Mexico's Film Industry Enjoys Oscar Buzz
A rich mix of talent, stories and location have catapulted Mexican-originated films into the mainstream spotlight with long overdue distinction.
The Hollywood film industry has for decades taken advantage of lower production costs in Mexico which are about 20% less than in the US. Blockbusters like Titanic, Zorro and The Fugitive were made south of the border, but without Mexican stars or crew members.
The Mexican film industry employs about 20,000 people and makes around 60 pictures per year. World-class films have been made in the country for many years and the industry is filled with talent like Gael García Bernal.
Bernal made his mark on Hollywood with his portrayal of the young Che Guevara in 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries. In 2006, he starred alongside Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and fellow Mexican Adriana Barraza in Babel, one of the year's most Oscar-buzzed movies.
Of Sunday's Oscar nominees, Mexican talent stands out: best supporting actress nominee Adrianna Barraza for Babel, best direction nominee Alejandro González Iňárritu for Babel, best original screenplay nominee Guillermo del Toro for El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth, best adapted screenplay nominee Alfonso Cuarόn for Children of Men, best cinematography nominee Guillermo Navarro for El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth. Alejandro González Iňárritu's Babel is also tapped for best picture nominee and El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth is nominated in the best foreign-language film category.
The number of nominations for Mexican projects is equal to those for British films and second only to American productions.
The three Mexican films in the Oscar's top picks are Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, Guillermo del Toro's El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth and Alejandro González Iňárritu's Babel.
Of these, Babel is most likely to glow with Hollywood gold as multiple nominations for actors, director and picture lead the film into Oscar night with seven nominations. El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth follows closely with six of its own nominations.
As the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles prepares for Sunday night, a countdown of film industry awards has started around town. Already, Children of Men has won the Scripter Award for best adaptation of a book and El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth has won in the fantasy film category at the Production Design Awards.
Mexico's star has been on the rise for over a decade with previous critically acclaimed exports like 2001's Y tu mama también (And your mother, too) directed by Alfonso Cuarόn, 1999's Sexo, pudor y lágrimas (Sex, shame and tears) and the sensual Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) in 1992.
Directors Alfonso Cuarόn and Alejandro González Iňárritu certainly aren't newcomers to Hollywood but this year's Academy Awards are shining an extraordinary welcoming light on Mexico's deep pool of movie talent.
Sources
"Mexican wave rides high in the film world" BBC News, February 22, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6382161.stm
"Oscar winners chosen as vote ends" BBC News, February 21, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6378781.stm
Published by Anna Burroughs
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