Although it might seem like male directors stand at the forefront of Mexican cinema right now — look at recent Oscar winners such as Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro González Iñárritu — it’s a new wave of female filmmakers who are actually the ones to watch.
Tatiana Huezo (“The Echo”), Fernanda Valadez (“Identifying Features”), and Issa López all shine bright, yet Lila Avilés (“The Chambermaid”) might be the first to come close to Oscar success of her own with “Tótem,” which was shortlisted at this year’s Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. While Avilés’ acclaimed debut followed a maid working to bring structure and order to empty, uninhabited spaces, her follow-up feature is teeming with life, even if the subject matter might not lend itself to that at first glance.
“Tótem” begins with seven-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes) and her mother, Lucia (Lazua Larios), laughing together in a public bathroom.
Tatiana Huezo (“The Echo”), Fernanda Valadez (“Identifying Features”), and Issa López all shine bright, yet Lila Avilés (“The Chambermaid”) might be the first to come close to Oscar success of her own with “Tótem,” which was shortlisted at this year’s Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. While Avilés’ acclaimed debut followed a maid working to bring structure and order to empty, uninhabited spaces, her follow-up feature is teeming with life, even if the subject matter might not lend itself to that at first glance.
“Tótem” begins with seven-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes) and her mother, Lucia (Lazua Larios), laughing together in a public bathroom.
- 1/29/2024
- by David Opie
- Indiewire
A handful of indies bow or expand this weekend as Oscar hopefuls from Poor Things to The Holdovers and American Fiction crowd theaters after nominations earlier this week. Anatomy Of A Fall is getting a big bump. Oppenheimer is back on Imax.
New specialty releases include Daisy Ridley-starring Sometimes I Think About Dying by Rachel Lambert, and Tótem by Lila Avilés. Separately, Sundance has just wrapped up announcing winners from a new crop of independent films.
What we have post Oscar-nomination Tuesday, is this: Searchlight Pictures’ Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos going wide on 2,226 screens, up from 1,400. The film starring Emma Stone had 11 nominations, second only to Oppenheimer. That Christopher Nolan blockbuster summer release from Universal is returning to 750 Imax screens worldwide, including iconic 70mm film theaters. Oppenheimer led all nominees for the 96th Oscars on Tuesday, with 13.
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios moves to 1,500 theaters from 850. Released Dec.
New specialty releases include Daisy Ridley-starring Sometimes I Think About Dying by Rachel Lambert, and Tótem by Lila Avilés. Separately, Sundance has just wrapped up announcing winners from a new crop of independent films.
What we have post Oscar-nomination Tuesday, is this: Searchlight Pictures’ Poor Things by Yorgos Lanthimos going wide on 2,226 screens, up from 1,400. The film starring Emma Stone had 11 nominations, second only to Oppenheimer. That Christopher Nolan blockbuster summer release from Universal is returning to 750 Imax screens worldwide, including iconic 70mm film theaters. Oppenheimer led all nominees for the 96th Oscars on Tuesday, with 13.
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction from Amazon MGM Studios moves to 1,500 theaters from 850. Released Dec.
- 1/26/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Salma Hayek Pinault has joined José Tamez and Siobhan Flynn, her partners in Ventanarosa Productions, as an executive producer on Tótem, writer-director Lila Avilés’ follow-up to her international breakthrough The Chambermaid, which has been shortlisted as Mexico’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar.
Poised for release by Sideshow and Janus Films, the companies behind Eo and Drive My Car, the film is set to open in New York theaters on January 26th. It will unspool in Los Angeles on February 2nd and expand nationwide in the weeks to follow.
Named one of the Top 5 International Films of the Year by the National Board of Review, Tótem is told largely from the perspective of 7-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes), as her aunt (Montserrat Marañón) and extended relatives prepare for the birthday party of the girl’s father (Mateo Garcia). As the hours wear on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded,...
