Clockwise from left: Atlas (Netflix), My Oni Girl (Netflix), Unfrosted (Netflix)Image: The A.V. Club
Netflix offers a few high-profile originals this May as the summer movie season gets ready to kick off in theaters. Jerry Seinfeld makes his feature directorial debut and acts in Unfrosted, a comedy about the...
Netflix offers a few high-profile originals this May as the summer movie season gets ready to kick off in theaters. Jerry Seinfeld makes his feature directorial debut and acts in Unfrosted, a comedy about the...
- 5/3/2024
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
"Don't listen to everything your father says." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a Mexican satire dramedy film called Down the Rabbit Hole, by Mexican filmmaker Manolo Caro. Down the Rabbit Hole is the alternate English title for this, also known as Fiesta en la Madriguera in Spanish, based on the book of the exact same name. Raised in opulence and culture, 10-year-old Tochtli's lavish life contrasts with the darkness that seeps in from his father's criminal activities. This is about a young Mexican kid who wants a hippo above all else. It reminds me of the story of Pablo Escobar's infamous "cocaine hippos", which might be part of the influence (or reference) for why this kid wants one anyway. Miguel Valverde Uribe stars as Tochtli, a particularly intelligent and precocious boy who at first glance seems to have everything, and when he doesn't, his father, Yolcaut, will do...
- 3/26/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” co-star Tenoch Huerta has dropped out of the upcoming Netflix film “Fiesta en la Madriguera,” saying Wednesday in a statement provided to TheWrap that “My focus now is simple: continue the process of restoring my reputation” following accusations of sexual assault earlier this month.
Huerta was accused of being a “sexual predator” by Mexican musician and activist María Elena Ríos. Huerta has denied those accusations, calling them “completely unsubstantiated.”
“Given the impact of the recent false statements by María Elena Ríos and the damage they have caused, I have no choice but to withdraw from participating in the film ‘Fiesta en la Madriguera,’ Huerta said in a statement to TheWrap. “It is with great sadness that I do this, but I cannot allow her actions to harm not only me, but also the work of dozens of talented and hard-working people involved in the project. My...
Huerta was accused of being a “sexual predator” by Mexican musician and activist María Elena Ríos. Huerta has denied those accusations, calling them “completely unsubstantiated.”
“Given the impact of the recent false statements by María Elena Ríos and the damage they have caused, I have no choice but to withdraw from participating in the film ‘Fiesta en la Madriguera,’ Huerta said in a statement to TheWrap. “It is with great sadness that I do this, but I cannot allow her actions to harm not only me, but also the work of dozens of talented and hard-working people involved in the project. My...
- 6/22/2023
- by Mason Bissada
- The Wrap
Tenoch Huerta, who starred in “Black Panther 2,” has exited the upcoming Netflix film “Fiesta en la Madriguera” after a sexual assault claim was made against him.
Huerta confirmed the news in a statement shared with Variety, which says, “Given the impact of the recent false statements by María Elena Ríos and the damage they have caused, I have no choice but to withdraw from participating in the film ‘Fiesta en la Madriguera.’ It is with great sadness that I do this, but I cannot allow her actions to harm not only me, but also the work of dozens of talented and hard-working people involved in the project. My focus now is simple: continue the process of restoring my reputation.”
Ríos had publicly accused the actor of sexual assault in a Twitter thread, in which she called him a “sexual predator.”
The actor previously denied the allegation, calling her account “false and completely unsubstantiated,...
Huerta confirmed the news in a statement shared with Variety, which says, “Given the impact of the recent false statements by María Elena Ríos and the damage they have caused, I have no choice but to withdraw from participating in the film ‘Fiesta en la Madriguera.’ It is with great sadness that I do this, but I cannot allow her actions to harm not only me, but also the work of dozens of talented and hard-working people involved in the project. My focus now is simple: continue the process of restoring my reputation.”
Ríos had publicly accused the actor of sexual assault in a Twitter thread, in which she called him a “sexual predator.”
The actor previously denied the allegation, calling her account “false and completely unsubstantiated,...
- 6/22/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Natalia Solien, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Sonia Couoh | Written by Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo | Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera
A woman becomes increasingly afraid of her own pregnancy in this intriguing blend of folk horror and body horror. Gripping, chilling and deeply unsettling, it marks a striking horror debut for Mexican co-writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera.
