The Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (AMACC) this week announced the nominees for the 68th edition of the Ariel Awards, as well as the recipients of the prestigious Golden Ariel for career excellence.
Presented annually since 1946, the Ariels recognizes artistic and technical excellence in the Mexican film industry. The 2026 Ariel Awards presentation is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Mexico City, but the Academy has yet to confirm which platform or channel will broadcast the ceremony.
Last year, the event took place in Puerto Vallarta and was available on HBO Max.
“Every year, we see better and better cinema,” said Daniel Hidalgo, president of the AMACC. “But we now face greater challenges, such as young people relying on cell phones rather than going to movie theaters, competition from streaming platforms and concerns about how AI will change cinema.”
The film “En el camino” (“On the Road”), co-produced by Diego Luna and directed by David Pablos, garnered 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, while the film’s star Osvaldo Sánchez earned a Best Actor nomination.
The movie portrays the love between a truck driver and a young man and, due to the content, received a “C” rating, meaning it is intended for viewers 18 and older.
“Aún es de noche en Caracas” (“It’s Still Night in Caracas”) earned the second most nominations with nine. This film — an adaptation of Karina Sainz Borgo’s novel “The Spanish Woman’s Daughter” — tells the story of Adelaida who, after burying her mother, finds her home invaded by armed militia while Venezuelan society collapses around her.
The newspaper Infobae reported that Mexico City’s Ibero-American University “positioned itself as a breeding ground for talent in the national film industry,” as three recent alumni earned nominations.
Ernesto Martínez Bucio co-authored and directed “El diablo fuma” (“The Devil Smokes”), his first feature film. It will be competing in the Best Picture, Best First Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing categories, as well as three acting categories.
Martínez’s film centers on five siblings abandoned by their parents who must learn to survive while in the care of their paranoid schizophrenic grandmother.
Sebastián Molina Ruiz is competing in The Best Short Documentary category with “Toda la vida para siempre” (“All My Life Forever”), an anthology of dreams from people who had to leave their homes only to find themselves in Europe, where no one speaks the same language and no one understands each other.
Juan María León Piña was nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category with “Te Prometo Violencia” (“I Promise You Violence”).
All the nominees are announced in the video below.
Netflix reaffirmed its strategic role in the national film industry by securing a total of 13 nominations, with “Aún es de noche en Caracas” leading the way.
Actress Rosita Arenas and documentary filmmaker Demetrio Bilbatúa are this year’s recipients of the Golden Ariel.
Arenas, 92, one of the last divas of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, acted in nearly 50 films, including features starring alongside Pedro Infante and Cantinflas.
Bilbatúa, 91, boasts an extensive filmography, including more than 1,000 documentaries, over a 50-year career that began in 1954. The book “Demetrio Bilbatúa: Witness to Mexico” mentions 589 films.
With reports from El Universal, Excelsior, El Imparcial and Infoba
