Guillermo Arriaga

Guillermo Arriaga is a Mexican novelist, screenwriter, director, and producer who reshaped the landscape of early 21st-century world cinema through his celebrated collaborations with director Alejandro González Iñárritu. Born in Mexico City in 1958, Arriaga describes himself as “a hunter who works as a writer” — a duality that infuses his work with primal physicality.

His screenplay for Amores Perros (2000) announced a new voice in Mexican cinema, followed by 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006), the latter earning Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for Best Original Screenplay. His screenplay for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Arriaga’s short film Keeper (2013), selected as a Manhattan Short Film Festival finalist, brought his signature non-linear storytelling and moral complexity to the short form. His narratives — whether feature or short — share a preoccupation with the violence beneath civilized surfaces and the fragile connections that bind strangers across borders and class lines.

Finalist Filmography

• Keeper — Manhattan Short 2013 Finalist