10 names behind Mexico's film renaissance

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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.

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.

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.