Foreign Oscar nominee The Crime Of Father Amaro (El Crimen Del Padre Amaro) and Spanish/Mexican co-production Aro Tolbukhin (In The Mind Of the Assassin) took 13 nominations apiece including Best Picture, Director and various acting categories for Mexico's Oscars, the 45th Ariel Awards.

The nominees were announced yesterday (Feb 20) by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts & Sciences.

Father Amaro lead actor Gael Garcia Bernal who played the young priest gone astray, did not make the cut while lead actress Ana Claudia Talancon and supporting actors Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Gaston Melo, Damian Alcazar and Angelica Aragon grabbed acting nominations.

In the best picture category, Father Amaro and Aro Tolbukhin compete against dark urban drama Ciudades Oscuras by Fernando Sarinana which has six Ariel nominations and took home several prizes at last year's Guadalajara Mexican Film Showcase including a best actor prize for Bruno Bichir, Best Screenplay for writers Enrique Renteria and Sarinana, Best Soundtrack for Eduardo Gamboa and Best Editing for Roberto Bolado.

In the best director race, Father Amaro director Carlos Carrera is pitted against the three co-directors of Aro Tolbukhin ( Agusti Villaronga, Lydia Zimmerman and Isaac P. Racine), and Jaime Humberto Hermosillo for his digital video- shot Exxxorcismos which nabbed four Ariel nominations. The Ariel Awards will be held on April 8th, 2003 in Mexico City.

A COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES:

Best Picture
Aro Tolbukhin (En La Mente Del Asesino) / Altavista Films
Ciudades Oscuras / Veneno Producciones, S.A. de C.V.
El Crimen Del Padre Amaro / Alameda Films, S.A.

Director
Agusti Villaronga, Lydia Zimmerman and Isaac P. Racine for Aro Tolbukhin
Carlos Carrera for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Jaime Humberto Hermosillo for Exxxorcismos

Actress
Carmen Beato for Aro Tolbukhin
Zaide Silvia Gutierrez for Ciudades Oscuras
Ana Claudia Talancon for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro

Actor
Luis Fernando Pena for Amar Te Duele
Daniel Gimenez Cacho for Aro Tolbukhin
Alberto Estrella for Exxxorcismos

Supporting Actress
Leticia Huijara for Ciudades Oscuras
Angelica Aragon for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Arcelia Ramirez for Francisca (... De Que Lado Estas')

Supporting Actor
Armando Hernandez for Amar Te Duele
Damian Alcazar for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Mario Ivan Martinez for La Habitacion Azul

Ensemble Actress
Eva Fortea for Aro Tolbukhin
Isaura Espinoza for El Tigre De Santa Julia
Margarita Sanz for La Habitacion Azul

Ensemble Actor
Ernesto Gomez Cruz for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Gaston Melo for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Damian Alcazar for La Habitacion Azul

Original Screenplay
Agusti Villaronga, Lydia Zimmerman and Isaac P. Racine for Aro Tolbukhin
Francisco Sanchez and Alejandro Gamboa for El Tigre De Santa Julia
Jaime Humberto Hermosillo for Exxxorcismos

Screenplay Adaptation
Enrique Renteria and Fernando Sarinana for Ciudades Oscuras
Vicente Lenero for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Walter Doehner and Vicente Lenero for La Habitacion Azul

Cinematography
Guillermo Granillo for Aro Tolbukhin
Sergei Saldivar Tanaka for La Habitacion Azul
Federico Barbabosa for Seres Humanos

Editing
Ernest Blasi for Aro Tolbukhin
Roberto Bolado for Ciudades Oscuras
Oscar Figueroa for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro

Musical Score
Enrique Quezadas for Amar Te Duele
Omar Guzman for Exxxorcismos
Jacobo Lieberman, Leonardo Heiblum, Los Nena and Jaime Lopez for Francisca (...De Que Lado Estas')
Mario Lavista for Vivir Mata

Sound
Albert Manera for Aro Tolbukhin
Santiago Nunez, Mario Martinez and Nerio Barberis for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Antonio Diego, Ruy Garcia, Alejandro Gamboa and Rafael Molina for El Tigre De Santa Julia

Art Design
Margarita Obrador y Lorenza Manrique for Aro Tolbukhin
Ivonne Fuentes y Carmen Gimenez Cacho for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Eugenio Caballero for Seres Humanos

Wardrobe
Antonia Marquez and Lourdes del Valle for Aro Tolbukhin
Adela Cortazar for Ciudades Oscuras
Mariestela Fernandez for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Adela Cortazar and Gabriela Fernandez for El Tigre De Santa Julia

Make up
Rosana Martinez, Mario Zarazua and Julio Miranda for Aro Tolbukhin
Aurora Chavira for El Crimen Del Padre Amaro
Regina Reyes for Seres Humanos

Special Effects
Angel Plana and Daniel Cordero for Aro Tolbukhin
Alejandro Vazquez for El Tigre De Santa Julia
Alejandro Vazquez for Francisca (... De Que Lado Estas')

Debut Feature
Gabriel Orozco by Juan Carlos Martin
Ninos De La Calle by Eva Aridjis
Seres Humanos by Jorge Aguilera

Documentary Feature
Gabriel Orozco by Juan Carlos Martin
Los Ultimos Zapatistas, Heroes Olvidados by Francesco Taboada Tabone
Ninos De La Calle by Eva Aridjis
Senorita Extraviada by Lourdes Fortillo

Documentary Short
Descenso by Antonino Isordia
Five O'Clock Tea by Manuel Canibe
Gertrudis Blues by Patricia Carrillo Carrera
Papa Ivan by Maria Ines Roque

Short Fiction
De Mesmer, Con Amor O Te Para Dos by Salvador Aguirre and Alejandro Lubezki
La Milpa by Patricia Riggen
Todos Los Aviones Del Mundo by Lucia Gaja