Poised for release by Sideshow and Janus Films, the companies behind Eo and Drive My Car, the film is set to open in New York theaters on January 26th. It will unspool in Los Angeles on February 2nd and expand nationwide in the weeks to follow.
Named one of the Top 5 International Films of the Year by the National Board of Review, Tótem is told largely from the perspective of 7-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes), as her aunt (Montserrat Marañón) and extended relatives prepare for the birthday party of the girl’s father (Mateo Garcia). As the hours wear on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
When Tonatiuh was at school, he was voted his year’s “Beach Boy,” a prank version of Miss Universe. As part of a town parade, hunky Tona was a “vision, slinking down the street,” remembers an old classmate in one of many stories being swapped at the now 30-something beach boy’s birthday party.
Things are in full swing, but Tona (Mateo Garcia Elizondo) has yet to make an appearance. He is in the quietest bedroom in the family home, struggling to get dressed for the second time. He was slowly making his way to the garden when he lost control of his bowels. Shit happens, as you might say. He is resigned to it.
Tona is dying. Everyone knows it, but his 7-year-old daughter Sol (Naima Senties) clings to the belief that if she holds her breath and makes a wish often enough, her still-beautiful dad will survive. Sol...
Things are in full swing, but Tona (Mateo Garcia Elizondo) has yet to make an appearance. He is in the quietest bedroom in the family home, struggling to get dressed for the second time. He was slowly making his way to the garden when he lost control of his bowels. Shit happens, as you might say. He is resigned to it.
Tona is dying. Everyone knows it, but his 7-year-old daughter Sol (Naima Senties) clings to the belief that if she holds her breath and makes a wish often enough, her still-beautiful dad will survive. Sol...
- 12/15/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
As Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I would go on to add that the particular ways that your family is unhappy define significant parts of a person’s being, crafting traits and peccadilloes and teaching them how to interact with others. The family dynamics are fully displayed in “Tótem,” director Lila Avilés’ follow-up to her debut, 2018’s “The Chambermaid.”
Read More: 2023 Fall Film Preview: 60+ Most Anticipated Movies To Watch
In a review for The Playlist, Carlos Aguilar describes “Tótem” as feeling rich “in its sublimely compassionate, cinematic observations for which words alone could not suffice.” “Tótem” stars Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, and Teresita Sánchez.
Continue reading ‘Tótem’ Trailer: In Lila Aviles’ Family Drama, Chaos & Mortality Are Seen Through A Child’s Eyes at The Playlist.
Read More: 2023 Fall Film Preview: 60+ Most Anticipated Movies To Watch
In a review for The Playlist, Carlos Aguilar describes “Tótem” as feeling rich “in its sublimely compassionate, cinematic observations for which words alone could not suffice.” “Tótem” stars Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, and Teresita Sánchez.
Continue reading ‘Tótem’ Trailer: In Lila Aviles’ Family Drama, Chaos & Mortality Are Seen Through A Child’s Eyes at The Playlist.
- 11/16/2023
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
"A luminous and soul-nourishing microcosm." Janus Films + Sideshow have revealed an official US trailer for an acclaimed Mexican drama titled Tótem. It initially premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, one of the few great films at the festival that should've won the top prize. Mexican director Lila Avilés's film Totem is about a family getting ready for a birthday party, told through the eyes of a young girl. Seven-year-old Sol spends the day at her grandfather's home, helping with the preparations for a surprise party for her ailing father. Throughout the day, chaos slowly takes over, fracturing the family's foundations. Sol will embrace the essence of letting go as a release for existence. It's a wonderfully soulful, touching film about family and life on this planet - don't skip over this one. The ensemble cast features Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Teresita Sánchez,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of our festival highlights earlier this year, Lila Avilés’ Tótem is now preparing for a U.S. release to kick off 2024 following an awards-qualifying. Mexico’s Oscar entry marks the director’s follow-up to The Chambermaid and follows a family over the course of a single, meaningful day, mainly from the perspective of 7-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes), as her mother (Montserrat Marañón) and extended relatives prepare for the birthday party of the girl’s father (Mateo Garcia). Ahead of a January 26, 2024 release for the Berlinale and Nd/Nf selection from Sideshow and Janus Films, the first U.S. trailer has now arrived.
