[eltdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”” background_color=””]O[/eltdf_dropcaps]f the celebrated Bichir Nájera, Demián is the middle child. He was born August 1 1963 in Mexico City and by age 3 he graced the stage at Palacio de Bellas Artes; he knew that early that he could do anything in life. Son of Maricruz Nájera and Alejandro Bichir, a stage actress and stage director respectively; brother of Bruno and Odiseo, with whom he has shared the Mexican stage on several occasions.
Today, Demián Bichir will be paid a deserving tribute for his admirable career in cinema, theater and televisión. During GIFF’s inaugural ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 20:00 hrs, the Juárez Theater will dress up in gala to deliver the Silver Cross to our Mexican tributee, as well as to renowned Japanese director Naomi Kawase. After this accolade is delivered there will be a screening of 7:19, starring Demián Bichir himself and directed by Jorge Michel Grau, which tells of the violent earthquake that shook up Mexico in 1985.
From a nest of artistic culture, it’s only logical that Demián Bichir developed as an actor; but his ingenuity, creativity, commitment and preoccupation for the expanded and common life of his country consolidate his role as a chronicler of time in cinema.
In the last few years, his face has been known for important film and television productions in Mexico and Hollywood. Bichir has played a town hero in Fuera del cielo, Miguel Hidalgo in Hidalgo, and even Fidel Castro in Che, and an Emiliano in Zapata: amor en rebeldía. His versatility has taken him across several borders. He dressed up in the suit of Esteban Reyes, the Tijuana politician from TV’s Weeds; and climbed to the top of a palm tree as Carlos Galindo, the gardener in A Better Life, in a performance that got him an Oscar nomination in 2012. After directing him in Machete Kills, Robert Rodríguez recommended him to play Bob The Mexican in The Hateful Eight, Quentin Tarantino’s most recent film.
There’s an intention behind every play and film that Demián Bichir performs. His creativity takes flight in the complexity of his characters. He’s an actor with a talent to behold who is constantly inventing possibilities; he chooses his roles because of the challenge they represent, but also through a set of principles, a political consciousness and caring.