MUJERES DE CINE

VALENTINA O LA SERENIDAD

Director: Ángeles Cruz

México/Ficción/ 2023/ 85 min

Valentina lives in the mountains of Oaxaca in the indigenous Mixteca culture, as the youngest of three children. One day, she learns her father has had an accident while running errands that included buying a doll Valentina asked for. As her community engages in the traditional funeral rituals to honor her father, Valentina enters a stage of denial. The girl’s reaction affects her mother who is processing the death of her partner. What follows is a girl’s journey, slowly coming to grips with the departure of a beloved parent through remembrance and collective support. Valentina remembers her father through handmade comics he drew for her. Through playful camerawork and a witty score Cruz manages to provide the film with a purity that is only comparable to a child’s perspective. The relationship with death is regarded as one of the most peculiar traits across the different cultures inhabiting Mexico, and the film, set in a Mixteca community facing the loss of their indigenous language, offers a refreshing take on death and grief.

Premios/ Nominaciones

TIFF Toronto International Film Festival 2023 - Selección Oficial

The Cinelatino Recontres de Toulouse - Premio PRIX LE FILM FRANÇAIS 2023

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2023