The title refers to the Mexican Huesera myth, whereby a female spectre roams the desert, gathering buried bones so that it can possess the body of someone living, in a way that then frees them from their earthly torments. That said, within the context of the film, it’s essentially like a Mexican spin on Rosemary’s Baby.
Huesera: The Bone Woman begins with young Valeria (Natalia Solien) leaving gifts at the feet of a giant Virgin Mary statue, in the hopes that she will soon become pregnant by her handsome, supportive husband,...
A woman becomes increasingly afraid of her own pregnancy in this intriguing blend of folk horror and body horror. Gripping, chilling and deeply unsettling, it marks a striking horror debut for Mexican co-writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera.
The title refers to the Mexican Huesera myth, whereby a female spectre roams the desert, gathering buried bones so that it can possess the body of someone living, in a way that then frees them from their earthly torments. That said, within the context of the film, it’s essentially like a Mexican spin on Rosemary’s Baby.
Huesera: The Bone Woman begins with young Valeria (Natalia Solien) leaving gifts at the feet of a giant Virgin Mary statue, in the hopes that she will soon become pregnant by her handsome, supportive husband,...
- 2/21/2023
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
"When you become a mother, you feel like you are split in two." XYZ Films has revealed the official trailer for the indie Mexican horror titled Huesera: The Bone Woman, opening in US theaters this February. It first premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival last year and has been earning rave reviews at other fests including Neuchâtel, Bucheon, Edinburgh, Bergen, Fantastic Fest, and Sitges. Huesera follows the story of Valeria, a young woman expecting her first child who becomes cursed by a sinister entity. Plunged into a terrifying and dangerous world, a group of witches emerge as her only hope for safety and salvation, but not without grave risk. Natalia Solián stars as Valeria, with a cast including Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Aída López, and Martha Claudia Moreno. This looks insanely scary once the trailer gets going, lots of freaky footage in that second half! That part of...
- 1/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Michelle Garza Cervera‘s debut feature, Huesera is on the way early this year from XYZ Films. The film opens in theaters on February 10 followed by a VOD release on February 16.
Huesera: The Bone Woman premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in New York in the festival’s genre-driven Midnight section and would go on to win both the Best New Narrative Director and Nora Ephron awards. Following the world premiere, Huesera: The Bone Woman won both the Blood Window Award for Best Feature Film and the Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation at the internationally recognized Sitges Film Festival in Spain and the Feature Film Audience Award at the Morelia International Film Festival, Mexico’s premier film festival and one of the most important film events of the Latin-American subcontinent.
The supernatural Mexican horror feature is led by Natalia Solián in a star-turning performance as Valeria, a young...
Huesera: The Bone Woman premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in New York in the festival’s genre-driven Midnight section and would go on to win both the Best New Narrative Director and Nora Ephron awards. Following the world premiere, Huesera: The Bone Woman won both the Blood Window Award for Best Feature Film and the Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation at the internationally recognized Sitges Film Festival in Spain and the Feature Film Audience Award at the Morelia International Film Festival, Mexico’s premier film festival and one of the most important film events of the Latin-American subcontinent.
The supernatural Mexican horror feature is led by Natalia Solián in a star-turning performance as Valeria, a young...
- 1/23/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
XYZ Films, the distributor of such recent genre releases as The Mean One, Gatlopp: Hell of Game, and Prisoners of the Ghostland, has unveiled a teaser poster for the supernatural horror film Huesera: The Bone Woman – and along with the poster comes the announcement that XYZ will be giving the film a theatrical release in the United States on February 10th! A VOD release will follow on February 16th. The movie will also be available to watch on the Shudder streaming service in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand at a later date.
The feature directorial debut of Michelle Garza Cervera (who wrote the screenplay with Abia Castillo), Huesera: The Bone Woman received a lot of praise from critics and racked up awards while making the festival rounds. The film stars Natalia Solián (Zapatos Rojos) as Valeria, a young woman expecting her first child who becomes cursed by a sinister entity.
