Los Cabos International Film Festival

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We will be posting video interviews shortly.

Meanwhile we would like to introduce to you the men and women whose vision transformed this idea of a world class festival dedicated to US and Mexican films... in Los Cabos (seems almost obvious when you think of it) into a brillant success...

THE FOUNDERS

EDUARDO SANCHEZ-NAVARRO REDO 

Regarded as one of the main pioneers of Los Cabos in the last thirty years, he is a great enthusiast and supporter of the arts as well as being a constant promoter of culture in Los Cabos and the rest of the country. 

Currently chair of Group Questro, generator of employment through a variety of activities ranging from the creation and operation of tourism-yachting-golfing developments such as Puerto Los Cabos, Cabo Real, El Dorado, Campestre San Jose among others, to hotels such as Dreams, Casa del Mar, Casa Dorada, Me by Meliá, including shopping malls and theme parks such as Plaza Bonita, Plaza Oasis, Plaza San Lucas, the Dolphinarium, Wild Canyon, Wirikuta, etc., serving as one of the pillars of the economic development of this tourist destination. 

In transportation, Mr. Sanchez Navarro Redo serves as Chairman of the Board of Grupo Aeropuertario del Pacifico (GAP) that operates 12 airports in Mexico, including Los Cabos international airport. In addition, he is actively involved in charity work through the Questro Foundation which works intensively in projects for the Los Cabos community.

EDUARDO SÁNCHEZ-NAVARRO RIVERA TORRES 

With over twenty-five years visiting Los Cabos. Eduardo has a degree in business administration from the Anahuac University with a specialization in international trade. He is president of Grupo Questro and member of Idea Interior, a commercial chain for home decoration, ME hotels, Zoëtry and Dreams in Los Cabos and Vice President of the National Association of Real Estate Developers. Founder and member of Mantarraya Productions and Cadereyta Films.

Producer of more than fifteen films presented at various festivals such as: Cannes (in five different years), Toronto, Berlin, Rotterdam, Miami, Toulouse, Buenos Aires and Brazil among others. These films have won more than 17 awards including: Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival of 2009, best film at the Miami Film Festival of 2010, best film at the Morelia Film Festival of 2010, jury prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, FISPRESCI: Rio de Janeiro 2007 FISPRESCI for best Latin American film of the year 2007, best film at the 2007 Havana Film Festival, best film 2008 awards of the Mexican Academy, best foreign language film at the 2008 Spirit Awards NOM, best non-European film, Academy of European film (NOM), among others.

PABLO SÁNCHEZ-NAVARRO 

Visitor of Los Cabos for the last 25 years. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Grupo Questro since 2008, one of the groups with the most economic activity in Los Cabos.

He currently directs Questro New Ventures and the Hotel EL Ganzo. In terms of sustainable developmente he is part of the Chairmans Council of Conservation International since 2010 and has actively participated in research on the topic of responsible travel, having attended the CREST Symposium on the subject at Stanford University. He is an active enthusiast of the history, art and culture of Los Cabos and the Baja Peninsula.

ALFONSO PASQUEL BARCENAS
Mr. Pasquel Barcenas has been a Los Cabos resident for more than twenty years and presides over "Los Cabos Arte y Cultura A.C.", a non-profit civil association with a majority stake in the "Baja International Film Festival", having as its main purpose the Organization and promotion of the Festival as well as artistic and cultural events.
He served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Mexican Association of culture (ITAM), one of the most prestigious academic institutions in Mexico.
His experience in aviation and in the financial world is very extensive and recognized. The positions he has held include: President and Director General of Aeromexico from 1993 to 2003, of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the National Chamber of air transport as well as President of the Council of Mexican House values and is currently the Director of the Questro group.

SCOTT CROSS 

With more than twelve years’ experience, is co-founder and co-festival director of the Vail Film Festival and the Colorado Film Institute, along with his twin brother, Sean. He is President and owner of IndieProducer, one of the world’s leading filmmaker social networks.

In 2003, he co-founded the Colorado Film Institute and the Vail Film Festival to create a platform to educate new filmmakers to highlight their creative visions and to ensure that independent films reach the general public.

Scott, alongside Sean, served as artistic director of the Vail Film Festival, defining the vision and programming of each year’s event. Scott has been vital to the growth and success of the Vail Film Festival, making it "One of the 10 best destinations for the world film festivals" according to MovieMaker magazine.

He also succeeded in securing partnerships with world-renowned companies for the Vail Festival such as Gap, Lufthansa, Audi, Starbucks, and many more. He has also worked with organizations and charities such as Bono's Product Red and Film Your Issue. Scott studied Social Anthropology and film at the University of California, Berkeley.

SEAN CROSS

Mr. Cross is co-founder and co-festival director of the Vail Film Festival and the Colorado Film Institute, along with his twin brother Scott. He is also Co-President and owner of IndieProducer. 

Sean has also served as co-artistic director of the Vail Film Festival, and helped to establish the Vail Film Festival’s reputation for strong and innovative programming. Sean has also been instrumental in establishing film industry relationships and partnerships to build and strengthen the Vail Film Festival brand, including partnerships with Brillstein Entertainment, Creative Artists Agency and the Screen Actors Guild. 

