Yucatecan Filmmaker Wins Ariel Award for Cliff Divers Film

Mérida, Yucatán — Filmmaker Víctor Rejón Cruz has become the first Yucatecan to win an Ariel Award as a director, taking the prize for the documentary short “Las voces del despeñadero,” which he co-directed with Irving Serrano.

The film, shot in black and white and completed in 2023, was honored in the best documentary short category at the 68th Ariel Awards, presented by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (Amacc).

The Yucatán Department of Culture and the Arts (Sedeculta) congratulated Rejón Cruz, a native of the port city of Progreso who has collaborated with the agency, on the recognition.

Rejón Cruz called the award the most important achievement of his career and one of the most significant moments in the film’s run since its premiere.

He said the project brought him many rewards, from the chance to help residents of Acapulco after a hurricane struck the port to the honors it has collected at festivals in Mexico and abroad. He also thanked his family for its support since the start of his career and praised Serrano, his co-director, for sharing the challenges of bringing the project to completion.

Rejón Cruz further acknowledged Sedeculta’s help in screening the film and bringing it to Yucatecan audiences.

Inside the Film

“Las voces del despeñadero” centers on the cliff divers of La Quebrada in Acapulco, Guerrero, who earn a living by plunging into the sea from heights of up to 30 meters as part of a spectacle staged for tourists at one of the port’s most recognizable landmarks.

Across its 23 minutes, the documentary gathers testimony from the women and men who take up the activity at an early age, capturing their motivations, experiences and the circumstances they face both inside and outside La Quebrada. Told through their own voices, the film reveals the human dimension of a tradition closely tied to Acapulco’s cultural and tourism identity.

A Growing List of Honors

• 2025: Best Ibero-American Short Film at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG); best documentary short at HollyShorts in Los Angeles, the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Morelia International Film Festival.
• 2026: Best Documentary Short at SHORTS México and the Kino Award for Best Mexican Short Film at the 25th German Film Festival of the Goethe-Institut Mexiko.

The Ariel adds to the film’s national and international run and stands as the most recent recognition for the work co-directed by Rejón Cruz and Serrano.