The feature directorial debut of Michelle Garza Cervera (who wrote the screenplay with Abia Castillo), Huesera: The Bone Woman received a lot of praise from critics and racked up awards while making the festival rounds. The film stars Natalia Solián (Zapatos Rojos) as Valeria, a young woman expecting her first child who becomes cursed by a sinister entity.
- 12/29/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The Venice premiere of Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 drama “Roma” made an overnight star of Yalitza Aparicio, whose memorable performance as family nanny Cleo kicked off a three-month whirlwind that culminated with her becoming the first Indigenous Mexican to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress.
The Venice premiere of Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 drama “Roma” made an overnight star of Yalitza Aparicio, whose memorable performance as family nanny Cleo kicked off a three-month whirlwind that culminated with her becoming the first Indigenous Mexican to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress.
Four years on, little has been seen of her. This week, however, Aparicio returns to the screen via a decidedly more low-key premiere, playing a supporting role in Luis Mandoki’s modest horror film “Presencias,” which TelevisaUnivision-owned ViX+ is screening for buyers in Toronto.
Talking via Zoom from Mexico, Aparicio appears both nervous and excited about her return to the spotlight,...
The Venice premiere of Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 drama “Roma” made an overnight star of Yalitza Aparicio, whose memorable performance as family nanny Cleo kicked off a three-month whirlwind that culminated with her becoming the first Indigenous Mexican to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress.
Four years on, little has been seen of her. This week, however, Aparicio returns to the screen via a decidedly more low-key premiere, playing a supporting role in Luis Mandoki’s modest horror film “Presencias,” which TelevisaUnivision-owned ViX+ is screening for buyers in Toronto.
Talking via Zoom from Mexico, Aparicio appears both nervous and excited about her return to the spotlight,...
- 9/12/2022
- by Adam Benzine
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Natalia Solien, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Sonia Couoh | Written by Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo | Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera
A woman becomes increasingly afraid of her own pregnancy in this intriguing blend of folk horror and body horror. Gripping, chilling and deeply unsettling, it marks a striking horror debut for Mexican co-writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera.
The title – which translates roughly as Bonesetter – refers to the Mexican Huesera myth, whereby a female spectre roams the desert, gathering buried bones so that it can possess the body of someone living, in a way that then frees them from their earthly torments. That said, within the context of the film, it’s essentially like a Mexican spin on Rosemary’s Baby.
Huesera begins with young Valeria (Natalia Solien) leaving gifts at the feet of a giant Virgin Mary statue, in the hopes that she will soon become pregnant by her handsome,...
A woman becomes increasingly afraid of her own pregnancy in this intriguing blend of folk horror and body horror. Gripping, chilling and deeply unsettling, it marks a striking horror debut for Mexican co-writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera.
The title – which translates roughly as Bonesetter – refers to the Mexican Huesera myth, whereby a female spectre roams the desert, gathering buried bones so that it can possess the body of someone living, in a way that then frees them from their earthly torments. That said, within the context of the film, it’s essentially like a Mexican spin on Rosemary’s Baby.
Huesera begins with young Valeria (Natalia Solien) leaving gifts at the feet of a giant Virgin Mary statue, in the hopes that she will soon become pregnant by her handsome,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
Click here to read the full article.
The star of Michelle Garza Cervera’s narrative debut, Huesera, is Natalia Solián’s range of facial expressions. The actress plays Valeria Hernandez, the protagonist of this chilling body horror, with a sly, concentrated determination. See the flash of disgust in her eyes as she meets the gaze of a child playfully contorting their face at a doctor’s office. Look at her lips twitch when she learns of her pregnancy. Watch her face fall at the thought of converting her carpentry workshop into a nursery.
It’s fair to say that Valeria does not want a child. And it’s no stretch to proclaim that Huesera chiefly concerns itself with the emotional knots of her pregnancy and its eventual strains on her subsequent motherhood. But that’s only skimming the surface of Cervera’s work. Dig deeper and Huesera reveals itself to...
The star of Michelle Garza Cervera’s narrative debut, Huesera, is Natalia Solián’s range of facial expressions. The actress plays Valeria Hernandez, the protagonist of this chilling body horror, with a sly, concentrated determination. See the flash of disgust in her eyes as she meets the gaze of a child playfully contorting their face at a doctor’s office. Look at her lips twitch when she learns of her pregnancy. Watch her face fall at the thought of converting her carpentry workshop into a nursery.
