Morelia International Film Festival (FICM)

Overview

The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) is Mexico's most important competitive festival dedicated exclusively to Mexican cinema. The 24th edition runs October 16 to 25, 2026, in Morelia, the colonial capital of Michoacan state and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 2003, FICM has built its identity around four competitive sections that are exclusively for Mexican filmmakers: Mexican Feature Film, Mexican Documentary, Mexican Short Film, and the Michoacan Section.

The 23rd edition (October 10 to 19, 2025) screened 103 Mexican and international features, with a jury chaired by Ava DuVernay that included Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger, Focus Features co-founder David Linde, and Italian filmmaker Andrea Pallaoro. International guests at the 2025 edition included Stellan Skarsgard, Juliette Binoche, Jodie Foster, Gael Garcia Bernal, Guillermo del Toro, Richard Linklater, Lynne Ramsay, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Park Chan-wook. The festival has developed a reputation for attracting major international industry figures while maintaining its focus on Mexican national cinema.

FICM's most distinctive feature is its partnership with La Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Critics' Week), established in 2003. Each year, a selection of Mexican short films from the FICM Official Selection is presented at a special out-of-competition screening at Cannes the following year. This partnership provides Mexican short filmmakers with direct exposure to the Cannes ecosystem, making FICM one of the few festivals that can offer a documented pathway from a domestic competition to a Cannes sidebar.

For Mexican filmmakers, the Ojo Award for Best Mexican Feature carries a prize of 1,000,000 MXN in post-production services from Estudios Churubusco Azteca plus 300,000 MXN from MAPFRE, making it one of the largest single cash and service prizes for Mexican cinema at any festival.

Submission Details

FICM accepts submissions through its official website. Key details for the 24th edition (2026):

Competitive Sections

FICM has four official competitive sections, all exclusively for Mexican films:

• Mexican Feature Film (Largometraje Mexicano) - Mexican fiction features over 60 minutes, in DCP format. Must not have been premiered in Mexico (commercially or at other national festivals). Productions must have been completed after July 2025. Films distributed on the internet with restricted access codes (online festivals) are not accepted in this section.
• Mexican Documentary (Documental Mexicano) - Mexican documentary features with a minimum 40 minutes runtime, in DCP format. Priority is given to documentaries that have not been premiered in Mexico. Productions completed in 2025 or 2026.
• Mexican Short Film (Cortometraje Mexicano) - Mexican shorts with a maximum 40 minutes runtime, in animation, documentary, or fiction. Final format must be DCP. Completed in 2025 or 2026. Films distributed freely on the internet are not accepted, but films distributed with restricted access codes (online festivals) are accepted in this section.
• Michoacan Section (Seccion Michoacana) - Works by Michoacan filmmakers, entered through the Cortometraje, Documental, or Largometraje Mexicano sections. These works may be considered for the Michoacan Section in addition to their primary section.

Additional Programs

• Michoacan Short Film Screenplay Contest - open to scriptwriters born in or residing in Michoacan
• Online Mexican Short Film Selection - selected shorts from the Official Selection are made available free online worldwide during festival week, competing for the Online Mexican Short Film Award decided by audience vote
• Impulso Morelia - a post-production program for films in the final stages of production, with awards from Estudios Churubusco ($375,000 MXN each to two projects), Caffeine Postproduction (workflow design, VFX, graphic design packages), Splendor Omnia Studio (5.1 sound mixing, color correction), and the Jose Maria Riba Award

Premiere Status Requirements

The Mexican Feature Film section requires that films have not been premiered in Mexico, either commercially or at other national film festivals or showcases. Films distributed on the internet with restricted access codes (such as online festival screenings) are also ineligible for the fiction feature section. This is a strict Mexican premiere requirement.

The Mexican Documentary section gives priority to documentaries that have not been premiered in Mexico but does not strictly exclude those that have. Short films and Michoacan Section entries have more flexible premiere requirements, and films distributed online with restricted access codes are accepted in these sections.

Films that have been presented on television, exhibited commercially, distributed on Blu-ray/DVD, or distributed freely on the internet are ineligible for all competitive sections. Promotional films are also excluded.

23rd Edition Award Winners (2025)

The 23rd edition ceremony took place October 18, 2025, at Teatro Melchor Ocampo in Morelia. Key winners:

Mexican Fiction Feature

• Ojo for Best Mexican Feature Film: "La reserva" (dir. Pablo Perez Lombardini) - prize includes diploma, Ojo sculpture by Javier Marin, 1,000,000 MXN in post-production services from Estudios Churubusco Azteca, and 300,000 MXN from MAPFRE
• Ojo for Best Direction: Pablo Perez Lombardini for "La reserva" - 100,000 MXN
• Ojito for Best Actress: Carolina Guzman for "La reserva"
• Ojito for Best Actor: Victor Miguel Prieto and Osvaldo Sanchez for "En el camino" (shared)
• Best Screenplay: Karen Plata for "El diablo fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja)" - 20,000 MXN from Cinema Maquina
• Best Cinematography: Ximena Amann for "En el camino" - 50,000 MXN from CTT
• Casa Wabi-Escine Prize (First-Time Director): Nuria Ibanez Castaneda for "El guardian" - five-week residency at Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido
• Audience Award (Mexican Fiction): "Vainilla" (dir. Mayra Hermosillo)
• Special Mention: Basilio Moncada for his performance in "El guardian"

