15th Ariel Awards

15th Ariel Awards
Date	May 20, 1973
Highlights
Best Picture	El Castillo de la Pureza, Mecánica Nacional, and Reed, México Insurgente
Most awards	El Castillo de la Pureza and Mecánica Nacional (5)
Most nominations	El Castillo de la Pureza and Mecánica Nacional (10)

The 15th Ariel Awards ceremony, organized by the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences (AMACC) took place on May 20, 1973, in Mexico City. During the ceremony, AMACC presented the Ariel Award in 14 categories honoring films released in 1972. El Castillo de la Pureza and Mecánica Nacional were the most nominated films, and also the most awarded with five wins each, including a tie for Best Picture, with Reed, México Insurgente. Canadian-Mexican cinematographer Alex Phillips received the Golden Ariel for his artistic career.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface.

Best Picture El Castillo de la Pureza Mecánica Nacional Reed, México Insurgente	Best Director Luis Alcoriza – Mecánica Nacional Paul Leduc – Reed, México Insurgente Arturo Ripstein – El Castillo de la Pureza
Best Actor Ignacio López Tarso – Rosa Blanca as Jacinto Yáñez Alfonso Arau – El Rincón de las Vírgenes as Lucas Lucatero Jorge Martínez de Hoyos – Los Días del Amor as Vicente Icaza	Best Actress Lucha Villa – Mecánica Nacional as Chabela Helena Rojo – Los Cachorros as Tere Maritza Olivares – Los Meses y Los Días as Cecilia
Best Supporting Actor Arturo Beristáin – El Castillo de la Pureza as Porvenir Héctor Ortega – El Rincón de las Vírgenes as Gobernador Héctor Suárez – Mecánica Nacional as Gregorio	Best Supporting Actress Diana Bracho – El Castillo de la Pureza as Utopía Anita Blanch – Los Días del Amor as Grandecita Gloria Marín – Mecánica Nacional as Dora
Best Screenplay El Castillo de la Pureza  – Arturo Ripstein and José Emilio Pacheco Los Días del Amor – Alberto Isaac and Emilio García Riera Mecánica Nacional – Luis Alcoriza	Best Original Story Mecánica Nacional – Luis Alcoriza El Castillo de la Pureza – Arturo Ripstein and José Emilio Pacheco Los Días del Amor – Alberto Isaac
Best Original Score Los Días del Amor – José Antonio Alcaraz, Lucía Álvarez and Raúl Lavista El Muro del Silencio – Rubén Fuentes Los Cachorros – Eduardo Luján and Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras	Best Cinematography María – Gabriel Figueroa El Castillo de la Pureza – Alex Phillips Reed, México Insurgente – Alex Grivas
Best Film Editing Mecánica Nacional – Carlos Savage El Castillo de la Pureza – Eufemio Rivera Reed, México Insurgente – Giovanni Korporaal and Rafael Castanedo	Best Art Direction El Castillo de la Pureza – Manuel Fontanals Mecánica Nacional – Manuel Fontanals Rosa Blanca – Edward Fitzgerald
Best Set Decoration Los Días del Amor – Lucero Isaac El Castillo de la Pureza – Lucero Isaac Vals Sin Fin – Julio Alejandro	Best Documentary Short Subject Frida Kahlo – Marcela Fernández Violante