It’s fair to say that Valeria does not want a child. And it’s no stretch to proclaim that Huesera chiefly concerns itself with the emotional knots of her pregnancy and its eventual strains on her subsequent motherhood. But that’s only skimming the surface of Cervera’s work. Dig deeper and Huesera reveals itself to...
- 8/4/2022
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For her first feature, co-writer/director Michelle Garza Cervera taps into the horrors of impending motherhood in Huesera, a gripping horror story about a young woman who is being endlessly tormented once she becomes pregnant after years of trying to start a family. Maternal fears have been explored numerous times throughout the history of genre storytelling, but I think how Cervera is able to marry this theme with Mexican folklore brings about a truly unique perspective that heightens the horror that runs rampant throughout this story that was written by both Cervera and Abia Castillo.
Huesera starts off with Valeria (Natalia Solián) making a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Guadalupe statue with her mother (Aida López) to pray as she and her husband Raúl (Alfonso Dosal) have been trying to start a family to no avail. Their trip seemingly works as Valeria finds out soon after that she is finally pregnant,...
Huesera starts off with Valeria (Natalia Solián) making a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Guadalupe statue with her mother (Aida López) to pray as she and her husband Raúl (Alfonso Dosal) have been trying to start a family to no avail. Their trip seemingly works as Valeria finds out soon after that she is finally pregnant,...
- 6/13/2022
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
According to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés in Women who Run with the Wolves, the “Bone Woman,” or La Huesera, “collects and preserves that which is in danger of being lost to the world.” A Mexican myth sees her scouring the mountains and riverbeds for the remains of wolves, assembling what she finds to recreate the animal as though an ivory sculpture that will eventually become reanimated, ultimately reborn as a human woman freely laughing towards the horizon. They say she provides a glimpse of the soul when all seems to have been lost, less a monster to fear in the shadows than a necessary entity reminding us of what we still have. Thus we’re not wrong to question her place in Michelle Garza Cervera’s Huesera.
This is because Valeria (Natalia Solián) has been haunted ever since discovering she’s pregnant. She and her husband Raúl (Alfonso Dosal) are ecstatic about the news,...
This is because Valeria (Natalia Solián) has been haunted ever since discovering she’s pregnant. She and her husband Raúl (Alfonso Dosal) are ecstatic about the news,...
- 6/10/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Manborg: The Novelization Blasts Onto Bookshelves From Author Bret Nelson And Encyclopocalypse Publications: "Encyclopocalypse Publications, founded by Saturn and Rondo Award-winning writer/producer Mark Alan Miller is proud to add Manborg to its wildly addicting novelization series.
Manborg is penned by Bret Nelson (author of Lumber and Other Tales) from the original script by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie.
“Whenever I read about the movie, Manborg, it is noted early and often that the team at Astron 6 managed to make it for 1,000 Cad. I’d rather note, early and often, that the budget limitations were overcome by the talent and tenacity of the filmmakers.” Nelson says. “Yes, it has a garage-band feel and it’s rough around the edges. But look deeper. The wide shots of Meganet City feature vehicles and people in the backgrounds, you’d expect a pan across a still image. In dialogue, the usual low-budget,...
Manborg is penned by Bret Nelson (author of Lumber and Other Tales) from the original script by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie.
“Whenever I read about the movie, Manborg, it is noted early and often that the team at Astron 6 managed to make it for 1,000 Cad. I’d rather note, early and often, that the budget limitations were overcome by the talent and tenacity of the filmmakers.” Nelson says. “Yes, it has a garage-band feel and it’s rough around the edges. But look deeper. The wide shots of Meganet City feature vehicles and people in the backgrounds, you’d expect a pan across a still image. In dialogue, the usual low-budget,...
- 5/26/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
XYZ Films Acquires Tribeca-Bound ‘Huesera’ for North America, Drops First Teaser, Poster (Exclusive)
XYZ Films has acquired writer-director Michelle Garza Cervera’s hotly anticipated breakout feature “Huesera” for theatrical release in North America and has released the first teaser and poster for the film.
“Huesera” is one of the first slate of titles under its new distribution arm and an early pick-up ahead of the Tribeca Film Festival, where the film will world premiere.
