A filmmaker from Chiapas won a prize at the Cannes World Film Festival for a movie he filmed on his cellphone.

Va por Diego (For Diego), by Mexican-American director Miguel Flatow, came first in the best phone feature film category in the December edition of the monthly awards.

Filmed in Chiapas, the 96-minute movie tells the story of a young man who is the victim of a hit and run and his family is unable to pay for the surgery needed to keep him alive.

Looking for a way to raise the funds, his brother forms a soccer team to enter a tournament for a 100,000-peso prize (US $4,850).

The film stars former soccer player Luis Hernández, Mexico’s joint-highest goalscorer in World Cups who once played for the now dissolved Chiapas Jaguars. It also features the actor Luis Guillén.

Guillén said the film’s success was a victory for Chiapas.

“What a way to start the year that winning this award. Triumphing worldwide. Congratulations to our great director Miguel Flatow … and the entire cast proudly from Chiapas,” he said.

The high stakes made for gripping entertainment, the director said.

“Each game represents life or death,” Flatow said. “If they win the brother is saved and if not, he dies.”

The monthly awards aim “to unearth rare gems, to highlight a new generation of emerging talents and a new wave of filmmakers,” according to the awards website.

Monthly winners are entered into the annual competition, with the chance to be screened at a historic cinema in Cannes.

With reports from Milenio