JURY MEMBERS
The jury is composed of prominent figures of world cinema who will award prizes to films in the competitive sections of the 20th ficmonterrey. These awards will be presented at the Closing Gala on October 2 at the Teatro de la Ciudad.
The jury is composed of prominent figures of world cinema who will award prizes to films in the competitive sections of the 20th ficmonterrey. These awards will be presented at the Closing Gala on October 2 at the Teatro de la Ciudad.
His career as a producer began with the co-production of *Victoria para Chino* (Dir. Cary Fukunaga), a short film that won the Student Academy Award in 2004. In 2013, he wrote and directed *Cumbres*, his feature debut premiered at the SXSW Festival, and co-wrote *Los Herederos* (Dir. Jorge Hernández), whose script was selected by the Cannes Atelier and won the National Screenplay Competition organized by Sogem (Mexico).
In the same year, he co-founded the production company BENGALA, where he has worked as a producer and executive producer on more than 10 films, including *Muerte al verano* (Dir. Sebastián Padilla), *Vaquero del mediodía* (Dir. Diego Enrique Osorno), and *Ya no estoy aquí* (Dir. Fernando Frías), premiered at the 17th Morelia International Film Festival.
From 2017 to 2019, he was part of the writing team for the series *La casa de las flores* (Season 1, Season 2, Season 3), produced by Netflix. He co-directed *Camino a Roma* with Andrés Clariond Rangel, a documentary about the creative process behind Alfonso Cuarón’s film *Roma* (2018), distributed by Netflix and Criterion Collection.
In 2020, he co-founded the non-fiction production company DETECTIVE with Diego Enrique Osorno, where a feature film and two miniseries are currently in development.
In 2021, *El comediante*, which he co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in, was chosen as Best Film at the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
He wrote and co-produced *El norte sobre el vacío*, by Alejandra Márquez, recognized as Best Film at the Ariel Awards (2023) by the Mexican Academy of Cinematography and at the Morelia International Film Festival.
In 2024, he premieres the series *Sierra Madre* (HBO), co-written and co-created by him, where he also serves as Show Runner.
Originally from Kansas City, Sarah has lived in San Miguel de Allende since 1972. In 1988, she founded the Guanajuato Film Commission, leading it until 2009 and raising film production from 7 to over 80 projects annually. In 1998, she created the International Short Film Festival Expresión en Corto, now GIFF, considered one of the most important worldwide, receiving over 4,200 films from 140 countries each year.
In 2002, she launched the National Screenplay Competition, the largest of its kind, and in 2004, the first International Pitching Market in Latin America, funding more than 205 Mexican films. A year later, she founded the Association of Women in Film and Television in Mexico. In 2010, she initiated the University Documentary Competition “Identity and Belonging,” and in 2013, she founded Epicentro GIFF, a platform dedicated to cutting-edge film technologies. Sarah has been a jury member at various international festivals and is currently the executive director of GIFF and part of the State Advisory Council on Cinematography and Audiovisual Media of Guanajuato.
Rita Basulto, director of animation, art, and photography. Winner of 4 Ariel Awards; Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her latest film was shortlisted at the 96th Academy Awards and was nominated for the Annie Awards as Best Animated Short Film that same year. She graduated in Fine Arts and Audiovisual Media from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Director of *Lluvia en los ojos*, *Eclosión*, and *Humo*; Co-director of *El octavo día* (The Creation) and *Zimbo*; with various collaborations in short and feature films, notably as director of photography and art, including *Pinocchio* by Guillermo del Toro. Additionally, she has worked as a character designer for Mackinnon & Saunders and Warner Bros Animation. She is a co-founder of OUTIK Animation and Humanimalia Studio, specializing in puppet fabrication for stop-motion animation. Her films have been officially selected and won awards at multiple national and international festivals. She is currently a member of the National System of Art Creators (SNCA) and is directing the film *Solos*.
Filmography:
2000 *El octavo día de la creación* by Juan Medina. Co-direction, Production, Art, and Animation.
2009 *Desierto adentro* by Rodrigo Plá. (Animation).
2009 *Jaulas* by Juan Medina. Production and Animation.
2011 *Mutatio* by León Fernández. Production, Art Direction.
2013 *Lluvia en los ojos*. Direction, Animation, Photography.
2014 *El corazón del sastre* by León Fernández. Photography and Art Direction.
2015 *Zimbo* by Juan Medina. Co-direction, Photography, and Art.
2016 *Aeronautas* by León Fernández. Direction and Photography.
2020 *Eclosión*. Direction, Animation, Art, and Photography.