The film follows Valeria, whose joy with becoming pregnant dissolves as she is cursed by a dark power. As danger surrounds her, she’s forced deeper into the occult, and a pact with a coven of witches may be her only hope. Valeria is played by Natalia Solián (“500 Millions of Red Shoes”), alongside Alfonso Dosal (“Narcos: Mexico”), Mayra Batalla (“Prayers for the Stolen”), Mercedes Hernández (“Identifying Features”), Aída López (“Capadocia”), and Martha Claudia Moreno.
The film is produced by Machete, Disruptiva Films, and Señor Z and is co-written by Garza Cervera and Abia Castillo.
“Huesera” is one of the first slate of titles under its new distribution arm and an early pick-up ahead of the Tribeca Film Festival, where the film will world premiere.
The film follows Valeria, whose joy with becoming pregnant dissolves as she is cursed by a dark power. As danger surrounds her, she’s forced deeper into the occult, and a pact with a coven of witches may be her only hope. Valeria is played by Natalia Solián (“500 Millions of Red Shoes”), alongside Alfonso Dosal (“Narcos: Mexico”), Mayra Batalla (“Prayers for the Stolen”), Mercedes Hernández (“Identifying Features”), Aída López (“Capadocia”), and Martha Claudia Moreno.
The film is produced by Machete, Disruptiva Films, and Señor Z and is co-written by Garza Cervera and Abia Castillo.
- 5/25/2022
- by JD Linville
- Variety Film + TV
Tribeca Film Festival 2022 - Midnight Selections: The Tribeca Film Festival 2022's Midnight selections have been announced and include a screening of The Black Phone, along with the world premiere of Travis Stevens' A Wounded Fawn:
"Attachment (Natten Har Øjne), (Denmark) – Feature Narrative, International Premiere. Maja and Leah’s new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat. It seems that Leah’s disapproving mother, who lives downstairs, is using Jewish folklore to come between them. In Danish and English with English subtitles. Directed and written by Gabriel Bier Gislason. Produced by Thomas Heinesen. With Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, David Dencik. A Shudder release.
The Black Phone, (United States) – Feature Narrative, New York Premiere. Locked in a soundproof basement by a masked child killer, a teenage boy finds the possibility of hope through an unexpected and supernatural lifeline: a telephone on which he receives...
"Attachment (Natten Har Øjne), (Denmark) – Feature Narrative, International Premiere. Maja and Leah’s new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat. It seems that Leah’s disapproving mother, who lives downstairs, is using Jewish folklore to come between them. In Danish and English with English subtitles. Directed and written by Gabriel Bier Gislason. Produced by Thomas Heinesen. With Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, David Dencik. A Shudder release.
The Black Phone, (United States) – Feature Narrative, New York Premiere. Locked in a soundproof basement by a masked child killer, a teenage boy finds the possibility of hope through an unexpected and supernatural lifeline: a telephone on which he receives...
- 4/27/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Ballad of a White Cow (Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam)
The cruelty of the Iranian justice system is in the spotlight again in Ballad of a White Cow, the compelling debut of directing team Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam that unfurled in competition at Berlin. Just last year, Mohamad Rasoulof won the festival’s top prize for his anti-capital punishment polemic There Is No Evil, a masterful weaving of four storylines that showed how a morally bankrupt state corrodes those forced to carry out its functions, a searing portrait of the banality of evil. – Ed F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Bigbug (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Bigbug is set in the year 2045 and centers on a group of mismatched suburbanites who,...
Ballad of a White Cow (Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam)
The cruelty of the Iranian justice system is in the spotlight again in Ballad of a White Cow, the compelling debut of directing team Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam that unfurled in competition at Berlin. Just last year, Mohamad Rasoulof won the festival’s top prize for his anti-capital punishment polemic There Is No Evil, a masterful weaving of four storylines that showed how a morally bankrupt state corrodes those forced to carry out its functions, a searing portrait of the banality of evil. – Ed F. (full review)
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Bigbug (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Bigbug is set in the year 2045 and centers on a group of mismatched suburbanites who,...
- 2/11/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Though we aim to discuss a wide breadth of films each year, few things give us more pleasure than the arrival of bold, new voices. It’s why we venture to festivals and pore over a variety of different features that might bring to light some emerging talent. This year was an especially notable time for new directors making their stamp, and we’re highlighting the handful of 2021 debuts that most impressed us.
