Mexico City, Sep 22 (IANS): The kidnapped father and brother of award-winning Mexican film director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde have been killed, although a ransom was paid, the media reported.

The father and the brother were killed more than two weeks after being kidnapped, Xinhua news agency reported.

The bodies of the two men, kidnapped on September 4, were found in the town of Pueblo Viejo, in the neighbouring state of Veracruz.

"The ransom had been paid to the kidnappers and still they killed the relatives of the filmmaker," the report said.

Authorities found the bodies on Saturday, and were able to identify them on Sunday.

"Mexico has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world," according to the InSight Crime foundation, "with complaints rising from 0.89 per day to 3.72 per day" in the past five years.

Gomez Monteverde's debut film "Bella" won the People's Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. His latest movie was "Little Boy" released earlier this year.