Created in 1998 by Sarah Hoch in the state of Guanajuato, GIFF began as a short film festival and expanded within its 23 years of existence as a several approaches film festival.
The Festival is part of the Fundación Expresión en Corto AC, a non-profit organization that was born with the commitment to join the fight to rescue Mexican film artistic activity, through educational mechanisms of international exchange, grants for young people, workshops, conference, awareness and guidance for children; support in the development of cinematographic scripts and, in the short term, financing for film and audiovisual projects.
Each year, the festival focuses on a guest country to celebrate its national cinema. It is the occasion to release films referring to the history of the country’s cinema, but also more recent creations to the Mexican public. It allows members of the country’s industry to meet with Mexican creators, and develop relationships between the two countries. But its focus is not only international, half of the awards are destined to Mexican creations, the festival participates in the development of national and state cinema.
Nearing to comply twenty-three years of existence, the Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF) is proud to be the bearer of the invaluable vision of thousands of filmmakers who have crossed the GIFF screens, with films capable of surpassing the borders of the geographical and the conceptual, for example, was the first film festival in Latin America to open its doors to the digital age with the first virtual reality room in a Latin American festival.
The way in which time is approached is decisive in the construction of all history that wishes to endure, we speak of more than twenty years that have been projected in the transcendence of Mexican film culture, with the firm determination to contribute to the success and professionalization of all those who are part of the monumental infrastructure of the seventh art.
Basically, short film is also a product of time. At the dawn of the GIFF, the Short Expression Festival emerged as an alternative to feature film, displaying the impetus and works of young talents who were about to enter the then failed field of national cinematography. Giving great value to its creative freedom, the short film became an important element for the forging of a new generation of filmmakers, actors, producers, writers, technicians and new audiences.
Over the years, natural growth would come. The shorts became feature films, incubators, documentaries; in excellent scenarios for countless scripts that multiplied with each edition, forming the column of a festival that from its beginnings claimed an outstanding place in the history of cinema. In this way, Expresión en Corto reached full maturity and committed to a wider reach in the progression of the national film industry, now under the name of Guanajuato International Film Festival, thus framing its significant inclusion in the world film scene.
Since then, the vision of the Guanajuato International Film Festival lies in the importance of renewing itself, applying new strategies, in the commitment to serve new audiences, to adopt all existing technology and, Essentially, to visualize every sphere that envelops the cinematic universe. Today, more than ever, we are focused on creating new experiences and generating relevant actions that foster the full potential of film creation. Let’s leave this as a deep thanks to each of the people who over twenty-three years have made this film celebration possible, shouting louder, Más Cine Por Favor!
