10 · 19 · 26 Ambulante and FICM Strengthen Their Partnership With the Creation of the Eugenio Polgovsky Award Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Alan Rodríguez Ambulante Documentary Tour and the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) are strengthening their partnership during the 24th edition of the FICM.At a press conference held in the auditorium of Palacio Clavijero, Daniela Michel, president and founder of FICM; Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel, vice president of the festival; Gael García Bernal, founder of Ambulante; Itzel Martínez del Cañizo, general director of Ambulante; Blanmi Núñez, deputy director of programming for Ambulante; and Ana Dumois, director of En el Noro, announced the initiatives that formalize the partnership between the two institutions. Blanmi Núñez, Itzel Martínez del Cañizo, Gael García Bernal y Ana Dumois. The collaboration establishes the Ambulante-Eugenio Polgovsky Award, which will grant $100,000 pesos to complete the post-production of a documentary selected for Impulso Morelia 12.Daniela Michel opened the conference by recalling how the creation of Ambulante began during the early years of the FICM: “We are very pleased to be relaunching this partnership. In 2004, discussions began about the possibility of creating a documentary film festival because it was so inspiring to see Eugenio Polgovsky’s Tropic of Cancer (2004) here in Morelia.”Cárdenas Batel reiterated the importance of Ambulante in promoting and re-evaluating documentary cinema, as well as its contribution to building audiences: “We are very glad that this award is linked to Eugenio.” Daniela Michel, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Batel, Blanmi Núñez, Gael García Bernal y Ana Dubois. Over several years, FICM has become a place that treasures the voices of new filmmakers in the country, especially those of documentary filmmakers. Martínez del Cañizo asserted that Morelia has been fundamental in “building community and in feeling that cinematic experimentation is still relevant, and that transformation occurs through creation.”In his remarks, Gael García highlighted the vital role that documentary filmmaking plays in developing critical thinking: “Do not take freedom of expression for granted. It is something that must be defended every single day. Ambulante is one of many ways to exercise freedom of expression and to bring about change.”During the conference, details were also revealed about the next edition of the traveling documentary film festival, which will start in Sonora and travel through the states of Querétaro, Michoacán, Baja California, Morelos and Mexico City from February to April 2027.
