Buoyed by a promising new crop of Mexican films, 20th Century Fox de Mexico has picked up two more home-grown films for local distribution, Nicolas Echevarria's Vivir Mata and Angel Maria Huerta's Inspiracion.

Vivir Mata is a romantic comedy shot in Mexico City and stars Daniel Gimenez Cacho (Nadie Hablara de Nosotras cuando Hayamos Muerto) , Emilio Echevarria (Amores Perros) and Luis Felipe Tovar (The Mexican). Inspiracion is the first movie by new Monterrey-based co, Ilusion.

Vivir Mata producers Titan Prods and Argos Cine co produced all time Mexican box office hit, Sex, Shame And Tears (Sexo, Pudor Y Lagrimas) which was also distributed by Fox.

Last year, Fox snagged the Latin American rights to Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien which it plans to release on June 8 in Mexico and roll out to the rest of Latin America in September, starting with Central America.

Fox's bid to support Mexican cinema started in 1999 when it

distributed Carlos Carrera's Under A Spell (Un Embrujo) for new indie

distributor, NuVision and followed this with Santiago Carrasco's The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista).

Boasting higher production values and more commercial appeal, these films represent a new generation of Mexican filmmakers, many educated outside Mexico.

Antonio Serrano, who made his feature directorial debut with Sex, Shame And Tears studied drama in Denmark, England, France and Italy and acted in several European theatrical companies. Carrasco studied film directing in Mexico City and New York. The Other Conquest is his first feature film.