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “The characters of Tótem don’t just appear onscreen; they take it over. From the top there’s the patriarch Roberto (Alberto Amador), who speaks using an electrolarynx and, when not dryly cajoling his flock, enjoys pruning a handsome Bonsai. There...
Rory O’Connor said in his review, “The characters of Tótem don’t just appear onscreen; they take it over. From the top there’s the patriarch Roberto (Alberto Amador), who speaks using an electrolarynx and, when not dryly cajoling his flock, enjoys pruning a handsome Bonsai. There...
- 11/14/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
This is Why Cinema and Inna Payán’s Animal de Luz Films have licensed drama “Todo el silencio” (“All the Silence”) to Prime Video. This follows that of Animal de Luz’s licensing of Katina Medina Mora’s “Latido” (“Heartbeat”) to the giant platform.
“All the Silence” marks the debut feature of award-winning theater director Diego del Rio, based on a screenplay by “La Jaula de Oro” writer, Lucia Carreras.
The drama centers on Miriam whose life is a testament to her love of sign language. In the mornings, she dedicates herself to teaching it, and in the afternoons, she immerses herself in the world of theater. Her girlfriend, Lola, as well as her parents and numerous friends, are all members of the deaf community. However, her world is shattered when she discovers that she, too, is losing her hearing. Faced with this harsh reality, Miriam refuses to accept her fate.
“All the Silence” marks the debut feature of award-winning theater director Diego del Rio, based on a screenplay by “La Jaula de Oro” writer, Lucia Carreras.
The drama centers on Miriam whose life is a testament to her love of sign language. In the mornings, she dedicates herself to teaching it, and in the afternoons, she immerses herself in the world of theater. Her girlfriend, Lola, as well as her parents and numerous friends, are all members of the deaf community. However, her world is shattered when she discovers that she, too, is losing her hearing. Faced with this harsh reality, Miriam refuses to accept her fate.
- 10/6/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin prize-winner from Lila Aviles has secured a number of international sales.
Mexico has selected Berlin festival prize-winner Totem, written and directed by Lila Avilés, as its submission for this year’s international feature Oscar.
The family drama premiered in competition at this year’s Berlinale and won the Ecumenical Jury Prize. It also screened at the recent Telluride festival and at this week’s San Sebastian festival and is part of the line-up for next week’s BFI London festival.
Since Berlin, Paris-based Alpha Violet has sold the film to distributors including New Wave Films, for the UK and Ireland,...
Mexico has selected Berlin festival prize-winner Totem, written and directed by Lila Avilés, as its submission for this year’s international feature Oscar.
The family drama premiered in competition at this year’s Berlinale and won the Ecumenical Jury Prize. It also screened at the recent Telluride festival and at this week’s San Sebastian festival and is part of the line-up for next week’s BFI London festival.
Since Berlin, Paris-based Alpha Violet has sold the film to distributors including New Wave Films, for the UK and Ireland,...
- 9/28/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Mexico has selected the Berlin competition title Tótem, the latest film from Lila Avilés, as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.
The family drama is Avilés’s second film after the award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then traveled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
Tótem stars newcomer Naíma Sentíes as a 7-year-old girl navigating the strange atmosphere of a special surprise party being held for her dying artist father, from whom she herself feels temporarily estranged.
Further cast members include stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador. The picture was produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés, and Louise Riousse.
After playing Berlin, Tótem made its North American bow at New Directors/New Films and played Telluride earlier this month,...
The family drama is Avilés’s second film after the award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then traveled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
Tótem stars newcomer Naíma Sentíes as a 7-year-old girl navigating the strange atmosphere of a special surprise party being held for her dying artist father, from whom she herself feels temporarily estranged.
