Although he doesn't yet have a Palm d'Or in his collection, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu was crowned best director at Cannes for Babel (2006), and has won most other world cinema prizes, including back-to-back best film Oscars for Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015).
Leading the Mexican new wave
Born in Mexico City in 1963, Iñárritu released his feature film debut Amores Perros in a side competition in Cannes in 2000 and took home two prizes. Paving the way for Mexico's film renaissance also driven by the likes of Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien), Iñárritu is today regarded as one of the most artistically influential directors in the world — while having also achieved significant box office success.
Read more: The filmmakers driving the new Golden Age of Mexican cinema
Mexican filmmakers have thrived in Hollywood in the wake of successful Mexican actors like Salma Hayek
In recent years, movies from Mexican filmmakers like Iñárritu, Cuarón or Guillermo del Toro have continued to triumph at festivals, and at the Oscars and Cannes — del Toro won best director and best film Academy Awards in 2018 for The Shape of Water.
Mexican filmmakers have also received awards at the Berlin Film Festival, including Manuel Alcala and Alonso Ruizpalacios, who won the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 2018 Berlinale for Museum. Meanwhile, directors like Carlos Reygadas or Amat Escalante (The Untamed), may not yet be as well known as Iñárritu and co., but have nonetheless received numerous accolades.
Not least because of the great attention paid to Mexican filmmakers in the US and Europe, Iñárritu now has the honor of being the first filmmaker in his country to preside over the International Jury in Cannes.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Oscars and more: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Director, author and producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, born in 1963, is one of the main names of the current renaissance in Mexican cinema. In 2015 and 2016, his films "Birdman" and "The Revenant" won several Oscars and various other awards.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Inarritu's debut: 'Amores Perros'
Inarritu's star actually rose much earlier. Constructed as a triptych, "Amores Perros" intertwines three distinct tales from the lives of people in the mega metropolis Mexico City. With its innovative storytelling and visual style, the work starring Gael Garcia Bernal won several awards, including the Prize of the Critic's Week at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered in 2000.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Accolades galore: Alfonso Cuaron
Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, just two years older than Inarritu, won this year's Golden Lion for "Roma" at the Venice Film Festival. Cuaron has also directed several Hollywood films, and his space thriller "Gravity" won seven Oscars in 2014. He celebrated his artistic breakthrough with "Y tu mama tambien" in 2001.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Masterful special effects: Guillermo del Toro
Along with Inarritu and Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, who won several Oscars for his 2017 romantic drama "The Shape of Water," makes up what is known as "The Three Amigos of Cinema." Del Toro has become firmly established in Hollywood, without forgetting his Mexican roots: "The Shape of Water" is magical and mysterious, with many references to Mexican culture.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Awards in Cannes: Carlos Reygadas
Carlos Reygadas is a bit younger and perhaps not yet as famous as his three compatriots. His film "Nuestro Tiempo" was presented in Venice this year. Previously, Reygadas repeatedly did well at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Golden Camera for "Japon" in 2002, the jury prize for "Silent Light" in 2007 and the directing prize for "Post Tenebras Lux" in 2012.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Mexican beauty: Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek was first choice in 2002 for the role of Mexican art icon Frida Kahlo. The actress is in fact a figurehead for the Mexican film renaissance — even if she went to high school in Louisiana and has stronger ties to Hollywood than the cinema of her native country.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Mexican beau: Gael Garcia Bernal
Gael Garcia Bernal, born in Guadalajara in 1978, is the handsome male face of today's Mexican cinema. He has stood in front of TV cameras since he was 14 years old. A top star in Mexico, he is also sought after by international directors such as Jim Jarmusch and Pedro Almodovar. He is known to a wider audience in the role of Rodrigo, a crazy star conductor in the US series "Mozart in the Jungle."
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Award-winning director: Amat Escalante
There are, of course, a number of filmmakers who are not as well known, but who nevertheless helped Mexico flourish as a filmmaking nation. Amat Escalante won the best director prize at the Cannes Festival in 2013 for the crime thriller "Heli" and its equivalent at the 2016 Venice Film Festival with his drama "The Untamed."
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Up-and-coming: Michel Franco
Michel Franco, born in 1979, is one of the young filmmakers most likely to make sure that Mexican cinema remains in the spotlight. Franco's films have already picked up three awards at Cannes: "After Lucia" (2012) and "April's Daughter" (2017) both garnered prizes in the Un Certain Regard section; his 2015 work, "Chronic," was selected in the main competition and won the best screenplay award.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Thrilling scriptwriting: Manuel Alcala and Alonso Ruizpalacios
Mexico's booming film industry is not only based on the achievements of directors and actors, but also on its excellent writers. Manuel Alcala and Alonso Ruizpalacios, masters of their craft, were delighted to receive the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 2018 Berlinale. Their film "Museum" is about a daring theft by two students who rob the National Museum.
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10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance
Inarritu's writer films: Guillermo Arriaga
Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga wrote the scripts for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's early films, including "Amores Perros" (2000), "21 Grams" (2003) and "Babel" (2006), starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (photo). His screenplay for "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005) also won a Cannes award. Later Arriaga made his debut as a director.
Author: Jochen Kürten (db)
'Artist of his time'
Iñárritu is "not only a daring filmmaker full of surprises, but also a man of conviction, an artist of his time,” enthused director of the Cannes Festival, Thierry Fremaux, when he recently announced who would be competing in 2019 for the Golden and Silver Palms.
Iñárritu is supported by seven prominent colleagues. From the directoral side, he is joined by Greek Oscar-winning director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favorite), Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, Robin Campillo from France, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, and Kelly Reichhardt from the United States. In addition, his jury is comprised of actresses Elle Fanning from the USA and Maimouna N'Diaye from Burkina Faso, as well as French cartoonist and filmmaker Enki Bilal.
Speaking at a press conference in Cannes to mark the opening of the 72nd film festival, Iñárritu spoke of the importance of the communal cinema experience, as opposed to merely "seeing" TV.
"To watch is not to see a film," he said. “To see is to not to experience. Cinema was born to be experienced in a communal experience.”
As Iñárritu presides over the jury at a Cannes film festival that has shunned Netflix content, no doubt he will be pushing for a Palm d'Or winner with true cinematic appeal.