Mexican Documentary Feature

• Ojo for Best Mexican Documentary: "Llamarse Olimpia" (dir. Indira Cato)
• Audience Award (Documentary): "Mi Benjamin" (dir. Victoria Clay-Mendoza)
• Special Mention: "Brigada 2045" (dir. Olivia Luengas Magana)
• Women in Film and Television Mexico Award: "Vidas en la orilla" (dir. Lucia Gaja) - Best Documentary Feature Directed by a Woman, with honorable mention to "Llamarse Olimpia"

Mexican Short Film

• Ojo for Best Fiction Short: "Casa Chica" (dir. Lau Charles)
• Ojo for Best Documentary Short: "Las voces del despenadero" (dir. Irving Serrano and Victor Rejon)
• Ojo for Best Animated Short: "Una parvada de estrenado" (dir. Mariana Mendivil)
• Special Jury Prize (sponsored by Renta Imagen): "Sigo sonando (Oc nitemiki)" (dir. Misael Alva)
• Special Mention: "Al borde del volcan" (dir. Jorge Granados Ross)

Michoacan Section

• Ojo de la Seccion Michoacana: "Aki" (dir. David Buitron Fernandez)
• Special Mention: "Corolario" (dir. Luz Barragan)

Michoacan Short Film Screenplay Contest

• Winner: "Herculano" (dir. Melisa Estefania Sandoval Partida) - supported by Cinema Maquina
• Special Mention: "Pastel y crisantemos" (dir. Karla Martinez)

International Audience Award

• Audience Award for International Feature: "Nouvelle Vague" (dir. Richard Linklater)

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Mexican Filmmakers

FICM is the most important competitive platform for Mexican cinema. The Ojo Award for Best Mexican Feature, with its 1,000,000 MXN post-production package from Estudios Churubusco and 300,000 MXN from MAPFRE, is one of the largest single prizes for Mexican filmmaking. The festival's jury consistently includes major international industry figures, which means winning or even being selected puts your film in front of producers, distributors, and festival programmers with global reach.

The free submission policy means there is no financial barrier to entering. The trade-off is that the competition is exclusively for Mexican films, so you are competing against the full national output in any given year. The strict Mexican premiere requirement for fiction features means you must plan your festival circuit carefully. If your film has screened at any Mexican festival or showcase, or has been distributed online even with restricted access, it is ineligible for the fiction feature section.

The partnership with La Semaine de la Critique is the most concrete career benefit for short filmmakers. Mexican shorts selected for the FICM Official Selection are eligible for a special screening at Cannes Critics' Week the following year. This is a direct pathway from a domestic Mexican festival to the most important film festival in the world.

For International Filmmakers

FICM's competitive sections are exclusively for Mexican films. International filmmakers cannot submit to the Ojo Award competitions. However, the festival programs international films in non-competitive sections, and the Audience Award for International Feature provides recognition for international titles. The 2025 winner was Richard Linklater's "Nouvelle Vague."

International industry professionals attend FICM in significant numbers. The 2025 edition hosted guests including Ava DuVernay, Guillermo del Toro, Juliette Binoche, Jodie Foster, Stellan Skarsgard, and Yorgos Lanthimos. For international producers and sales agents interested in Mexican cinema, FICM is the best annual opportunity to see the full range of new Mexican production in one place and to meet Mexican filmmakers, producers, and CNAC (now IMCINE) representatives.

Practical Considerations

Submissions are free, but the deadline (June 19, 2026 at 17:00 local time) is final with no extensions. This is stricter than most festivals. The selection is announced August 14, 2026. Selected films must deliver a DCP and an HD file by September 4, 2026, and the viewing link must remain active from September 4 through October 25, 2026.

All selected competition films must have Spanish and English subtitles. If the original language is not Spanish, a screening copy with Spanish and English subtitles is required. All subtitling costs are the responsibility of the selected films. Films without subtitles are automatically disqualified. This is a hard requirement with no exceptions.

Selected films may be included in national and international touring programs organized by FICM during 2026 and 2027, with the filmmaker's consent given at the time of registration.

Morelia is a colonial city in Michoacan state, accessible by domestic flights from Mexico City (approximately 1 hour) or by road (approximately 3.5 hours from Mexico City). The city's historic center, with its pink stone cathedral and arcaded plaza, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The October timing coincides with the Dia de los Muertos season in Michoacan, one of the most important cultural celebrations in Mexico, which adds a distinctive cultural dimension to the festival experience.

Festival History

FICM was founded in 2003 as a non-profit civil association dedicated to supporting Mexican filmmakers, cultivating new audiences, and disseminating Mexican cinematographic culture. The festival was created to fill a gap in the Mexican festival landscape: a competitive platform specifically for Mexican national cinema, distinct from FICG in Guadalajara (which programs Ibero-American cinema more broadly) and the Morelia festival's focus on emerging Mexican talent.

The festival's partnership with La Semaine de la Critique was established at its founding in 2003 and has operated continuously for over two decades. This partnership has provided Mexican short filmmakers with a documented pathway to Cannes, with FICM-selected shorts screening at a special out-of-competition event at Critics' Week each year.

The Ojo Award, designed by Michoacan artist Javier Marin, has been the festival's top prize since its founding. The award's value has grown significantly over two decades, with the Best Mexican Feature prize now including 1,000,000 MXN in post-production services from Estudios Churubusco Azteca and 300,000 MXN from MAPFRE.

The Impulso Morelia program, now in its 11th edition, was created to support Mexican films in the final stages of post-production. The program provides cash and in-kind awards from Mexican post-production houses, addressing a specific gap in financing for Mexican productions that have completed principal photography but need finishing funds.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit strategy and Mexican premiere planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For Latin American film market analysis, see International Film Markets. For the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico's other major festival with Ibero-American scope, see Guadalajara (FICG). Read the full FICM regulations or visit the official website.