Ripstein produced the film with Mexican director Michel Franco . The screenplay , by Ripstein and Issa López , was inspired by the ATF gunwalking scandal . Ripstein wanted to focus the story on the two characters , rather than expanding it to include the cartel leaders . He attempted to express his view of guns " objectively , almost like a documentarian " , since he has been exposed to guns from an early age ; his grandfather took him and his brother shooting on weekends , and " my brother became an exceptional shooter ; they hunted ducks and my grandmother cooked them " . '' 600 Miles '' premiered in the Panorama Section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival , where it won the Best First Feature Film award ( the second consecutive award for a Mexican film ; Alonso Ruizpalacios ' '' Güeros '' won the previous year ) . Ripstein dedicated the award to his son , " who will surely be the fourth generation of our family to make films because he loves it "
65th Berlin International Film Festival
65th Berlin International Film Festival
600 Miles