Eugenio Amézquita Velasco
-Octavio Contreras consolidates the Celaya Experimental Film Fest as a serious and creative space with international reach.
-Roberto Andraca secures state support that dignifies artists and formalizes the festival in its fifth edition.
-The festival receives over 500 short films from Japan and Switzerland, confirming Celaya’s global projection.
-Carla Cachú and Valeria Ortiz merge Baroque music and digital sounds in an innovative proposal.
-Lothar Müller connects San Miguel and Celaya with a workshop that reflects authenticity and cultural dialogue.
-The Celaya Experimental Film Fest is cinema, music, and community: a living heritage that transcends borders.
The Celaya Experimental Film Fest celebrates five years of existence with the strength of those who believe in art as a motor for transformation. Coordinated by Octavio Contreras, a young, well-trained orchestra conductor and pianist, the festival has established itself as a serious, transparent, and creative space that puts Celaya on the international cultural map.
Contreras does not improvise: his background as a musician and his leadership capacity have made him a respected and admired figure. His vision has allowed this festival to cease being an isolated dream and become a platform that brings together filmmakers, musicians, and artists from different latitudes. The acquisition of the Guanajuato Fund, made possible by the tireless efforts of Roberto Andraca, a cultural promoter who managed to open the doors of the State Government's Ministry of Culture, marks a before and after: artists now receive a decent income for their work, and the festival is formalized as one of the most serious in the region.
The 2025 edition brings significant collaborations: Michoacán, through the Morelia International Film Festival, and Yucatán, with the participation of the UNAI Film School, which specializes in experimental cinema. The international call for entries received over 500 short films from countries like Japan and Switzerland, proof that Celaya is now in dialogue with the world.
Music also finds its place in innovative proposals. Former Celaya Music Conservatory student, Carla Cachú, returns from Spain with a proposal that fuses Baroque music and digital sounds alongside DJ Valeria Ortiz, showing that tradition and avant-garde can coexist on the same stage.
The festival is also enriched by the presence of German painter and gallerist Lothar Müller, who will lead a workshop with limited capacity, creating a cultural bridge between San Miguel de Allende and Celaya. His participation confirms that our city attracts interest because of its authenticity and its natural way of experiencing art, which is different from the mass tourism of other locations.
The Celaya Experimental Film Fest is not just cinema: it is music, painting, dialogue, and community. It is the reflection of a city that opens up to the world without losing its essence. It is also proof that youth, when accompanied by rigor and sensitivity, can build solid projects that transcend borders.
In Octavio Contreras, we recognize not only the brilliant musician but the coordinator who knows how to listen, propose, and unite wills. In Roberto Andraca, the manager who understands that without resources, art is not possible. In Lothar Müller, the artist who builds bridges between cultures. And in every participant, the certainty that Celaya is writing a different page in the cultural history of Guanajuato.
This festival is already a living heritage of the city. And what is sown here, with humility and excellence, will be harvested by the generations to come.
The Interview with Octavio Contreras, Event Coordinator
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
Well, I have the pleasure and the delight of interviewing Octavio Contreras, who is a great orchestra conductor, an excellent musician, and also a licensed pianist—something else he has added—but on this occasion, I’m interviewing him because he is the coordinator of a festival, this time the fifth edition of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest.
The truth is that we are going to have three days, three days of cinema, workshops, and music, and I want to thank you, Octavio, for taking my call and congratulate you again because you are a, you are one of the young gems we have in the city and honestly those of us who know you, who have seen you perform musical pieces on the piano and conduct an orchestra like last year, in the fourth edition of the festival, my utmost respect, a great man, so young, thank you Octavio, tell us what there will be, what we are going to have at this festival and especially the presence of the Autonomous University of Yucatán.
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
Yes, well, first, thank you for the opportunity always, and well, yes, we are already celebrating the fifth year of this festival, this year we had the opportunity to win the Guanajuato Fund to finance the festival, which is good for two reasons, because we can formalize it, make it more serious, and obviously, the artists can now receive an income.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
Of course, the artist lives from their art, that is very clear to us.
