Eugenio Polgovsky (1977 - 2017) was born in Mexico City. An accomplished photographer and cinematographer as well as director, he turned his attention to issues of social justice, environmentalism, and class inequality.

He won the UNESCO world photography contest "Living Together" (1994); Mexico's National Youth Award (2004); and four Ariel awards, the Mexican Academy of Film's highest honor.

Polgovsky studied directing and cinematography at the Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica (CCC), graduating cum laude.

Tropic of Cancer, his first documentary, won prizes around the world, including an Ariel for Best First Documentary by the Mexican Academy of Film, the Joris Ivens Prize at Cinema du Réel, Best Documentary in Lebanon, Korea, Morelia, FICCO, and more. It also had a special screening at Cannes' "Semaine de la critique" and was part of Frontier selection at the Sundance Film Festival.

Polgovsky's The Inheritors made its world premiere at the 65th Venice Film Festival and was the first documentary to compete in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlinale Film Festival. The Inheritors won Ariel Awards for Best Documentary and Best Editing, as well as the prizes for Best Documentary at the Havana Film Festival and Chile's FIDOCS festival. The New York Times hailed it as "A dusty poem... [an] unvarnished portrait of the rural poor in modern-day Mexico."

Polgovsky died at the age of 40 in London, England.

Icarus Films is proud to distribute The Inheritors. Discover more of our featured filmmakers.