Below one can check out a list spanning a variety of different genres, and many are available to stream here. In years to come, take note as these helmers (hopefully) ascend.
Azor (Andreas Fontana)
An almost suffocating air of secrecy permeates Azor, a Swiss-Argentinean coproduction concerning the mutual suspicion and damnable complicity of patrician North Atlantic capitalism and repressive regimes in the postcolonial Global South. The year is 1980, and a private banker from Geneva circulates among the Buenos Aires elite.
Below one can check out a list spanning a variety of different genres, and many are available to stream here. In years to come, take note as these helmers (hopefully) ascend.
Azor (Andreas Fontana)
An almost suffocating air of secrecy permeates Azor, a Swiss-Argentinean coproduction concerning the mutual suspicion and damnable complicity of patrician North Atlantic capitalism and repressive regimes in the postcolonial Global South. The year is 1980, and a private banker from Geneva circulates among the Buenos Aires elite.
- 12/13/2021
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Mexican producer-director Iria Gómez Concheiro is unveiling at Guadalajara “Here Be Dragons,” a co-production between her own label Ciudad Cinema – alongside exec producer Rodrigo Ríos Legaspi – and Colombia’s Trilce Cinema, with Alejandro Rey and Claudia Sánchez.
Set in a vaguely anachronistic 2040, “Here Be Dragons” is a sci-fi drama-adventure movie which follows 18-year old Candelaria as she tries to survive an uncertain, devastated country where sinister military forces rule.
Fearing an imminent barbaric invasion, Candelaria flees from her father and a chaotic, brutal regime, while undertaking an initiatory trip to unveil the truth about love and this menace. The title refers to the Latin inscription “hic sunt dracones” (dragons are here) used on old navigational maps to signal unexplored or dangerous areas.
Project “Here Be Dragons” wil be prsented at the Guadalajara Festival Co-Production Meetings from Sunday.
Previously it has been put through the Morelia Lab, where it won a special mention,...
Set in a vaguely anachronistic 2040, “Here Be Dragons” is a sci-fi drama-adventure movie which follows 18-year old Candelaria as she tries to survive an uncertain, devastated country where sinister military forces rule.
Fearing an imminent barbaric invasion, Candelaria flees from her father and a chaotic, brutal regime, while undertaking an initiatory trip to unveil the truth about love and this menace. The title refers to the Latin inscription “hic sunt dracones” (dragons are here) used on old navigational maps to signal unexplored or dangerous areas.
Project “Here Be Dragons” wil be prsented at the Guadalajara Festival Co-Production Meetings from Sunday.
Previously it has been put through the Morelia Lab, where it won a special mention,...
- 10/2/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
First-time director Fernanda Valadez conjures up a vision of real evil in her story of the terrors faced by migrants into the US
There is unbearable heartbreak in this migrant drama from first-time Mexican film-maker Fernanda Valadez – and also a vision of real evil. At times, it looks something like social-realist folk horror. Mercedes Hernández plays Magdalena, a middle-aged woman from Guanajuato in central Mexico whose teenage son Jesús left home three years before, with a friend, on a bus bound for the border, where he’d hoped to take his chances on disappearing into the US as an illegal. But the body of Jesús’s friend has been found on Mexican territory, in an unspeakably grim holding area where the corpses of teen runaways are routinely kept in container boxes awaiting identification – though there is still no proof that Jesús himself is dead.
There is unbearable heartbreak in this migrant drama from first-time Mexican film-maker Fernanda Valadez – and also a vision of real evil. At times, it looks something like social-realist folk horror. Mercedes Hernández plays Magdalena, a middle-aged woman from Guanajuato in central Mexico whose teenage son Jesús left home three years before, with a friend, on a bus bound for the border, where he’d hoped to take his chances on disappearing into the US as an illegal. But the body of Jesús’s friend has been found on Mexican territory, in an unspeakably grim holding area where the corpses of teen runaways are routinely kept in container boxes awaiting identification – though there is still no proof that Jesús himself is dead.
