From November 25 to 29, Fresnillo will host the seventeenth edition of the Fresnillo Film Festival 2025, one of the most important film events in the state. This year, the festival pays tribute to Érika Ávila Dueñas, a filmmaker from Zacatecas whose career has left a valuable mark on national and international cinema.
At a press conference, Gabriela Marcial Reyes, director of the Zacatecas Film Archive, announced the details of the festival, accompanied by Uriel Márquez Romo, director of the State Museum System, representing María de Jesús Muñoz Reyes, director general of the Zacatecas Institute of Culture (IZC) “Ramón López Velarde”.
In the presence of Valeria Hernández, rector of UNID Campus Fresnillo, and Omar Enrique Acuña Ulloa, head of the Planning and Evaluation Department of the Center for Technological, Industrial and Service High School (CBTis) 1, Uriel Márquez Romo spoke about the festival and the tribute to Zacatecan producer and filmmaker Érika Ávila, a prominent figure in the state’s audiovisual industry.
He also addressed how this edition reaffirms the work being done by Governor David Monreal Ávila, through the Zacatecas Institute of Culture (IZC) and the Zacatecas Film Archive (Cineteca Zacatecas), by maintaining a consistent program that is accessible to the public and open to both the creative community and audiences.
The official noted that the Fresnillo Film Festival also responds to the State Government’s directive to decentralize cultural offerings, bringing cinema to more municipalities and strengthening a tradition that, particularly in Fresnillo, has demonstrated dynamism and continuous community participation.
Gabriela Marcial explained that the festival will present a selection of work by Zacatecas-born filmmaker Érika Ávila Dueñas in recognition of the diversity of themes she addresses and her collaboration with directors of high creative rigor in both fiction and documentary.
She detailed that Érika Ávila, originally from the city of Zacatecas, is a graduate of ITESO and the National School of Cinematographic Arts (ENAC) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Throughout her career, she has participated in the production of a dozen feature films and more than 20 short films, many of which have received recognition at festivals such as the Ariel Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Cannes Film Festival’s Caméra d’Or.
Marcial Reyes also explained that, within this framework, the official selection of the “Promoting Mexican Short Films” competition, now in its third edition, will be presented in state and national categories, as well as the “Fragments of the Adolescent World” competition, now in its second edition.
These programs, supported by the State Government and the Zacatecas Institute of Culture, contribute to the creation of a film archive of high historical, artistic, and documentary value for the benefit of current and future generations.
The program also includes national premieres such as “The Devil Smokes (and Keeps the Burnt Match Heads in the Same Box),” by director Ernesto Martínez Bucio, and international premieres such as “At the End of the World,” by Zacatecas-born director Abraham Escobedo.
In addition, a selection from the 29th French Film Tour will be screened, including “The Colors of Time,” by director Cédric Klapisch. These events will take place at various educational and cultural institutions in Fresnillo, including the “El Tunal” Cultural Center, the Autonomous University of Fresnillo, the Aridia Cultural Center, and CBTis 1.
The Festival’s academic activities include talks and panel discussions on film, screenwriting, and acting, featuring Zacatecas-born director and screenwriter Claudia Garibaldi and actor Silverio Palacios. A discussion will also be held about the challenges the Festival faces in the coming years due to limited cultural support and funding.
This latter event will feature former Fresnillo Director of Culture, Leopoldo Elías Smith; Alfredo Castellanos, Director of the Fresnillo Municipal Institute of Culture; and visual artist Omar Lemus. These activities will take place on Friday, November 28, at venues such as the UNID Fresnillo Campus and Hidra Coffee, in the Historic Center.
The Festival will also feature the opening of two group exhibitions: “Intervened Clapperboards,” with the participation of 23 artists from Zacatecas, and “Wine, Music, and Film,” featuring 13 artists from the state. Both will open to the public on Friday, November 28, at the Aridia Cultural Center and La Parrilla Steak Beer restaurant, at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
The awards ceremony for the film competitions will take place on November 29 at the José Bonilla Auditorium B15 in Fresnillo, where the official selections for “Fragments of the Adolescent World” and “Promotion of Mexican Short Films” will be presented. This ceremony will close the 17th edition of the Fresnillo Film Festival.
Source: hojaderutadigital
