''El héroe'' (English: ''The Hero'') is a 1994 Mexican

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by

Carlos Carrera Carlos Carrera (born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. He directed ''El crimen del Padre Amaro'' (2002), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2009, he directed '' Backyard'' abo ...

. It won the

Short Film Palme d'Or The Short Film Palme d'Or (french: Palme d'Or du court métrage) is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes ...

at the

1994 Cannes Film Festival The 47th Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1994. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Pulp Fiction'' directed by Quentin Tarantino. The festival opened with ''The Hudsucker Proxy'', directed by Joel Coen and closed with ''Seri ...

. It was the first Mexican film to win the Short Film Palme d'Or and it is considered a milestone in Mexican animation.

Plot

In a crowded subway station in Mexico City, a man watches a girl acting strange. He realizes she might be attempting to commit suicide by jumping to the tracks. The man tries to stop her, but she accuses him of being a molester and insults him. After the man is taken away by a police officer, she jumps in front of the oncoming train.

Production

''El héroe'' was

's third professional project after his directorial debut '' La mujer de Benjamín'' and ''La vida conyugal''. The film was produced by the Directorate of Short Film Production of the

Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía The Mexican Film Institute ( es, Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, IMCINE) is an agency of the Mexican federal government, under the auspices of the Secretariat of Culture, that supports the development of national film production and the f ...

(Mexican Film Institute). The film consists of 2800 hand-drawn images, the images were drawn on

cel A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...

using

pastels A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

. Most of the animation was done by Carrera himself.

Reception

The film was awarded the

at the

. It also won several other awards including the

Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

for Best Short Fiction Film, the Golden Coral for Animation at the 1994 Havana Film Festival and special recognitions at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and the 1996 World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb.

Awards and nominations

Legacy

''El héroe'' was the first Mexican short film to win the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

and it was the second time a Mexican director was awarded the Palme d'Or since

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

when

Emilio Fernández Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Romo (; 26 March 1904 – 6 October 1986) was a Mexican film director, actor and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific film directors of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best kn ...

won the Grand Prix with

María Candelaria ''María Candelaria'' is a 1943 Mexican romantic film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand ...

. Though it was not the first Mexican animated film, Carrera's short film and its award at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

are credited for bringing attention to animated films to the Mexican film industry and to a new generation of Mexican filmmakers. Since, ''El héroe'', Carrera has made a few animated short films. In 2017, he premiered '' Ana y Bruno'', an animated

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

with an estimated budget of US$5.35 million, making it the most expensive animated Mexican film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heroe 1994 films Short Film Palme d'Or winners 1994 short films Films set in 1994 Films set in Mexico City Mexican animated short films 1990s Spanish-language films Films directed by Carlos Carrera 1990s Mexican films