The Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences has reported this Thursday that it is suspending the call for the Ariel Awards next year "until further notice" because the institution is going through "a serious financial crisis."
"The State, which was the motor and support of the academy for a long time, has renounced its responsibility as the main promoter and disseminator of culture in general and of cinema in particular," says a statement released by the institution.
The letter, signed by the general assembly of the academy chaired by the actress Leticia Huijara, specifies that "both the call and the registration processes" will be suspended for next year and regrets that "the support of public resources has decreased considerably in the last years".
"Priorities changed," she accuses.
"During the coming months, the academy will be redirecting its efforts to reorganize the work through its different commissions, but, above all, to rebuild the finances of the organization," the statement explains.
Leticia Huijara, president of the Mexican film academy, during the announcement of the suspension. Moisés Pablo Nava (Cuartoscuro)
The Ariel Awards are the most important awards in the Mexican film industry, which have been given since 1946 to recognize the best local filmmakers, creators, performers and technicians.
Entries are normally made at the beginning of the year and, after voting by the jury, which is made up of members of the academy, the awards gala is held in October, which this year had
Noche de fuego,
by Tatiana , as the big winner.
bone.
At that gala, the president of the academy, Leticia Huajira, recognized the resilience of the union but admitted the difficult times the industry is going through.
“Today the AMACC does not have the resources to be able to operate, we must pause, explore alternate paths to continue, we call to close ranks, to take care of the academy as it has been, a dream imagined by filmmakers as a good of everyone, like everyone's house," said the actress.
As anticipated in the last Ariel award ceremony, our president @LeticiaHuijara reiterates today that the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC) is going through a serious financial crisis.
pic.twitter.com/BF3MiHsjtj
– AMACC (@AcademiaCineMx) November 24, 2022
It was not the first time that he exposed the claim.
The Mexican film academy has complained on different occasions of non-payment.
In August, the institution sent a letter to the Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, to denounce "debts of more than 85 million pesos for more than 50 film projects."
According to that letter, the institution had already sent two other letters "without receiving a response."
In each case, the secretariat was held responsible for "the lack of payment" after the extinction of two trusts.
In 2020, the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador decided to eliminate more than 300 trusts as part of its austerity policy.
Then, the Ministry of Culture agreed to incorporate the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (Fonca) into its organic structure and to merge the Fund for Quality Film Production (Foprocine) with the Fund for Investment and Incentives for Cinema (Fidecine). ).
The Ministry of Culture assured that the resources of these two trusts would be maintained, whose availability totaled 592 million pesos, about 25 million dollars.
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