Guillermo del Toro fights to exhibit “Pinocchio” in theaters in Mexico

Nobody is a prophet in his land: the filmmaker Guillermo del Toro launched this Friday a call to exhibit his latest work, “Pinocchio”, in cinemas in Mexico, while denouncing “the systematic destruction of Mexican cinema.”

The production company PimientaFilms “is looking for independent theaters” in three states for the exhibition of the film, Del Toro said on his Twitter account, alluding to the defection of Cinemax, a large distributor.

Cinemex would have reversed its distribution plan for “Pinocchio”, according to specialized magazines, because the film could only remain exclusively in theaters for two weeks from November 24, before being included in the catalog’s streaming offer from Netflix.

“Bardo”, the film by another prominent figure of Mexican cinema, Alejandro González Iñárritu, is in theaters in Mexico exclusively before its next Netflix programming.

Del Toro said that what is happening in Mexican cinema is “unprecedented.” “The systematic destruction of Mexican cinema and its institutions – which took decades to build – has been brutal,” he tweeted.

The director shared the press release from the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Mexico (Amacc), announcing that “the call for the Ariel 2023 Award” (the equivalent of the Oscars, the César in France) or the Goya in Spain) “until further notice” due to a “serious financial crisis”.

The Mexican Film Academy regrets that “the support of public resources has decreased considerably in recent years,” the text states.

“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,” affirms Amacc.

Other cultural sectors have also complained about budget cuts by the left-wing nationalist government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who came to power at the end of 2018.

At the same time, the AMLO administration, as the president is known, intends to promote the culture of indigenous communities.

“This is not about denying anyone’s artistic expression. Everyone can coexist. But everyone has the same level. There is no scholarly art and popular art, despised,” Jesús Ramírez, spokesman for AMLO, told AFP last week. on the sidelines of four days of parades by indigenous artisans in Mexico City.