The great variety of disciplines to which she has applied her talent reflect the tenacious passion for the path of the arts

She began her career as a contemporary dancer at the Bellas Artes National Company. Her journey through dance was a brief one, since she soon discovered her true vocation in acting. She studied acting with some of the country’s best teachers, such as Seki Sano, Dimitrios Sarrás and Ludwik Margules. In 1959 she got a scholarship from the Latin American French Institute to master her performing arts skills in Paris, where she lived for six years. Before she travelled to Europe, she made two movies with director Luis Buñuel: Nazarín, which was awarded at Cannes, and Los ambiciosos, along with Gérard Philipe. It wasn’t, however, until she returned to Mexico in 1967 that she got her first starring role playing Susana San Juan in the screen adaptation of Pedro Páramo. That same year she won the Heraldo for Best Actress in Film for Las visitaciones del diablo. She has participated in film constantly ever since, leaving behind a legacy marked by great quality. During her career she was directed by many of Mexico’s great filmmakers such as Felipe Cazals, Alberto Isaac, Juan José Gurrola, Arturo Ripstein, Alejandro Galindo and Emilio Fernández. Throughout her career, Pilar Pellicer has been awarded several times, both in Mexico and abroad. In Mexico, she won the Diosa de Plata, the Heraldo and the Ariel, all for her performance in La Choca (1974), directed by Emilio Fernández. Besides her work as an actress, her work in cinema has extended to work behind the camera. In 1996 she made her directorial debut with the short film ¿Qué hora es?, based on a story of the same name written by Elena Garro. Her presence in theater is also significant. In 1958 she made her debut at Bellas Artes Palace with George Búchner’s La muerte de Danton, directed by Fernando Wagner. In 1961, while she lived in Paris, she participated in Las Troyanas alongside her teacher Tania Balachova. When she returned, she joined the Mexican theater scene once again with Edward Albee’s Un frágil equilibrio, directed by Rafael López Miarnau. She has also won awards for her stage work. In 1996 she was awarded the Virginia Fábregas Medal given by ANDA as a recognition of her artistic career. In 2017 she received the “Mi Vida en El Teatro (My Life in Theater)” Medal, given by the Mexican Center of Theater through Coordinación Nacional de Teatro del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. With great respect and profound admiration, the Guanajuato International Film Festival pays tribute to Pilar Pellicer, a woman who embodies tireless art, from her profound commitment to her work and to the human being in virtue of giving all of herself on the stage and beyond her immediate universe.