2021 *Tío* by Juan Medina. Director of Photography-Puppet Painter.
2022 *Pinocchio* by Guillermo del Toro. Lighting Camera Person & Puppet Painter.
2023 *Humo* by Juan Medina. Direction and Photography.
Screenwriter, filmmaker, and Head of Development at The Mediapro Studio Mexico, Carlos graduated in screenwriting for film and television from Vancouver Film School. He is the creator of the TV series *Blue Demon* (Sony PT/Vix) and co-creator of the sci-fi series *Dani Who?* (Viacom/Amazon Prime). He has collaborated on many other TV series as a writer and/or head writer, including *El Dragón* (W Studios/Netflix), *Isla Brava* (Onza/Vix), *El Rey: Vicente Fernández* (Caracol TV/Netflix), and more recently the series *Consuelo* (TMSM/Vix) and *El Extraño Retorno de Diana Salazar* (W Studios/Vix), among others.
Carlos made his debut as a director and screenwriter with the psychological thriller *Verónica* (2017), which earned him the Best New Director award at the Ibero-American Film Festival in Huelva, Spain. The film received 8 nominations for the Diosa de Plata Awards in Mexico (Mexican Press), including Best Director and Best Film. Arcelia Ramírez won the Best Actress award and also received a nomination for the Ariel from the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences for her work in the film. *Verónica* is available on Amazon Prime.
Carlos won the Cabrito de Plata for Best Short Film from Nuevo León with his first short film *El Intruso* (2009).
Céline is a film curator, with almost a decade of experience. Senior programmer at the website Short of the Week, she is also a short film programmer at the Palm Springs ShortFest and SXSW where she also programs features. She has handled the distribution and sales for French production company Films Grand Huit, and has previously programmed for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival and currently contributes to the programs of the Cannes Short Films Competition, TIFF ShortCuts, Aspen ShortsFest, Leeds International Film Festival and IDFA.
Diego Nájera is a film producer and development executive with over a decade of experience in the film industry, focusing on project development, financing, and festival curation. He served as Director of Development at Participant, the renowned American studio known for pioneering socially impactful cinema. At Participant, Nájera worked on feature films such as *Costa Brava, Lebanon* by Mounia Akl (Venice 2021), *Radical* by Christopher Zalla (Audience Award at Sundance 2023), *Rob Peace* by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Sundance 2024), and the upcoming films by Marc Forster and Oscar-winning Sebastián Lelio, *White Bird* (Lionsgate) and *La Ola*.
Before joining Participant, Nájera produced the Oscar-nominated short film *Please Hold* by director KD Dávila, and his projects as a producer have been showcased at Berlinale, SXSW, FICG, Fantastic Fest, AFI Fest, and HBO. Nájera has been selected for the Creative Producing Lab (Sundance Institute), Project Involve, Producers Lab (Film Independent), and the Debra Hill Fellowship (Producers Guild of America). He began his career as a producer and film programmer for the Guadalajara International Film Festival before working for AG Studios under producer Alex García in their U.S. financing division. He has been a panelist at SXSW, Donostia San Sebastián, Cannes Producers Network, Los Cabos Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortfest, and in 2023 was named one of the 25 Rising Stars in the entertainment industry by Business Insider. Nájera holds a master’s degree from the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California and has lived in Los Angeles for the past ten years.
Ivonne Cotorruelo is a Cuban film curator based in New York who has been elevating emerging storytellers in the film industry for over a decade. With a background as a producer, her passion lies in inclusive programming.
She currently serves as a feature film programmer at the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF), the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), and the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (TTFF). With previous experience as a programmer at Outfest (LA), Aspen ShortFest, and the Atlanta Film Festival, she has also been a jury member at film festivals worldwide. Additionally, she has worked as an International Consultant and project reviewer for funds such as The Chicken and Egg Fund, Warner Media New Voices Initiatives, Film Independent, Black and Latino Inclusion Fellowship, and Disney Launchpad.
As an alumna of the Berlinale Talent Campus, she is constantly on the lookout for stories that represent underrepresented voices.
AGUSTINA LLAMBI CAMPBELL is the head of the Argentine production company LA UNIÓN DE LOS RÍOS, responsible for: *El Estudiante* (2011 – Locarno Cineasti del Presente), *La Patota* (2015 – Nespresso Grand Prix and FIPRESCI Prize – Semaine de la Critique Cannes) & *La Cordillera* (2017 – Cannes Un Certain Regard) by Santiago Mitre; *El cielo del Centauro* by Hugo Santiago (2015 – opening BAFICI); *Los Vagos* by Gustavo Biazzi (2018 – Rotterdam Film Festival); *El hombre del futuro* (2019 – Karlovy Vary) by Felipe Ríos; *Los Salvajes* (2012 – Semaine de la Critique Cannes) & *Muere, Monstruo, Muere* (2018 – Cannes Un Certain Regard & Sitges) by Alejandro Fadel.
