38th Guadalajara International Film Festival

The 38th Guadalajara International Film Festival took place from June 3 to 9, 2023, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Heroic received the Mezcal Award while Costa Rican film I Have Electric Dreams won the Best Ibero-American Film award.

The festival opening ceremony took place at Telmex Auditorium and was hosted by Andrés Zuno. At the ceremony, Raúl Padilla López was honored for his work in the festival. Padilla López served as president for the festival until his death in April 2023. Mexican actress Arcelia Ramírez and Italian film editor Roberto Perpignani received special achievement awards. American film Asteroid City, directed by Wes Anderson, was the festival's opening film.

Official competition

 * Mezcal Award
 * Pituka Ortega Heilbron, Panamanian filmmaker
 * Gregory Nava, American director and writer
 * Diego Calva, Mexican actor
 * Melissa Cobb, American producer
 * Paolo Genovese, Italian director


 * Ibero-American Fiction Feature Film
 * Gabriel Nuncio, Mexican director, producer, screenwriter and actor
 * Claudia Sainte-Luce, Mexican writer, director and actress
 * Andrés Wood, Chilean director
 * Gustavo Castillón, Mexican producer
 * Paulina Dávila, Colombian actress


 * Ibero-American Documentary Feature Film
 * Claudia Becerril Bulos, Mexican cinematographer
 * Paulina Suárez, Mexican director of Ambulante
 * Anna Saura, Spanish producer


 * Ibero-American Short Film
 * Armando Espitia, Mexican actor
 * Roger Durling, American SBIFF director
 * Andrés Almeida, Mexican actor
 * Marianna Vargas, Dominican film commissioner of DGCINE
 * Luis Rosales, Mexican casting director


 * Maguey Award
 * Adrián Silvestre, Spanish director
 * Eréndira Ibarra, Mexican actress
 * Ximena Romo, Mexican actress


 * Made in Jalisco
 * Leonardo Ortizgris, Mexican actor
 * Mariana Chenillo, Mexican director and screenwriter
 * Pablo Zimbrón Alva, Mexican producer
 * Cassandra Ciangherotti, Mexican actress


 * Socio-Environmental Cinema Award
 * Cristo Fernández, Mexican actor
 * Martha Reyes Arias, Mexican actress
 * Carmen Elisa Gómez, Mexican researcher
 * Andrés Castillo, Ecuatorian musician and cultural promoter


 * International Animation Feature Film and Rigo Mora Award
 * Alberto Montt, Chilean-Ecuatorian illustrator
 * João Gonzalez, Protuguese director and animator
 * Cruz Contreras, Mexican animator
 * Lefteris Becerra, Mexican researcher, journalist and academic


 * Young Mezcal
 * Fanfan Zhou, California Institute of the Arts representant
 * Yamir Perea, Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica representant
 * Valeria Contreras, Columbia University School of the Arts representant
 * Fernando Ramírez, University Centre of Art, Architecture and Design (University of Guadalajara) representant
 * Adrián Morales, National School of Cinematographic Arts (UNAM) representant
 * Emilio Sillero, Escuela Nacional de Experimentación y Realización Cinematográfica (ENERC) representant
 * Irving Colorado, Escuela Veracruzana de Cine Luis Buñuel representant
 * Tommaso Diaceri, Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia representant
 * Nicolà Folin, Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia representant
 * Samuel Vaca, ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, representant
 * Sergio Anchondo, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education representant
 * Sergio García, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education representant
 * Paola Arellano, Universidad de Artes Digitales (UAD) representant
 * Hugo Rocha, Universidad de Medios Audiovisuales (CAAV) representant
 * Andrea Hernández, Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA) representant
 * Lydia Acevedo, University of Southern California representant

Independent juries

 * FIPRESCI
 * Valentina Giraldo Sánchez, Colombian critic
 * Andrew Kendall, Guyanese critic
 * Ivonete Pinto, Brazilian journalist and film critic


 * FEISAL
 * Guillermo Vaidovits, Mexican director of the master's degree in Film Studios of UDEG
 * Ivette Liang, Cuban-Colombian Head of the Production Department of EICTV and Director of Nuevas Miradas, and film producer
 * Juan Mora Catlett, Mexican film director, editor and screenwriter
 * Busi Cortés, Mexican director, screenwriter and scriptwriter

Official selections
The following films were selected for the official competitions:

Mezcal Award

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.


