New movie about El Chapo's prison break released in Mexico

A new film about the life of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera was screened in Mexico on Friday, providing a fictional account of the drug cartel boss' daring escape from a maximum-security prison last July.

Coming a week after Guzman Loera was re-captured in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, the film's release commands high public attention, Xinhua reported.

When the film announced its release date, prior to the capture, it was roundly denounced. Unlike other low-budget films made about Guzman Loera's life, "Chapo: Escape of the Century" is professionally shot and directed.

Speaking to the BBC, Irineo Alvarez, who plays Guzman Loera, said the film depicts him as "being tender with his lovers, an intelligent and audacious man, with a sixth sense for business and a knack for danger."

The film "speaks about what his dreams are and the suffering that he feels over who he is," added Alvarez.

However, while he recognised the film would be controversial, Alvarez denied it sought to make the drug lord into a hero.

Shot over eight weeks in secret to avoid any attention, the film is screened in around 300 cinemas across Mexico starting from Friday, matching the releases of major Hollywood movies.

On July 11, 2015, Guzman Loera escaped from the Altiplano maximum-security prison when his accomplices dug a mile-long tunnel straight into his jail cell. A number of prison employees and security officials have been jailed for their part in the escape.

This marked Guzman Loera's second escape, after he was wheeled of another prison in 1993 by a janitor while hiding in a laundry basket.