Further cast members include stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador. The picture was produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés, and Louise Riousse.
After playing Berlin, Tótem made its North American bow at New Directors/New Films and played Telluride earlier this month,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
"When will the world end?" An early promo trailer has debuted for an acclaimed indie film from Mexico titled Tótem, one of the few truly excellent films from the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. It should've won the Golden Bear, in my opinion, but they skipped over this one entirely. Mexican director Lila Avilés’s Berlinale Competition film Totem is about a family getting ready for a birthday party, told through the eyes of a young girl. Seven-year-old Sol spends the day at her grandfather's home, helping with the preparations for a surprise party for her ailing father. Throughout the day, chaos slowly takes over, fracturing the family's foundations. Sol will embrace the essence of letting go as a release for existence. It's a wonderfully soulful, touching film about family and life on this planet. With Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Teresita Sánchez, Mateo García Elizondo,...
- 6/6/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Beijing Basks In Festival Return
The Argentina-Chile coproduction “The Punishment,” directed by Matias Bize, was named best feature over the weekend at the close of the Beijing International Film Festival.
Mexico’s Lila Avilés won the Tiantan Award for best director for her film “Totem.” Antonia Zegers and Line Renaud shared the best actress award for “The Punishment” and “Driving Madeleine,” respectively.
The best actor award went to Xin Baiqing for Chinese movie “The Shadowless Tower.” The film, which premiered in February in Berlin, was the numerical winner. With the best screenplay, music, cinematography and artistic contribution awards, it won a total of five prizes.
Chinese actor and director Tian Zhuangzhuang collected the best supporting actor award. Mexican, Montserrat Maranon earned the best supporting actress prize.
The ceremony wrapped up a festival at which organizers claimed to have played 1,488 films. International guests included Israel’s Nadav Lapid, Germany’s Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck...
The Argentina-Chile coproduction “The Punishment,” directed by Matias Bize, was named best feature over the weekend at the close of the Beijing International Film Festival.
Mexico’s Lila Avilés won the Tiantan Award for best director for her film “Totem.” Antonia Zegers and Line Renaud shared the best actress award for “The Punishment” and “Driving Madeleine,” respectively.
The best actor award went to Xin Baiqing for Chinese movie “The Shadowless Tower.” The film, which premiered in February in Berlin, was the numerical winner. With the best screenplay, music, cinematography and artistic contribution awards, it won a total of five prizes.
Chinese actor and director Tian Zhuangzhuang collected the best supporting actor award. Mexican, Montserrat Maranon earned the best supporting actress prize.
The ceremony wrapped up a festival at which organizers claimed to have played 1,488 films. International guests included Israel’s Nadav Lapid, Germany’s Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck...
- 5/1/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Paris-based Alpha Violet has posted fresh sales on Mexican director Lila Avilés’s family drama Tótem, which world premiered in competition at the Berlinale to acclaim in February.
In new deals, the film has been acquired for Japan (Bitters End), China (Beijing Hugoeast Media), Germany (Piffl Medien), Greece (Cinobo), Poland (New Horizon Associations), Italy (Officine Ubu) and Romania (August Film).
Previously announced deals include to North America (Sideshow and Janus Films), UK (New Wave), Spain (Adso Films), Taiwan (Hooray Films), Benelux (Vedette Film) and Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom Film).
The film was warmly received at Berlin and went on to win the Ecumenical Jury Prize.
It is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse.
The movie is the second film from Avilés after award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then travelled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
In new deals, the film has been acquired for Japan (Bitters End), China (Beijing Hugoeast Media), Germany (Piffl Medien), Greece (Cinobo), Poland (New Horizon Associations), Italy (Officine Ubu) and Romania (August Film).
Previously announced deals include to North America (Sideshow and Janus Films), UK (New Wave), Spain (Adso Films), Taiwan (Hooray Films), Benelux (Vedette Film) and Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom Film).