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
Yes, and well, we have collaborations, we have two invited states, which are Mérida and Michoacán. Yucatán, and well, Michoacán, because we have an alliance with the Morelia Film Festival, which will send us a selection of their short films from a selection of Michoacán filmmakers. And Mérida, because we have the UNAI Film School, which specifically focuses on experimental cinema.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
They offer that major there in Yucatán, as far as I understand, and I think that as part of this relationship and within the events, a filmmaker is coming to this event and who is also the coordinator, I think, of the major, there at the university, if I read the call for entries correctly. Octavio, what have you and specifically you as the coordinator been able to observe in these five years of progress, if we are going backwards instead of forwards or maybe the opposite, we are moving very much forward, we are growing very much "in crescendo," as you say in music, I don't know, what do you perceive?
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
Well, the truth is I do see growth, because our audience is already consolidating, which is the most important thing. There are interested artists who want to be part of it. When we opened the call for short films it was international and well, we received short films from Japan, from Switzerland, I mean, just like that, and we received 500.
So, I am very happy because what we wanted when we started is being achieved, which was to promote art and experimental cinema in the city, and as I mentioned, with the support we are receiving from Guanajuato, it is now possible to finance it, which is also fundamental for us.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
The participation of the Ministry of Culture through the state government, I mean, I think this, yes, it puts us at another level, it puts this festival in the spotlight, and it is one of the truly most serious festivals, I rate it as one of the most serious there is, because in your person, Octavio, we are not talking about someone who improvises, we are talking about a great musician, we are talking about, I say it, a great musician and a young man who promotes other young people, and I remember last year also the participation of the Celaya Music Conservatory with some of its members, will there be participation again this year from some young musicians from the Conservatory, Octavio?
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
This year, well, due to issues of those of us who organize the festival, we decided to make a smaller concept focused on screenings and workshops; this time we will not have direct participation from the Conservatory, but well, in coming years, it is definitely still contemplated, the idea is also to promote contemporary music, but we do have the participation of a former student of the Conservatory, Carla Cachú, whose proposal is interesting, she comes from studying in Spain and is going to play Baroque music with digital sounds with a DJ, who is this Valeria, I just forgot her last name, but it is an interesting combination, Valeria Ortiz.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
And well, I also detect the presence of a German painter, who is also a gallerist, but he is a painter, Lothar Müller, who has, well, he has his strong style, but I think this time he will be giving a workshop with limited capacity, I want to clarify, and where a connection is being made between San Miguel de Allende and Celaya, which is what I was talking about with Lothar, and I think that is also interesting, because I think San Miguel residents have been turning to look at Celaya and it catches their attention, because there are things done in Celaya that are not in San Miguel de Allende, and especially the tranquility and the difference from what San Miguel de Allende has compared to our city, they say that Celaya is more natural, it is not so structured, but is more natural in its way of being, in its activities, and I think this is another interesting phenomenon that is beginning to happen. Well, we already have the program and we are writing the newspaper article, but again, congratulations Octavio, honestly you are admired, you are appreciated, because you are creative, well, you would have to be a musician, an artist finally, but you also have the gift of knowing how to coordinate, how to get along well with your colleagues, with the musicians, and to make proposals, and to do things that one would not expect, well, the young people, well, no, I didn't expect it, and yet there is Octavio Contreras, creative, thank you.
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
Thank you very much, I also want to thank you that from the beginning, when it was a slightly smaller festival, we always had your support, and that is gratifying, and we appreciate it very much.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
No, no, no, we are going to, as I told you, we are also going to write in English, so that this crosses borders, if you yourself are already telling me that there are exhibitors, participants from other parts of the world, what better than we can give them, at least in English, right? This, part of what is done, so that they realize that they are also being taken into account. Thank you, Octavio, and we will keep in touch.
Octavio Contreras, Coordinator of the Celaya Experimental Film Fest:
Perfect, well, thank you very much, and have a nice, nice afternoon.
Eugenio Amézquita Velasco:
I am Eugenio Amezquita, and this is Guanajuato Desconocido and Metro News.
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