- 4/27/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
A week after Jesús (Juan Jesús Varela) announces his immigration dreams to his mother Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández) — a simple plan, consisting of alighting to Arizona with his best friend Rigo (Armando García), getting a job, and not much else — the young Mexican teenager is gone. Months later, the boys have yet to announce their arrival in the United States, nor have they returned to the landlocked state of Guanajuato. They, like so many before and likely after them, have simply gone missing, and in a country where such a tragedy is all too common, it falls on the people they’ve left behind to figure out what has happened to their beloved boys.
Fernanda Valadez’s feature directorial debut “Identifying Features” takes that seemingly tear-jerking concept — one beset by knotty bureaucratic issues, painful language barriers, and the sense of further danger around every bend — and turns it into an artfully...
Fernanda Valadez’s feature directorial debut “Identifying Features” takes that seemingly tear-jerking concept — one beset by knotty bureaucratic issues, painful language barriers, and the sense of further danger around every bend — and turns it into an artfully...
- 1/21/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The original Spanish-language title of Identifying Features is Sin Señas Particulares, or “No Particular Signs”—a reference to the individuating marks found, or not, on unclaimed corpses found near the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s an echo of Sin Nombre (“Nameless”), Cary Joji Fukunaga’s vivid immigration-thriller debut from 2009, and an apt title for a film that takes a fresh look at lives erased and distorted by migration and violence. Though Trump-era border policy is an implicit backdrop to the cartel activity and mass abductions she depicts, debuting director Fernanda Valadez’s zoomed-in perspective is on family trauma, not imperial culpability.
The Sundance audience and screenwriting award-winner Identifying Features begins in Guanajuato, in central Mexico, with the lyrical sight of a boy, Jesus, walking through a field to tell mother Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández) of his intention to cross the border. Jesus walks off through the windblown grass with another...
The Sundance audience and screenwriting award-winner Identifying Features begins in Guanajuato, in central Mexico, with the lyrical sight of a boy, Jesus, walking through a field to tell mother Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández) of his intention to cross the border. Jesus walks off through the windblown grass with another...
- 12/9/2020
- by Mark Asch
- The Film Stage
The winner of the Audience Award and Best Screenplay in the World Cinema (Dramatic) section at Sundance Film Festival this year, Kino Lorber has now unveiled the first engrossing trailer for the immigration drama Identifying Features. The directorial debut for Fernanda Valadez, heralding a new talent in the international cinema scene, will play at New Directors/New Films starting December 9 and opens on January 22.
Identifying Features follows the harrowing experience of two individuals, Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández)––a mother struggling to find her son after he was deported trying to enter the United States to find work––and Miguel (David Illescas), another deportee whose path converges.
See the trailer below.
Identifying Features plays at New Directors/New Films starting December 9 and opens on January 22.
The post Identifying Features Trailer: Sundance Winner Follows a Mother's Harrowing Journey in Mexico first appeared on The Film Stage.
Identifying Features follows the harrowing experience of two individuals, Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández)––a mother struggling to find her son after he was deported trying to enter the United States to find work––and Miguel (David Illescas), another deportee whose path converges.
See the trailer below.
Identifying Features plays at New Directors/New Films starting December 9 and opens on January 22.
The post Identifying Features Trailer: Sundance Winner Follows a Mother's Harrowing Journey in Mexico first appeared on The Film Stage.
- 11/30/2020
- by Margaret Rasberry
- The Film Stage
Heading into this year’s Guadalajara’s Co-Production Meetings, the team behind Michelle Garza’s maternal horror flick “Huesera” has shared with Variety news of a new minority co-producer, choreographer and key casting details.
“Huesera” is produced by Paulina Villaviencio from Mexico’s Disruptiva Films and Edher Campos of Machete Producciones. Villaviencio’s recently produced Simon Hernández‘s 2019 Sitges Documenta Award-winner “La venganza de Jairo,” documenting the final shoot of Colombian genre master Jairo Pinilla.
A recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences addition, Campos’ impressive resume includes Cannes awarded fare such as Michael Rowe’ Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Leap Year” and Diego Quemada-Díez’s “La Jaula de Oro,” which scooped A Certain Talent award for its leads in 2013. Most recently, he produced Heidi Ewing’s Sundance Audience Award and Next Innovator Award-winner “I Carry You with Me.”
