Director of Cancun Riviera Maya International Film Festival featuring International, Ibero America, and Mexico sections in official competition, with focus on operas primas, pioneering environmental cinema, and screening films from Cannes, Berlin, and Sundance. Letters of recognition from the Presidency, Congress, and Senate of Mexico.
Cancun Riviera Maya International Film Festival
2007-2009 MEXICO
The Festival presents a distinctive profile. It’s the only film festival in the world featuring International, Ibero America, and Mexico sections in official competition. Focus on operas primas (first/second fiction feature film). National pioneer in environmental cinema.
The Festival screens 200+ films a year, winners from Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. It hosts 100+ guests a year including artists, professionals, and journalists. Andy García opens 2008 with a video and his sister Tessi García in Xcaret. Danny Glover hosts 2009 in Hacienda Tres Ríos, Riviera Maya.
The Festival is featured by 200+ media in 20 countries, and presented in 50+ events in seven cities and three countries including San Sebastian International Film Festival (Spain), Hudson Hotel (New York), and Museo Tamayo (Mexico City).
Founder/mentor: Francisco Córdova I Director: Pedro Valiente I Director of Development: Guadalupe Lima I Director of Institutional Relations: Jorge Malo I Director of Production: Haydeé Cárdenas
© 2007-2009 Cancun Riviera Maya International Film Festival
Festival first presentation at Museo Tamayo in Mexico City. Opening Night in Xcaret, Riviera Maya.
Photo: Festival I © Tulum Tourism Board I Museo Tamayo I Site
Festival 2008
Festival 2007
Upcoming filmmakers from Tecnológico de Monterrey produced media screened at the Festival and online. I University media:: Festival 2008 I Festival 2007 I University
Words
Vicente Molina Foix, Anthony Haney-Jardine, Ricardo de Montreuil, Gabriel Trujillo, Camille Johuair, Antonio Ponce
WORDS I “The Festival splendidly located portraits a wide film program for promotion, commercial interchange, and fulfiling cinema knowledge.” Vicente Molina Foix (Festival Jury/writer) “I’ve been in many festivals. It holds a promising future.” Anthony Haney-Jardine (Sundance award) “The Festival is hungry for growth, and I think it has everythng to accomplish it. I’d see films here from Sundance or Tribeca.” Ricardo de Montreuil (director, films Elsa Pataki and Barbari Mori)“I’m at 26 Miami International Film Festival, and I’ve attended Cancun’s first two editions. It’s pretty serious.” Gabriel Trujillo (VeneMovies TV) “The Festival could be one of the best in Latin America.” Camille Johuair (Rouen Film Festival/France, director) “This Festival seems to be the best in Southern Mexico.” Antonio Ponce (Premiere Magazine). I Site I Behance
World Cinema
OFFICIAL COMPETITION: International I Ibero America I Mexico CATEGORIES: Feature Films I Documentary Films I Short Films
WORLD CINEMA I 200+ FILMS a year including winners from Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. The Milk of Sorrow by Claudia Llosa (Berlinale award, Oscar nominee), Elite Squad by José Padilha (Berlinale award), and Anywhere USA by Chusy Haney-Jardine (Sundance award). At the time, it was the only film festival in the world featuring International, Ibero America, and Mexico sections in official competition. The Festival focused on operas primas. Arguably, it standed as pioneer of environmental cinema in Mexico. [FFW]
OFFICIAL COMPETITION: International I Ibero America I Mexico CATEGORIES: Feature Films I Documentary Films I Short Films ANNUAL SECTIONS: Visionaries I Ecology & Human Development Cinema 2009 SECTIONS: Frontier 0 I Global Family I Independent Spirit I Digital Filmmaking INDUSTRY: Film Lab I MercaCancún I Meet the Filmmaker.
“Ecology of souls is the Festival lemma. An idea that started through my first documentary fature film in New York in 2002, and continued with a university media program in the UK in 2016. It added sustainable practice to the spirit of my work with focus on interdisciplinary and multicultural innovation in the arts.
I arrived in Mexico City for lecturing Film/TV at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and ended up directing programs and a film workshop for Espacio in Televisa, and making visual theater at the National Center for the Arts. In this frame, a TV executive producer offered me to join his team to develop an international film festival. I thought it was a way to put together ideas. And a bridge to make a contribution to the community.
