In this Aug. 20, 2015 file photo, Mexican Director Fernanda Valadez speaks during an interview at the Mexico City Film School. Valadez’s film, a drama about a mother’s harrowing journey through Mexico to find her teenage son who went missing while trying to reach the United States has won the top prize at Greece’s Thessaloniki Film Festival on Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) --
"Identifying Features," a drama about a mother's harrowing journey through Mexico to find her teenage son who went missing while trying to reach the United States, won the top prize at Greece's Thessaloniki Film Festival on Monday.
Organizers said the feature film by Mexican debut director Fernanda Valadez had been awarded the Golden Alexander prize.
"In a cruel world of heartbreaks, tragedy, and survival, a story of an unexpected bond is born," the organizers said in a statement. "It starts slowly and classically to then develop into visual darkness, or hell, just as the story does."
Titled "Sin Senas Particulares" in Spanish, the movie also picked up a world cinema award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
The 61st Thessaloniki Film Festival was held as a digital event due to pandemic restrictions.
Pepsi soft drinks in plastic bottles are on sale at a grocery store in New York on Weds., Nov. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
PepsiCo confirmed Friday that it's ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, even as rival Coca-Cola voiced support for its own inclusion efforts.
In a memo sent to employees, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base. The company will also align its sponsorships to events and groups that promote business growth, he said.
Laguarta wrote that inclusion remains important to PepsiCo, whose brands include Gatorade, Lay's potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi. The Purchase, New York-based company's chief diversity officer will transition to a broader role focused on employee engagement, leadership development and ensuring an inclusive culture, he said.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, U.S. government agencies, companies and schools have rushed to reevaluate policies and programs they adopted with the goal of reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people.
Trump ended DEI programs within the federal government and has warned schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money.
PepsiCo's rollback came as Coca-Cola reaffirmed support for its DEI efforts.
In its annual report, Atlanta-based Coke warned that its business could be negatively affected if it is unable to attract employees that reflect its broad range of customers.
"Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion … could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success," the company said.
Coca-Cola has set a goal of having women in 50% of its senior leadership roles by... Read More
