Blockbusters from Mexico Turn Heads in Hollywood John Hopewell - Variety
go to original May 24, 2014

Instructions Not Included Featurette (FilmFestivalVideos)

In a year when one Mexican movie, Eugenio Derbez’s “Instructions Not Included,” finally cracked the U.S. Latino market, and two titles — Gary Alazraki’s “We Are the Nobles” and “Instructions” — raked in a combined 940.6 million pesos ($71.6 million) at the Mexican B.O., the country, its market and its filmmakers have become a new Hollywood obsession.



Nosotros Los Nobles trailer (JoeRiobamba)

What the Mexican industry has really achieved, and what it still has left to achieve, is a different — and much debated — question.

Some giant steps forward are obvious. In 2002 Mexico produced 14 features; in 2013 it was 126, the highest number since 1959. And intriguingly, 60% of 2013 productions were debut features.

Hikes in Imcine Mexican Film Institute subsidies certainly bear significant credit, with $18.3 million set aside for 2014. Also offering a boost is the Eficine tax break investment, capped at $53.3 million in 2014, up 40% on 2013.

“One of Mexico’s biggest breakthroughs is the fiscal incentive, which launched an entire generation of new filmmakers: Gerardo Naranjo, Michel Franco, Amat Escalante, myself,” Alazraki says. “New producers are being professionalized and becoming more sophisticated in their relationship with studios, trying to understand arrangements for working with different distributors. That’s generated an entire schooling — really necessary to get an industry going.”

Read the rest at Variety

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