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Tribute to Florence Delay at the 24th FICM: Emilio Maillé Presents LOS AÑOS ARRUZA

As part of the Florence Delay: A Life in Film program of the 24th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), the film Los años Arruza (1996) was screened to close the tribute to the actress and writer Florence Delay.

The screening was introduced by French-Mexican director Emilio Maillé, who curated the section—which also featured Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962) and Sans soleil (1983)—thereby establishing a profound dialogue regarding the actress's legacy.

Los años Arruza chronicles the chaotic and protracted history behind the making of the film Arruza (1968), a feature-length movie about the celebrated Mexican bullfighter Carlos Arruza, directed by filmmaker Budd Boetticher.

During the presentation of his debut feature, director Emilio Maillé shared details about the creation of this cinematic project, noting that the initial inspiration arose in the 1980s from a special edition of the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma.

When Maillé reached out to Bill Krohn, a correspondent for the magazine, Krohn put him in direct contact with Budd Boetticher—who had authored a biographical book about his own life—and this material served as the foundation for the film's narrative.

Florence Delay collaborated directly on the writing and narration of Maillé’s work, which employs an immersive format that combines the original French text with subtitles adapted to highlight the author’s prose, offering FICM’s audience a unique experience.

This collaboration provided an essential perspective: it challenges the official account and reveals the human fragility of a talented creator facing collapse, moving well beyond the stereotypes of unmitigated success. Maillé reflected on how the film exposes the human and professional vulnerability of a talented director who suddenly “descends into madness” and collapses, moving away from the traditional image of absolute success.

Furthermore, the director highlighted the meticulous visual research, which drew upon an extensive archive of images, clippings, and photographs that served as a historical storyboard. The use of this archival material—with its textures and the traces left by the passage of time—imbues the film with a unique aesthetic power that enriches this intimate look at cinema.