4th Los Cabos International Film Festival

Los Cabos International Film Festival, which takes place in mid-November in the southern extreme of the Baja California Peninsula, is dedicated to the cinema of Mexico, Canada and the USA. There is a section dedicated to national productions entitled “Mexico Primero,” consisting of six films this year, and there is the Los Cabos competition, where nine films from the three countries compete for an award and an accompanying cash prize. This year the Festival also presented a tribute to Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée and a spotlight of the American independent director Alex Ross Perry, along with a retrospective of films featuring first-time Protagonist award-winner Ewan McGregor. All three of these honorees were in attendance.

Los Cabos takes advantage a beautiful beachside location, combining resort facilities with a charming Mexican town to create a festival with a unique flavor. But this is not its only successful balancing act: the presence of actors and Academy Award-winners—such as Jared Leto and Liam Neeson—plus recognized directors—such as Rodrigo García and Atom Egoyan—attract a lot of press and elevate the profile of Mexican and not-so-easy independent American and Canadian films.

In 2014, Odile, a level-four hurricane, hit the Los Cabos region just eight weeks before the festival start date. Despite lots of obstacles—less than half of the local hotel rooms were available, while the gala venue featured cement benches instead of plush seats—the event took place, not just with dignity, but also with pride and success. Reese Witherspoon, Guillermo Arriaga, Rosario Dawson, Xavier Dolan and Denys Arcand witnessed the resilience of the town and the organization skills of the Festival.

This year, the American film Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson,  won the Los Cabos competition and Te prometo anarquía, directed by Julio Hernández, won both the section México Primero and the FIPRESCI Award, which was presented for first time by the festival. (Lucy Virgen, edited by José Teodoro)

Los Cabos International Film Festival: www.cabosfilmfestival.com