Three years upon arrival, Cancun Riviera Maya International Film Festival was born. We worked with honesty and professionalism to create something that didn’t exist in the Mexican Southwest: a relevant cultural event. And, arguably, I believe that probably nobody did more with less in the history of film festivals in Mexico. When Hollywood star Danny Glover entered the 2009 Opening Gala voiced: “Why you didn’t tell me that it was like this?” —Pedro Valiente I Photo: 2007, 2008 Opening Night I Photo: © Xcaret
“Ecology of Souls”
Arts in Southeast Mexico
Music concerts, art exhibitions, children workshops, ecological actions.
ARTS I “The Festival presented a solid film program, arts activities including music concerts and art exhibitions by local talent, children workshops, and ecological actions. The Festival promoted culture through cinema, and brought a different type of attention to a touristic destiny, above all, through national and international figures and press. Festivalitzin produced and screened brief films made by students from local schools. Itzin means niño (boy/girl) in Mayan language.” [FFW] I Photo: Senator Ludivina Menchaca at social event in Paseo Cancún I Festival team I Mujeres Malditas cast
International Talent
Andy García, Danny Glover, Cecilia Suárez, Natalia Córdova-Buckley, Liz Gallardo, Ana Claudia Talancón ,Angélica Aragón, Jesús Ochoa
HOSTS Andy García opened 2008 through with an exclusive video in Xcaret natural park. His sister Tessi García hosted Opening Night. Danny Glover hosted 2009 in Hacienda Tres Ríos, Riviera Maya. SPECIAL GUESTS SPAIN: Juanma Bajo Ulloa (director) MEXICO: Jesús Ochoa, Angélica Aragón (cast), Pedro Torres (producer) CUBA: Vladimir Cruz, María Isabel Díaz Lago (cast), Omer Pardillo BRAZIL: Alex Menck (composer). GUESTS 100+ a year: artists, professionals, journalists. FESTIVAL 2009: Marco Polo Constandse, Sebastián Silva, Simón Brand, Óscar Torres, Soco Aguilar, Rodrigo Ortúzar, David Baker (filmmakers); “Dominika Paleta, Plutarco Haza, Liz Gallardo, Ana Claudia Talancón, Maya Zapata, Rodrigo Murray, Tony Dalton, Rosa María Bianchi, Natalia Esperón, Nailea Norvid, Damayani Quintanar (cast); Mauricio Durán (Universal), Fred Kalantari (Kodak), José Manuel Lorenzo (TV executive), et al. I Photo: Andy García, Danny Glover, Cecilia Suárez, Liz Gallardo (IMDb) I Angélica Aragón (Wikipedia) I Vicente Molina Foix (Autores) I Ana Claudia Talancón (GQ)
Opening Night
2007, 2008 Xcaret I 2009 Hacienda Tres Ríos, Riviera Maya
FOUNDER Francisco Córdova, a well respected entrepreneur in Southeast Mexico, is founder and mentor of the Festival through his flagship company Delphinus. Mr. Córdova is son of Pancho Córdova, actor in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. HOSTESS Mr. Córdova is also father of Natalia Córdova-Buckley, who hosted 2009 Opening Night. Natalia is a Mexican-American actress best known for portraying Elena Yo-Yo Rodríguez on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. DIRECTOR Pedro Valiente coordinated program, production, team, media, and funding, receiving Letters of Recognition by the Presidency of Mexico, Congress, and Senate. I Hacienda Tres Ríos Flickr
Partners
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
INSTITUTIONS LOCAL Governor Félix González Canto; Senator Ludivina Menchaca; Gabriela Rodriguez, Secretary of Tourism of Quintana Roo State; Carlos Joaquín, Playa del Carmen Mayor. NATIONAL Presidency, Congress, Senate, Mexican Film Institute, Mexican Tourism Board. INTERNATIONAL Embassy of Spain, Embassy of France, Embassy of Chile, Embassy of China. FUNDING In-kind: Year 1 USD 0.5 million, Year 2 USD 1.2 million. I Photo: Festival postcard & invitation I Quintana Roo Governor I Sponsors & Collaborators. I Mexican Film Institute I Mexican Tourism Board
Press
AlterEgo Magazine, Mexico I LatAm cinema Magazine, Uruguay
[SPANISH]
Pedro Valiente, director del Festival Internacional de Cine de Cancún Rivera Maya
Julio 27, 2007 I Se presentó en Madrid la primera edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de Cancún Rivera Maya, un ambicioso evento cinematográfico que se celebrará en Cancún y Playa del Carmen del 5 al 11 de noviembre. LatAm cinema conversó con su director sobre los desafíos que afronta este nuevo evento.
