Despite 'Pinocchio' Success, Del Toro Fears for Mexican Cinema

A man is seen next to photographs of actors from the golden age of Mexican cinema, at the Churubusco studios in Mexico City. Pedro PARDO / AFP
A man is seen next to photographs of actors from the golden age of Mexican cinema, at the Churubusco studios in Mexico City. Pedro PARDO / AFP
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Despite 'Pinocchio' Success, Del Toro Fears for Mexican Cinema

A man is seen next to photographs of actors from the golden age of Mexican cinema, at the Churubusco studios in Mexico City. Pedro PARDO / AFP
A man is seen next to photographs of actors from the golden age of Mexican cinema, at the Churubusco studios in Mexico City. Pedro PARDO / AFP

Despite his international success, including a new adaptation of the classic puppet tale "Pinocchio," Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro fears that his country's cinema industry is facing "systematic destruction."

Del Toro's animated version of "Pinocchio," in which an elderly woodcarver and his living puppet find themselves in 1930s fascist Italy, was the most watched film on streaming platform Netflix in the week of December 12-18, said AFP.

Its debut on December 9 came a week before the release of "Bardo," an autobiographical tale of a journalist-filmmaker returning home after years in Los Angeles, by fellow Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Mexican actors have also enjoyed recent success in Hollywood, including Tenoch Huerta, the rising star of the sequel to "Black Panther," the first major Black superhero movie.

Del Toro, Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron represent a golden generation of Mexican filmmakers who have won the best director trophy at the Oscars five times since 2013.

Del Toro's fantasy romance "The Shape of Water" earned best picture and best director at the 2018 Oscars.

The following year Cuaron scooped three golden statuettes for "Roma" -- an intimate black-and-white movie about a family in turmoil in 1970s Mexico City.

- 'Brutal' destruction -
But in stark contrast to the international acclaim for the trio, dubbed "The Three Amigos," del Toro has now warned that the country's film industry is facing "unprecedented" challenges.

"The systematic destruction of Mexican cinema and its institutions -- which took decades to build -- has been brutal," he tweeted recently.

Del Toro highlighted an announcement by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences that next year's Ariel Awards -- the country's equivalent of the Oscars -- were postponed until further notice due to a "serious financial crisis."

The organization said it regretted that "the support of public resources has decreased considerably in recent years.

"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," it added.

Del Toro even offered to pay for the Ariel statuettes out of his own pocket.

"He's a generous colleague, an artist who is always aware of what is happening not only with Mexican cinematography but with the arts in general in the country," said Academy president Leticia Huijara.

She would, however, prefer an agreement with the state.

In the meantime, the Ariels have been postponed, Huijara confirmed to AFP.

- Promoting Indigenous film -
Maria Novaro, the general manager of the Mexican Film Institute (Imcine), a government agency, thinks the warnings are exaggerated.

"Del Toro says that there is no more Mexican cinema in the year when there have never been so many productions," she said, hailing a "record" 256 films in 2021.

"And 56 percent received support from public money. Imcine devotes 900 million pesos ($45 million) a year to financing Mexican cinema," said Novaro.

"It's good that Netflix produces a lot of content in Mexico. But it does not replace what Imcine does," she added.

Mexican cinema enjoyed a golden age between the 1930s and 1950s, featuring movie stars such as Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendariz.

But the industry went through a quiet period before enjoying a revival, helped in recent years by the success of "The Three Amigos."

Mexican cinema has now become decentralized and diversified, according to Novaro, mirroring President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's priorities to help impoverished and Indigenous Mexicans.

Since 2019, there has been a program to encourage Indigenous and Afro-descendant cinema, with 56 such films in production, Novaro said.

"Films are starting to come out that tell about migration from the perspective of Indigenous migrants themselves," she added.



‘Doctor Who’ Season Finale Surprises Fans with an Exit and a Familiar Face

Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Doctor Who’ Season Finale Surprises Fans with an Exit and a Familiar Face

Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)

A familiar face to “Doctor Who” fans is rejoining the long-running British sci-fi series as Ncuti Gatwa exits the lead role after two seasons.

In Saturday’s season finale, Gatwa’s Time Lord regenerated and fans got a glimpse of Billie Piper, who played the character Rose Tyler for 35 episodes between 2005 and 2013. Tyler was a companion to versions of the doctor played by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Producers are keeping Piper's new role secret for now.

“Just how and why she is back remains to be seen,” the BBC said in a statement after the finale aired.

“It’s an honor and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told,” showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement.

Piper said “Doctor Who” has provided some of her best memories and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come back.

“It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return ... but who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.

If Piper does indeed become the Doctor, she would be the third woman to fill the famous shoes.

The Rwanda-born, Scotland-raised Gatwa, 29, was the first Black actor to helm the show, but he wasn’t the first Black Doctor — Jo Martin played “Fugitive Doctor” in several episodes. Gatwa took over the role from Jodie Whittaker in 2023.

Whittaker was the 13th Doctor and the first woman to play the central galaxy-hopping, extraterrestrial Time Lord who regenerates into new bodies, taking over from Peter Capaldi in 2017. Martin was the second woman.

“Doctor Who” first aired from 1963 to 1989 and returned in 2005. In the US, new episodes air on Disney+.