In 2022, she released *Pequeña Flor* (Opening BAFICI / Closing Noves Visions Sitges), Santiago Mitre’s first French and Argentine film, and *Argentina, 1985* (Biennale di Venezia), also by Santiago Mitre, which won the Golden Globe, Goya, and Platino Awards for Best Ibero-American Film and received BAFTA and Oscar nominations from the Hollywood Academy for Best International Film.
In 2023, *Blondi*, the feature debut of actress Dolores Fonzi, premiered in Horizontes Latinos at San Sebastián and was the opening film at the Biarritz festival.
She is currently in post-production on the co-productions: *El tema del verano*, a zombie comedy by Uruguayan director Pablo Stoll, and *Vieja Loca*, the debut feature by Martín Mauregui, starring Carmen Maura and Daniel Hendler.
Mario’s career in media spans over 30 years, contributing as a film critic and interviewer for outlets such as El Norte, Reforma, Récord, Excelsior, El Universal, and magazines like Esquire, GQ, Empire, Men’s Health, Gatopardo, Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Caras, Time Out, and Dónde Ir.
Since 2015, Mario has been a correspondent for W Radio and Los 40 in Los Angeles, California, covering red carpets and interviewing actors and filmmakers, as well as reporting on the Oscars and Golden Globes. He has been a voting member of the Foreign Press Association since 2021.
Currently, Mario shares reviews and interviews on W Radio’s news program ‘Así las Cosas’ with Enrique Hernández Alcazar and is part of the staff of ‘De Estreno’ on Los 40. Mario also writes for El Universal and conducts cover interviews for Esquire Mexico.
Mario has also been the press chief for films such as *Sexo pudor y lágrimas* (1999), *Y tu mamá también* (2000), *Temporada de patos* (2004), *Presunto culpable* (2008), *No eres tú soy yo* (2010), and *Cindy la Regia* (2020), as well as co-writer for the remakes *Hasta el viento tiene miedo* (2007) and *El libro de piedra* (2009).
Among Mario’s interviews are: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Tom Holland, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Ewan McGregor, Bradley Cooper, Tom Hiddleston, Zendaya, Sandra Bullock, Selena Gomez, John Travolta, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Diego Luna, Salma Hayek, Gael García Bernal, and Yalitza Aparicio.
José F Rodriguez is a Senior Film Programmer at the Tribeca Festival, overseeing the festival’s Documentary Screening Committee and helping to determine the feature documentaries and fiction features that are pre-screened, shortlisted and invited for the festival. He also leads outreach and programmatic curation for Latinx/Latin American features that are submitted to – and considered for – the festival.
He was formerly a senior staffer at Tribeca Film Institute, where – for over 10 years – he oversaw the growth, funding & overall strategic vision for all their documentary programs as well as their filmmaker / industry market, TFI NETWORK.
In the last seven years he has directed the documentary short ADOLESCENCIA (2017- Guanajuato International Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, DOCNYC, DOK Leipzig, among others) and the experimental shorts Mama,mama (2018 – Bushwick Film Festival, Nitehawk Shorts Festival, 2019 Guanajuato International Film Festival) and JUNGLA X (2022 – Guanajuato International Film Festival, DocsMX, BOGOSHORTS).
Emmy Award®- winning director and producer Diego Hurtado de Mendoza is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.His illuminating films resonate with global audiences and present ordinary people in extraordinary situations bridging the gap between entertainment and intellectual curiosity.
His most recent film “The Space Race” (Disney/ National Geographic Documentary Films) is the gripping saga of African American astronauts at NASA and in space. It premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and was subsequently screened at major film festivals, winning the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, Denver International Film Festival, the Richard D. Propes Social Impact Award at the Heartland International Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the Lifeart International Festival. The film has also had special screenings in New York’s Central Park, for an audience of over a thousand people, and at the Space Center Houston’s IMAX theater, attended by all NASA Artemis astronauts scheduled to fly to the Moon in the coming years. The film has received an invitation from NASA to be screened in space for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station later this year. The Space Race was executive-produced by Frank Marshall (E.T. Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park) and former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin and is now streaming globally on Hulu and Disney+.
