Choice Award at 2020 Hola Mexico Film Festival (HMFF).
Silencio Radio ‘Radio Silence’ tells the story of renowned Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui after she is fired from her post at a radio station for revealing an important case of corruption. Far from being intimidated, she becomes even more invested in her struggle to collect and transmit truthful information. The powers that be are not on her side, but her research team and a network of more than 18 million listeners are missing her arbitrarily muted voice. From a close, agile and reflective perspective, Juliana Fanjul not only shows the strong and charismatic personality of the influential Aristegui, but the filmmaker also uses her voice to dedicate a painful love letter to a fragmented country afflicted by corruption, drug trafficking and violence.
After receiving the most audience votes in the short film category, Roberto Escamilla took home the Cinelatino & DishLATINO Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Short award for his entry, Changes. Changes is a coming of age dramedy following the story of Mitchell, a 16-year-old boy who is taken by his friends to a shady motel to have his first sexual encounter. There he will meet Destiny, who will show him new horizons in an unexpected way.
Both award winners will receive cash prizes on behalf of Cinelatino.
“As in previous years, Cinelatino is proud to support the incredibly talented Mexican filmmakers who are pushing Latin cinema to new heights. Mexico is a film production powerhouse; together with our partners at DishLATINO, we are delighted to continue our relationship with HMFF and to take part in an initiative that brings greater recognition to the contributions of Mexican and Latin cinema,” said James M. McNamara, Vice Chairman of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc., Cinelatino’s parent company. “A huge congratulations to the many skilled filmmakers who showcased their films in this year’s virtual edition of HMFF. And a very special thanks to festival Director and Founder, Samuel Douek, for his tireless efforts in supporting the film community and for putting together an incredible, accessible event in spite of logistical challenges.”
“We remain committed to promoting Mexican filmmakers and to offering a platform that will raise awareness of and increase exposure to their talent and work,” said Samuel Douek, Director of Hola Mexico Film Festival. “Despite the challenges, we knew we had to find a way to forge ahead with the festival and continue highlighting and recognizing the Mexican cinematic tradition. I am beyond thrilled to have found a way to offer the festival experience to an even greater number of fans in the safest possible way. Congratulations to this year’s winners and many thanks to Cinelatino and DishLATINO for their steadfast support of our efforts. We will continue innovating and look forward to next year!”
2020’s virtual reimagining, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, marks the 12th year since the festival’s inception. Ninenteen films and 20 shorts comprised this year’s edition, which was divided into four film sections: “México Ahora,” “Nocturno,” “Documental,” and “El Otro México.” The curated selection of short films from the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Alumni will be available On Demand on DishLATINO through the end of October.