Toronto Film Festival awards Jonás Cuarón

Mexican film "Desierto," by director Jonás Cuarón, won the FIPRESCI award in the category of Special Presentations in the XL Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which concludes on Sunday.

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) honored the film produced by Alfonso Cuarón ( "Gravity") for using "pure cinema to create a strong physical sensation of feeling trapped in a wide space," as is the desert of the border between Mexico and the U.S.

"Desierto" shows "a persecution motivated by hatred in its most primitive form," stressed FIPRESCI, which has presented these awards for the last 24 years.

The FIPRESCI jury was headed by Engin Ertan (Turkey), Chris Alexander and Pierre Pageau (Canada), Francisco Ferreira (Portugal), Kerstin Gezelius (Sweden) and Alissa Simon (USA).

"Desierto," starred by director and producer Gael García-Bernal, narrates the harrowing voyage of over twenty Mexican workers trying to cross the desert in the border with the United States.

There are persecuted and hunted like animals by border guard Sam (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his dog, without any scruples.

The festival concludes today after presenting 399 films from 71 countries, with Mexico being represented by a dozen productions and co-productions.