Editor

By Bruno Chatelin

Los Cabos Fest has put together a group of professionals from the international film industry, prominent representatives of filmmaking, production, literature, screenwriting, film critic, distribution and programming, who will be in charge of selecting 13 out of 14 prize winners among the different competitions of both, our film program and the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund categories. In addition, the winner of the Cinemex Audience Award will be elected by public voting during the Festival. 

The laureates of this edition will be announced during the closing ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, November 10th, 2018, in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur.

The prize recipients of Mexico Primero competition (Mexican productions or co-productions) will be selected by the Argentinian filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer Anahi Berneri, winner of the Concha de Plata at the 2018 San Sebastian Festival; the Guatemalan filmmaker, Jayro Bustamente, winner of the Silver Bear at the 2015 Berlinale; and the illustrious Mexican playwright, novelist, essayist and journalist, Juan Villoro.

A group of film journalists from various corners of the world will gather to represent the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), that will grant an award to the best Mexican film from this competition. Adriana Fernández, Mexican academic and critic; Flavio Lira, Uruguayan editor and film critic; and Dennis West, American critic and former jury member for several international festivals, will lead this deliberation.

The election of  the winning film of Competencia Los Cabos (Mexican, USA or Canadian productions and/or co-productions), will be defined by Sebastián Lelio, Chilean filmmaker Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film in 2017; thriving French producer Charles Gillibert, founder of the multi-awarded production company CG Cinema; and the prolific British-Italian producer and screenwriter, Paula Vaccaro.

For the category Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund - Films in Development, the winner will be selected by Jillian Apfelbaum, Head of Film Production at Imperative Entertainment (USA); Julio Chavezmontes, screenwriter and co-founder of the Mexican production company PIANO; and Elliott Whitton, Head of Development at the American production and financing company Cinereach.

For Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund - Work In Progress section, the jury will be composed of Cara Cusumano, Programming Director of Tribeca Film Festival; Gabor Greiner, journalist, critic, and acquisitions director at the Franco-German company Films Boutique; and Geminiano Pineda, founder and general director of the Mexican production and distribution company Cine Caníbal.

The winners of the competition of Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund - TV Series In Development will be chosen by representatives of Art Kingdom and Bobo Entertainment, the companies that kindly support the awards for this category.