Set to open Friday, the 28th Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF) will be showcasing 206 films from 61 countries during an 11-day run in three cities: Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Irapuato.
This year’s edition — themed “In Free Fall” and inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 renowned psychological thriller “Vertigo” — includes a focus on the role of artificial intelligence in cinema.
With over 4,000 submissions received, the selection committee settled on a program that includes 18 world premieres and 51 Mexican premieres.
Pretty much every screening — including a late-night showing of two horror films in Guanajuato city’s old Santa Paula Cemetery — is free, with seats offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The festival, which last year included screenings in the state’s largest city, Léon, carries the name Guanajuato in reference to the landlocked state in central Mexico known for its colonial-era architecture, rich mining history and highlands location. It will conclude Aug. 4.
Each of the host cities will have its own opening-night film.
“Un Futuro Brillante” (“A Bright Future”) from Uruguay will open the Guanajuato city portion of the festival on Friday night at the famous Teatro Juárez. Films here will run through Monday at nine venues, including two late-night, ticketed screenings in one of the city’s vaunted tunnels: “Salão de Baile” (“This Is Ballroom”) from Brazil and a collection of international LGBTIQ-themed shorts.
The San Miguel de Allende portion of the festival will run from Tuesday, July 29 through Thursday, July 31, officially opening with the U.S. production “Omaha” at the Cinemex la Luciérnaga. It’s about a middle-America family searching for a better life during the tough economic times of 2008.
The Aug. 1-4 lineup in Irapuato officially opens with “No dejes a los niños solos” (“Don’t Leave the Children Alone”), a Mexican psychological thriller about a 10-year-old and his 7-year-old brother being left at home alone. It will screen at Teatro de la Ciudad on Friday, Aug. 1.
Other highlights of GIFF 2025 include the Epicentro program (with immersive virtual reality experiences, plus panels and workshops focused on filmmaking technology and the use of A.I.) and the panel “Women in Innovation” (featuring four Mexican women in cutting-edge professions, including Glenda Michel, who leads tech and AI projects at Facebook’s parent company, Meta).
Notable figures in Mexico cinema will be honored with awards, including actress Verónica Castro, who played the matriarch Virginia de la Mora in the first season of the popular Netflix comedy series “La Casa de las Flores,” and TV producer Rosy Ocampo, who adapted the global hit “Ugly Betty” into “La Fea Más Bella” (“The Prettiest Ugly Girl”), a hugely popular telenovela comedy in Mexico.
Legendary Mexican singer Emmanuel will be celebrated Sunday in the Music + Film program, and other awards will go to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, actress Arcelia Ramírez and director-screenwriter Carlos Carrera, all Mexicans.
Highlight entries from Mexico’s Cinematographic Training Center include “Mudanza” and shorts such as “Amare” and “Gasolina,” which explore emotional reconnections, family fractures and magical realism.
More festival details can be found at GIFF.mx.
With reports from Crónica, Infobae and Once Noticias
