I'm No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí), a feature film written and directed by alumnus Fernando Frias de la Parra '15 and produced by alumnus Gerry Kim '11, was chosen as the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences’ nominee for Best Foreign Film for next year’s Academy Awards. It took the edge over five other finalists as its country’s representative.
Set in Monterrey, Mexico, I’m No Longer Here follows a young street gang that spends its days dancing to slowed-down cumbia and attending parties. After a mix-up with a local cartel, their leader is forced to migrate to the US but quickly longs to return home.
I’m No Longer Here recently won ten Ariel Awards, considered to be the most prestigious award ceremony in the Mexican film industry, including Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Original Screenplay. The film can be streamed on Netflix.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Fernando Frías de la Parra’s first feature, Rezeta, won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival. Frías also won Best Director for Rezeta at the 2014 Milan International Film Festival. His documentary Calentamiento Local was awarded the prize for Best Digital Film at FICCO (Festival Internacional de Cine Contemporáneo) in 2009, as well as the prize for Best TV Documentary in DOCSDF that same year. He has worked as a writer, director, cinematographer, and editor for TV series, commercials, musk videos and documentaries.
Gerry Kim’s first film as a producer was Iris Shim’s The House of Suh, which premiered at the 2010 Hot Docs Film Festival and went on to win several awards on the festival circuit. His other films include director Jennifer Kroot’s To Be Takei, a documentary portrait of actor and activist George Takei (2014 Sundance Film Festival premiere, released theatrically by Starz Digital), directors Esra Saydam and Nisan Dag’s Across the Sea (winner of the Audience Award at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, released on Amazon Prime), and The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (winner of the Audience Award at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival, released on Netflix). In 2014, Kim was chosen as a Creative Producing Fellow of the Sundance Institute.
On March 15, 2021, the Academy will release its short list of films officially nominated for the category.