In 2005, Sean launched the Vail Screenplay Competition under the umbrella of the Vail Film Festival. The Vail Screenplay Competition was an instant success, and is now considered one of the leading screenplay contests in the industry. It has helped to launch the careers of many screenwriters, giving them access to top-level agents and producers, and offering them strong visibility in the film world. 

Sean studied business and sociology at the University of Richmond in addition to post graduate studies in film at New York University.

Agustin Leon de la Barra Coppel - Executive Director

Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Anahuac University with a master's degree in political science from the College of Mexico. He was a Professor of finance in the Mexico autonomous technological Institute (ITAM). 

His career spans over 25 years in the financial world and is very broad. He has been director in private as Banamex, Bancomer and Serfin Bank institutions. He was also Chief Operating Officer of money and capital market in Banamex, before arriving as executive director of Bancomer. 

He was a columnist for newspapers such as the financial and the Economist for several years; a novelist in 1994 and a participant in the production of a Mexican documentary about Sergei Eisenstein in Mexico, directed by Olivier Debroise. 

He has lived in Los Cabos for more than ten years and is currently CEO of one of the most important corporations in Los Cabos and is co-host in one of the most recognized radio talk shows in the State of Baja California Sur.

Megen Musades - Associate Director  

Served as Associate Director of the Vail Film Festival for nine years, where she is the co-Artistic Director with Scott and Sean Cross. She oversees the festival programmers, technical teams and general logistics. Megen is also responsible for the festival's online platforms and social media marketing campaigns. Megen has grown the Vail Film Festival Facebook page to over 20,000 fans, making the Vail Film Festival one of the top 5 film festivals in the U.S. for Facebook fans. 

RAFAEL TOVAR Y DE TERESA

Born on 1954, Rafael Tovar y de Teresa is a Diplomat, lawyer and Mexican historian; he has been Ambassador of Mexico in Italy. He was General Director of the National Institute of Fine Arts, President of National Council for Culture and Arts (CONACULTA) and he performed briefly as coordinator of the Bicentennial of Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution celebrations.

He has received some highest awards from the Governments of Germany, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, France, Guatemala, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine and Venezuela, among others.

Author of several books: Modernización y política cultural (Modernization and cultural Policy), and co-author of a collective work in two volumes: El Patrimonio cultural de México (Mexican cultural heritage).

Mr. Tovar published in March 2009, a novel titled Paraíso es tu memoria (Paradise is your memory), Editorial Alfaguara. In 2010, his second book, El último brindis de Don Porfirio (The last toast of Don Porfirio), Editorial Taurus.

JORGE SÁNCHEZ SOSA

Sanchez Sosa has produced over 25 films since 1979 directed by Mexican and Latinamerican filmmakers. Among those are: "¿Cómo ves?" by Paul Leduc (1986), "Contigo en la Distancia" (1990) by Tomas Gutiérrez Alea, "Lola"(1989) y "Danzón" (1991) by María Novaro, "Cronos" (1993) by Guillermo del Toro, "The gospel of wonder" (1998), "No one Writes to the Colonel" (1999), "Such is life" (2000) and "The ruination of men" (2000) by Arturo Ripstein. Six of his productions have been participants in different sections of Cannes Film Festival. Sanchez was Mexico's General Consul in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 2001 to 2005.

Former Director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival from 2006 to 2010. He is currently head of Fandango Films, a film and video production company, and director of "La Casa Del Cine Mx" a film-based cultural center. He also produced in 2012 "Magic Words" directed by Mercedes Moncada which was selected at the San Sebastian Film Festival and "Tijuana Nortec Sounds" by Alberto Cortes in coproduction with Canal Once (Mexico's National Public Television Channel)
 

EVA SANGIORGI

Estudió la licenciatura en Ciencias de la Comunicación de la Universidad de Bolonia. Desde el 2003 reside en la ciudad de México donde produce proyectos con artistas contemporáneos. El último trabajo Lung Neaw, ópera prima del artista contemporáneo Rirkrit Tiravanija, se presentó en la Sección Orizzonti de la última Mostra del Cinema di Venezia. Se ha desempeñado como programadora en varios festivales de cine entre ellos El Festival de Cine Iberoamericana en Bolonia, Italia; el FICCO, del que es miembro fundador; el Festival de México y Cinema Planeta, en Cuernavaca, Morelos. Actualmente es directora del Festival Internacional de Cine UNAM.

A University in Bologna graduate. Has been living in Mexico City since 2003 where she has worked on film and video production with contemporary artists as well as programming for film festivals like FICCO, Cinema Planeta, and institutions like the Museo del Eco among others in Mexico City. Now she is founder, general director and programmer for the UNAM's International Film Festival, FICUNAM, a festival focused on art house films and connections with contemporary art. As an editorial project connected with the Festival she published the first Masao Adachi monographic book and Artavaz Pelechian's editing theory.