Lorena Ugarteche from Peru’s Señor Z will co-produce on the...
“Huesera” is produced by Paulina Villaviencio from Mexico’s Disruptiva Films and Edher Campos of Machete Producciones. Villaviencio’s recently produced Simon Hernández‘s 2019 Sitges Documenta Award-winner “La venganza de Jairo,” documenting the final shoot of Colombian genre master Jairo Pinilla.
A recent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences addition, Campos’ impressive resume includes Cannes awarded fare such as Michael Rowe’ Cannes Camera d’Or-winner “Leap Year” and Diego Quemada-Díez’s “La Jaula de Oro,” which scooped A Certain Talent award for its leads in 2013. Most recently, he produced Heidi Ewing’s Sundance Audience Award and Next Innovator Award-winner “I Carry You with Me.”
Lorena Ugarteche from Peru’s Señor Z will co-produce on the...
- 11/23/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Project directed by Fernanda Valadez is proving a hot commodity at Efm.
Fernanda Valadez’s Sundance double winner Identifying Features is proving a hot commodity at Efm as Alpha Violet reported two key initial European deals likely to spark further sales.
Mfa Film Distributionacquired German rights, while Bodegalicensed the film for France. Last month Kino Lorber took North American rights to the filmafter it premiered in Park City in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
Alpha Violet is in talks with other territories and anticipates a strong international festival run.
The drama takes place in northern Mexico against a backdrop of...
Fernanda Valadez’s Sundance double winner Identifying Features is proving a hot commodity at Efm as Alpha Violet reported two key initial European deals likely to spark further sales.
Mfa Film Distributionacquired German rights, while Bodegalicensed the film for France. Last month Kino Lorber took North American rights to the filmafter it premiered in Park City in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
Alpha Violet is in talks with other territories and anticipates a strong international festival run.
The drama takes place in northern Mexico against a backdrop of...
- 2/23/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
With the first Sundance Film Festival of the new decade wrapping up today, the award winners have been announced. Leading the pack is Minari, which picked up U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, and Boys State, which was awarded U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. It was also announced that Tabitha Jackson will be the new director of the festival, following John Cooper’s departure.
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
Check out the full winner list below, along with links to our reviews where available, and return for our wrap-up. See our complete coverage here.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to: Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, for Boys State / U.S.A. — In an unusual experiment, a thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to: Lee Isaac Chung,...
- 2/2/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Alpha Violet handles world sales on feature debut.
Kino Lorber has swooped on all North American rights to Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s debut feature Identifying Features following its world premiere in World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance.
The drama takes place in northern Mexico and stars Mercedes Hernández as Magdalena, a mother searching for her son who disappeared en route to the Us border.
Along the way she meets Miguel, a young man making his way home after being deported from the Us. The story takes place against the backdrop of abductions in Mexico and the country’s failed war on the drug cartels.
Kino Lorber has swooped on all North American rights to Mexican director Fernanda Valadez’s debut feature Identifying Features following its world premiere in World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance.
The drama takes place in northern Mexico and stars Mercedes Hernández as Magdalena, a mother searching for her son who disappeared en route to the Us border.
Along the way she meets Miguel, a young man making his way home after being deported from the Us. The story takes place against the backdrop of abductions in Mexico and the country’s failed war on the drug cartels.
- 1/28/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
’This war has many faces and it involves all kinds of illegal business.’
Mexican filmmaker Fernanda Valadez got the idea for her Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition entry Identifying Features (Sin Senas Particulares) when she read an article about a mass abduction several years ago.
“I come from the state of Guanajato and there are lots of migrants from there who try to get into the United States,” says Valadez, whose feature directorial debut premieres on Saturday afternoon (25) at Prospector Square. “I came across a report about 13 boys who were abducted from a bus and it made me think about...
Mexican filmmaker Fernanda Valadez got the idea for her Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition entry Identifying Features (Sin Senas Particulares) when she read an article about a mass abduction several years ago.
“I come from the state of Guanajato and there are lots of migrants from there who try to get into the United States,” says Valadez, whose feature directorial debut premieres on Saturday afternoon (25) at Prospector Square. “I came across a report about 13 boys who were abducted from a bus and it made me think about...
- 1/25/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.