Morelia jury and audience both crown 'Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building'

The Morelia International Film Festival awarded its top prize for Mexican feature film and its audience award in the same category to “Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building” (“6 meses en el edificio rosa con azul”), a 104-minute drama directed by Bruno Santamaría Razo, as the 24th edition closed on Oct. 25.

The double win, the Ojo for best Mexican feature plus the audience award in that category, drew notice because festival juries and ticket buyers rarely settle on the same title, El Universal reported. The event, known in Spanish as the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia (FICM), ran from Oct. 16 to 25 in Michoacán's capital with 96 Mexican films in competition, alongside international screenings and retrospectives. Its guest list included directors Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón and actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, Mexico News Daily reported. For Mexican and Mexican American moviegoers, the festival is the annual checkpoint for which national films reach theaters and platforms north of the border.

Set in 1990s Mexico City, the film follows an 11-year-old boy who discovers his feelings for his best friend while his family absorbs his father's HIV diagnosis. Santamaría, born in Mexico City in 1986, built the story from his own family memories rather than a straight retelling, and it is his first fiction feature after a documentary career. It premiered at Cannes Critics' Week, becoming the first Mexican feature to compete in that section in 20 years, Mexico News Daily reported. Distributor Cine Caníbal plans a Mexican theatrical release in 2027, El Universal reported. Other winners included Nicolás Pereda for best director with “Lo demás es ruido” and Teresa Sánchez for best actress in the same film, Belgium's Sam Louwyck for best actor, Fernanda Tovar as first-time director for “Chicas tristes” and Pablo Vaca for best Mexican documentary with “Forensita”.

FICM turns 25 next year, and organizers say the anniversary edition will move to the week immediately before Day of the Dead, with major guests and retrospectives promised. The 2027 theatrical run will be the first chance for audiences beyond the festival circuit to see the film.

Sources: Morelia une a jurado y público en un ganador · Morelia festival wraps 24th edition; 'Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building' takes top honors

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