ATTEND THE MORELIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Morelia is a spectacular 16th-century colonial city with approximately 650,000 inhabitants. It has its own international airport and is situated strategically in the center of Mexico, connected by modern highways to Mexico City (3.5-hour drive), Guadalajara (3.5-hour drive) and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo (4-hour drive).

Morelia enjoys excellent weather throughout the year and has just the right infrastructure to host the Morelia International Film Festival, an intimate and exciting annual film event. Morelia’s architectural splendor, the natural beauty of its surroundings, and its venerable cultural tradition have earned it the distinction of being declared a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site in 1991.

The Morelia International Film Festival is open to the public and welcomes visitors from throughout Mexico and around the world. Our mission is to promote a new generation of Mexican filmmakers and to serve as a unique meeting point between Mexican filmmakers, the public of Michoacán and the international community of film-lovers. If you decide to support our mission by attending the festival, please find below information that will help make your experience more enjoyable.

Getting to Morelia
See the online English-language Frommer’s 2006 Guide for information on traveling to Morelia:
http://208.215.179.125/destinations/morelia/0912010002.html
The information included in the Frommer's Guide is subject to change. For travel questions including bus and limo transportation, don't hesitate to consult with your travel agent, or with the English-speaking travel agency Viajes Tardan in Mexico City (5255/5514-6752 and 5255/5525-8179).

Hotels in Morelia
Morelia is compact enough that one can stay at any hotel in the city and still enjoy the festival. However, hotels in the colonial downtown area are closest to the festival’s main screenings and events, and are therefore most convenient. Several hotels offer special discounts to anyone coming to Morelia to attend the festival, which can be seen on the Accommodations page. For information on these and other hotel options in Morelia, you may visit the following sites:

Trip Advisor: An extensive list of hotels with descriptions in English and rankings by the Trip Advisor user-feedback system:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g152771-Morelia_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast-Hotels.html


Frommer’s Guide: A limited list of hotels with descriptions by the reputable Frommer’s English-language online guide, written by David Baird
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/morelia/912_indacc.html

Official Morelia website: Extensive list of hotels using a star-category system and with descriptions in Spanish:
http://www.visitmorelia.com/Asp/catalogo.asp?servicio=17&ciudad=1

Official Michoacán website: Extensive list of hotels using a star-category system:
http://www.michoacan-travel.com/eng_mor_hoteles.htm

Staying in Pátzcuaro
Some festival attendees prefer to spend a part of the festival, or all of it, in the extraordinarily beautiful village of Pátzcuaro, which is a 40-minute drive from Morelia on a four-lane highway. The festival holds special screenings in Pátzcuaro’s downtown cinema palace, the Teatro Emperador. For information on hotel options and tourism activities in Pátzcuaro, click here:
http://www.moreliafilmfest.com/2004Ingles/Patzcuaro.asp

Festival Publications
Once you arrive in Morelia, make sure to obtain a free Festival Hand-Program of the daily screenings, and a free Morelia City Guide, at any of the festival venues. We also recommend that you purchase a Festival Catalog, which you can consult for information about films, special guests, conferences, round tables, and other activities. We recommend keeping these publications with you.

Screenings
The festival’s films are exhibited in downtown Morelia at the Cinépolis Centro movie theatre, the festival’s main site, as well as at its alternate sites, Cinépolis Plaza Morelia and Cinépolis La Huerta, each located a short cab-ride from downtown. There are free screenings at the Palacio Clavijero as well as free open air screenings at the Plaza Benito Juárez. Moreover, the festival offers a series of free screenings at the Teatro Emperador, a 1930's-era cinema palace in downtown Pátzcuaro, which is a 40-minute cab-ride from Morelia.

Many film screenings, especially those in competition, will afterwards have a question-and-answer session with the directors of the films.

Screenings at Cinépolis Centro, Cinépolis Plaza Morelia and Cinépolis La Huerta require ticket purchase.

In general, the films in competition are in Spanish with English subtitles, and most of the international features are subtitled in both Spanish and English. Please consult the Festival Hand-Program to make sure the film you are going to watch is available in a language you speak.

Tickets
In order to make the festival’s films accessible to a wide audience, we offer tickets at a significant discount from regular movie-ticket prices (less than US$3 per ticket). It is also possible to buy packs of five tickets (less than US$9) for an additional discount. Seats are subject to limited availability. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before show time. Festival screenings are not preceded by promotional trailers for other films. Seats cannot be reserved. Tickets can be bought at the ticket-counters the day of the screening, or in advance online at:
http://www.cinepolis.com.mx/cartelera/Aspx/carteleras.aspx?ciudad=32&fecha=20060808&horario=0 (find the film you wish to see and click the “Compra Reserva” button to the right of it, then follow the instructions).

Events
In general, conferences, round tables, and exhibits described in the catalog are free, with no ticket required. Space is usually limited, so admittance is granted on a first-come first-served basis.

Tourism activities in Morelia
Morelia has a vibrant cultural life and is characterized by astounding architectural wonders of the 16th and 17th centuries, remarkably preserved and still in operation. Moreover, it is surrounded by breathtaking countryside and beautiful rural villages. During your attendance of the festival, don’t miss out on Morelia’s extraordinary tourism opportunities. For more information, you may visit the following sites:

Frommer’s Guide: English-language tourism information about Morelia by Frommer’s writer David Baird:
http://208.215.179.125/destinations/morelia/0912010001.html

Official Morelia website: Spanish-language tourism information about Morelia from the city government:
www.visitmorelia.com/Asp/

Official Michoacán website: Spanish-language tourism information about Morelia from the state government:
www.turismomichoacan.gob.mx/regiones/morelia.htm

Telecommunications
Prepaid long distance calling cards can be bought at many convenient stores, as can prepaid local phone cards for use in public phones. Having a cell phone at the festival is very useful for keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. U.S. cell phones use the same bandwidth as Mexico’s, though you may pay steep international roaming charges if you use them. Some U.S. cell phone carriers will allow you to set up a special temporary low rate for using your phone during your trip to Mexico; we advise that you consult with your carrier to see what your local and international calling rates will be in Mexico and whether you can obtain a bargain. It is often possible to pay lower rates by purchasing a local cell phone chip at downtown stores to use while you’re in Mexico, though it is important to note that this will assign your phone a local number and that calls to the original number will go straight to voicemail. To switch to a local chip, it may be necessary to consult your cell phone carrier in the U.S. to obtain an “unlock code” or pin number for your phone. When you return home, you can turn off the phone and replace your original chip. For European cell phones, it is important to note that Mexico has a different bandwidth, making it more difficult to switch your chip, but not impossible. Of course, it is necessary to turn your cell phones off during all screenings!!

Internet
In case your hotel does not offer internet service, the following internet cafés are located in the downtown area: Centro Interactivo de Comunicación, Melchor Ocampo #215; Chat Room Cybercafe, el Nigromante 132-A.

Money Exchange
The following money exchange houses are located in the downtown area: Consultoría Internacional Casa de Cambio, Guillermo Prieto #48; Majapara, Pino Suárez #166. Withdrawing money from local ATM machines generally gives a good exchange rate.

Pharmacies
The following pharmacies are located in the downtown area: “Farmacias Guadalajara”, Morelos Sur #117, in front of the Cathedral; “Gems III”, Ana Ma. Gallaga No. 911-A.

Information
For general information and festival publications, please stop by our festival office at Melchor Ocampo #35, in the Centro behind the Palacio de Gobierno, or call (443) 317-7801.