¿Cómo se posiciona el Festival Internacional de Cine de Cancún Rivera Maya? Hemos hecho un esfuerzo real para que el festival tenga un perfil único, innovador, y creo que es algo que lograremos con la competencia oficial de óperas primas, reservada a primeros y segundos trabajos. En segundo lugar, en México no existe ningún festival con tres secciones oficiales a competición: Internacional, Latinoamérica y México. También habrá dos muestras permanentes. […] “Visionarios” ofrecerá lo mejor de la cinematografía internacional, los maestros más originales e innovadores. Este año comienza con un homenaje al FICCO, el festival internacional de cine contemporáneo de Cdmx, La segunda permanente es “Cine de ecología y desarrollo humano”, inspirados por la riquísima biodiversidad de la Península de Yucatán, que se enfocará en la vida en la tierra en su dimensión humana, ecológica, cultural, social y política.
¿Cómo funcionarán las secciones competitivas? ¿Cuáles son los criterios de selección que tiene el festival? Las tres competencias del festival (óperas primas, documentales, cortometrajes) cuentan a su vez con tres categorías: Internacional, Iberoamérica, México. El objetivo es que en cada sección haya un máximo de diez finalistas. En documentales hay conversaciones avanzadas con DocsDF, el festival internacional de documentales de Cdmx. En cortometrajes y óperas primas mexicanas no habrá problemas en conseguirlos. Así nos centraremos en óperas primas de Iberoamérica e Internacional. […]
¿Cuál será el papel del cine latinoamericano en el festival? El festival quiere desarrollar el entorno cultural caribeño. Luego tenemos la conexión con Latinoamérica que es imprescindible dado la cultura, geografía e identidad que nos une. En tercer lugar, está la conexión con España. En la competición internacional esperamos contar con dos o tres películas de España española, siete u ocho de Latinoamérica y una o dos mexicanas. […] México está viviendo un momento muy especial con la incorporación de grandes talentos mexicanos al mercado internacional de cine. Además hay cosas muy interesantes en las escuelas de cine y universidades. […] Brasil y Argentina, están haciendo el cine más interesante [en la región] de los últimos años. […] También hay sorpresas maravillosas de países más pequeños que creo que hay que rescatar. […]
¿Crees que México se convertirá en un puente para el cine latinoamericano en Estados Unidos? México está muy avanzado en su relación con la cultura norteamericana y puede ser un puente magnífico para el cine latinoamericano por su geografía, identidad, estilo, estrellas que están surgiendo. En el caso de Cancún, tenemos la ventaja de ser parte de México y abarcar también tanto a Norteamérica como el Caribe y Suramérica.
INTERVIEW
LatAm cinema, Latin American film magazine founded in 2007 by Gerardo Michelín I Interview in Casa de América, Madrid
Live Events
EVENTS 50+ in 7 cities and 3 countries including presentations at Mexican Congress and Mexican Film Institute in Mexico City, and Mexican Tourism Board in Madrid.
SELECTED EVENTS: Hudson Hotel (New York). San Sebastian International Film Festival (Spain) hosted a Festival launch featured by The Hollywood Reporter. Museo Tamayo (Mexico City) hosted the first Festival presentation in an unprecedented event, bringing Mexican Senators for the first time in the museum’s history.
OPENING NIGHT 2007, 2008 Xcaret Riviera Maya I OPENING NIGHT 2009 Hacienda Tres Ríos Riviera Maya. THEATERS Paseo Cancún, MM Cinemas, Cancún Center, Centro Maya.
HOTELS Hosting & Events at (8) hotels including Sun Palace, Hotel Camino Real Cancún, Le Blanc Spa Resort, Live Aqua Beach Resort, Dreams Sans Cancún, Temptation Cancuún Resort I Cancún Hotels Association, Riviera Maya Hotels Association. I Hudson Hotel I San Sebastian Film Festival I Museo Tamayo
Live Events
Media
200+ notes in 20 countries featured the Festival including news, reviews, reportages, and interviews. I LINKS LatAm cinema Work I Start I Open Call I Interview SELECTED (2024) El País I El Universal I Cine Latino I Gran Cine LINKS Gran Cine I Zócalo I ANAC I W Radio I Noticaribe I Parques Temáticos I Le Grand Journal I Elitours I Quintana Roo Turista I Cancuníssimo
Media
Ventanas al mar
“A story about the unexpected meeting of two couples in a seaside hotel.” I IMDb
Marco Polo Constandse and talent Raúl Méndez and Natalia Córdova-Buckley met and started to develop the project at the Festival. Directed by Jesús Mario Lozano with Spanish cast Fernando Guillén and Charo López.