 *  (HJ)  indicates film eligible for the Hecho en Jalisco Award.

Ibero-American Fiction Feature Film

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.


 *  (MG)  indicates film eligible for the Maguey Award that include LGBTQ+ themes.
 *  (SE)  indicates film eligible for the Socio-Environmental Cinema Award.

Ibero-American Documentary Feature Film

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.


 *  (MG)  indicates film eligible for the Maguey Award that include LGBTQ+ themes.

Ibero-American Short Film

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.

Maguey Award
The following list consists of the films eligible for the Maguey Award that are not listed in the previous competition tables. The films in contention for both the Maguey Award and other competition section appear with the symbol (MG) next to it.

Hecho en Jalisco
The following list consists of the films eligible for the Hecho en Jalisco that are not listed in the previous competition tables. The films in contention for both the Made in Jalisco and other competition section appear with the symbol (HJ) next to it.

Socio-Environmental Cinema Award
The following list consists of the films eligible for the Socio-Environmental Cinema Award that are not listed in the previous competition tables. The films in contention for both the Socio-Environmental Cinema Award and other competition section appear with the symbol (SE) next to it.

International Animation Feature Film

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.

Rigo Mora Award

 * Highlighted title indicates section's best film winner.

Official awards
The following awards were presented:

Mezcal Award

 * Mezcal Award: Heroic by David Zonana
 * Best Director: Gisela Delgadillo for Kenya
 * Best Actor: Fernando Cuautle for Heroic
 * Best Actress: Rocío de la Mañana for Adolfo
 * Best Cinematography: Santiago Sánchez for Women of the Dawn
 * Special Mention: A Wolfpack Called Ernesto by Everardo González

Ibero-American Fiction Feature Film

 * Best Film: I Have Electric Dreams by Valentina Maurel
 * Best Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren for 20,000 Species of Bees
 * Best Actor: Reinaldo Amien for I Woke Up with a Dream
 * Best Actress: Beatriz Batarda for Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures
 * Best Screenplay: Marco Martins and Ricardo Adolfo for Great Yarmouth: Provisional Figures
 * Best First Feature: 20,000 Species of Bees by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
 * Special Mention: Sister & Sister by Cala Rossel

Ibero-American Documentary Feature Film

 * Best Documentary Film: Samuel and the Light by Vinícius Girnys
 * Best Director: Pau Faus for Fauna
 * Best Cinematography: Nico Miranda and Fernando Lorenzale for The Castle

Ibero-American Short Film

 * An Avocado Pit by Ary Zara

Maguey Award

 * Maguey Award: Kenya by Gisela Delgadillo
 * Jury Prize: Medusa Deluxe by Thomas Hardiman
 * Best Performance: Ensemble cast of 20,000 Species of Bees

Made in Jalisco

 * Best Feature Film: Martinez by Lorena Padilla
 * Best Short Film: He, Behind the Gun by Gabriel Esdras
 * Special Mention: A Territory Without Us by Pablo Márquez Cervantes

Socio-Environmental Cinema Award

 * City on the Back by Paola Rodas Ziadé

International Animation Feature Film

 * Best Film: Chicken for Linda! by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach
 * Special Mention: No Dogs or Italians Allowed by Alain Ughetto

Rigo Mora Award

 * Rigo Mora Award: Flesh of God by Patricio Plaza
 * Special Mention: Ninety-five Senses by Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess

Young Mezcal

 * Young Mezcal Award: Heroic by David Zonana
 * Special Mention: Kenya by Gisela Delgadillo

Audience Award

 * Kenya by Gisela Delgadillo

FIPRESCI Prize

 * Best Film: Heroic by David Zonana

FEISAL Prizes

 * Best Film: Samuel and the Light by Vinícius Girnys
 * Special Mention: Calls from Moscow by Luis Alejandro Yero