His previous film “The Redeem Team” (Netflix/International Olympic Committee/ Team USA) Executive Produced by Lebron James and Dwayne Wade was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award® and two Emmys – winning the 2023 Outstanding Sports Emmy Award®.
He has produced over a dozen films for the International Olympic Committee including “The People’s Fighter’s” -which he directed, exploring the ties between boxing and the Cuban Revolution. The film premiered at the Havana International Film Festival and won the AIPS award from the International Sport Press Association.
His career started at FABRICA, the Research Center on Communications of the Benetton Group, in Treviso, Italy, where he received a three-year artist fellowship to develop projects with creatives from all over the world. There he worked on COLORS magazine and created his first films in Kosovo and Lebanon. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California, where he continues to develop films, tv shows and commercials.
In his most recent role as a senior Director of Drama Series at Netflix, Pete was responsible for launching over twenty-three seasons of streaming hours including feature script consultations for some of the biggest acquisitive shows as title lead.
With cross-functional reach from Production, BALA, Post, VFX, Casting, Marketing, Consumer Insights, Product, Government Relations and External Affairs his responsibilities went beyond content creation. He has been a guest panelist for the Canadian and Spanish consulate film programs as a representative of Netflix Original Series, having produced in both countries.
With an unyielding passion for diversity and inclusion, Pete has been instrumental in steering Netflix’s partnership in groundbreaking initiatives that propel the careers of emerging Latinx creators, including the LALIFF Inclusion Fellowship, the NALIP Latino Lens: Narrative Short Film Incubator for Women of Color and content lead for Film Independent’s Episodic Lab. His dedication to diversity in media was recognized in 2022 when he was named as one of the Influential Latinos in Media by Imagen Foundations, listed in Media Play’s 40 under 40 in 2021, and honored as a panelist at the White House’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
Before his impactful tenure at Netflix, Pete served as the Executive Director of Development for Marvel Television Studios, leading the development and launch of a slate of new series. As an independent producer, his creative prowess led to successful project deals with ITV Studios America, Endemol and a producer of an Emmy-nominated series for YouTube Red. In 2013, he played a key role in shaping the scripted department for the American hub of UK-based all3media, and eventually ascended to the role of interim head of scripted development following the company’s acquisition by Discovery, Inc. in 2015.
Pete’s early career saw him working alongside renowned producers such as Liz Goldwyn, an heir to the legendary Goldwyn filmmaking dynasty, and industry stalwarts Gavin Polone and Judy Hofflund. He gained a unique insight into the world of talent representation during his tenure as an agent’s assistant at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which was followed by an opportunity to work on A&E’s inaugural scripted series, ‘THE CLEANER’.
A proud Californian, Pete is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, holding a degree in Communication Studies. His commitment to his community and cultural heritage is further evidenced by his active role on the board of the Latino Film institute.
Film and television screenwriter. With expertise on drama, comedy and thriller. Literary analyst. Script Doctor. Executive producer.
After graduating in Marketing and specializing in Consumer Psychology, she studied Film and TV Scriptwriting in Madrid, where she lived for 11 years. In 2012, she began collaborating with directors and production companies (both nationally and internationally) as a Reader, Script Doctor, and Script Analyst, also analyzing trends in audiovisual consumption for development and marketing for distribution.
Some of her main works include:
-“Sabrás qué hacer conmigo” (You’ll Know What to Do with Me). Netflix. 2015. Directed by Katina Medina. Co-writer of the script.
-“Diablo Guardián”. Amazon. 2017-2019. Development Coordinator.
-“Desenfrenadas” (Unstoppable) 2020. Netflix. Caponeto. Script consultancy for 10 episodes in Season 1.
-“Dive” (La caída) 2021. Amazon. Directed by Lucía Puenzo, starring Karla Souza. Ring Cine. Co-writing.
-“El Zorro” 2022. Amazon / Secuoya Estudios. Script consultancy for 10 episodes in Season 1 (in post-production).
-“Potato.” Sonoro and Wondery. 2022. Audio fiction series featuring Tenoch Huerta and Stephanie Sigman.
-“What’s Up Mamis.” 2022. Amazon / Gato Grande. Co-writing, co-head of script, and co-executive producer for Season 1 (7 episodes) in post-production.
-“La Gran seducción” (The Great Seduction). Pimienta Films. Comedy. Voice-over and ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement). Premiered on Netflix in August 2023.
-“En legítima defensa” (In Self-Defense). 2022-2023. Pimienta Films. Co-writing with Elisa Miller. Development.