The film was warmly received at Berlin and went on to win the Ecumenical Jury Prize.
It is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse.
The movie is the second film from Avilés after award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then travelled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
- 3/3/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Cast led by newcomer Naíma Sentíes in first role.
Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to Lila Avilés’ Berlin Competition selection Tótem.
‘Totem’: Berlin Review
The Ecumenical Jury Prize winner follows a family in crisis as a young girl from a large Mexican family prepares for her father’s surprise birthday party.
The cast is led by newcomer Naíma Sentíes in her first role alongside Montserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador.
Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse produced the Limerencia Films, Laterna, Paloma Productions and Alpha Violet production,...
Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to Lila Avilés’ Berlin Competition selection Tótem.
‘Totem’: Berlin Review
The Ecumenical Jury Prize winner follows a family in crisis as a young girl from a large Mexican family prepares for her father’s surprise birthday party.
The cast is led by newcomer Naíma Sentíes in her first role alongside Montserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador.
Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse produced the Limerencia Films, Laterna, Paloma Productions and Alpha Violet production,...
- 2/28/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Sideshow & Janus Films have snapped up North American rights for Mexican director Lila Avilés’s family drama Tótem following its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale last week.
The movie is the second film from Avilés after award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then travelled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
Tótem stars newcomer Naíma Sentíes as a seven-year-old girl navigating the strange atmosphere of a special surprise party being held for her dying artist father, from whom she herself feels temporarily estranged.
Further cast members include stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador.
The picture is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse.
“We were fans of Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid, but we were not prepared for the overwhelming...
The movie is the second film from Avilés after award-winning feature debut The Chambermaid, which debuted in Toronto in 2018 and then travelled the international festival circuit before being selected as Mexico’s Oscar submission.
Tótem stars newcomer Naíma Sentíes as a seven-year-old girl navigating the strange atmosphere of a special surprise party being held for her dying artist father, from whom she herself feels temporarily estranged.
Further cast members include stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez, Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador.
The picture is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse.
“We were fans of Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid, but we were not prepared for the overwhelming...
- 2/28/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired North American rights to the Berlin-premiering family drama “Tótem,” written and directed by “The Chambermaid” helmer Lila Avilés.
Winner of the festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize, the film follows seven-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they’re throwing for her father, Tonatiuh, who is terminally ill. However, as night descends, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together, and Sol will come to understand that her world will change dramatically.
Sideshow and Janus Films are planning a theatrical release later this year.
“Intimate, emotionally rich Berlin competition entry ‘Tótem’ immerses audiences in a boisterous family gathering,” wrote Variety’s Peter DeBruge about the film.
“Tótem” is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse. The film introduces young actor...
Winner of the festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize, the film follows seven-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they’re throwing for her father, Tonatiuh, who is terminally ill. However, as night descends, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together, and Sol will come to understand that her world will change dramatically.
Sideshow and Janus Films are planning a theatrical release later this year.
“Intimate, emotionally rich Berlin competition entry ‘Tótem’ immerses audiences in a boisterous family gathering,” wrote Variety’s Peter DeBruge about the film.
“Tótem” is produced by Tatiana Graullera, Avilés and Louise Riousse. The film introduces young actor...
- 2/28/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Tótem, the 2023 Berlinale competition title that amassed solid reviews and eventually won the festival’s Ecumenical Jury Prize, has found a home in North America.
Frequent art house distribution bedfellows Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired the feature, from Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés and the follow-up to The Chambermaid. A theatrical release later this year is planned.
The family drama — produced by Tatiana Graullera, Lila Avilés and Louise Riousse — introduces newcomer Naíma Sentíes in her first role and also stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez (The Chambermaid, Dos Estaciones), Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador. Tótem follows 7-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they are throwing for her father, Tonatiuh. As daylight fades, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together.
Frequent art house distribution bedfellows Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired the feature, from Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés and the follow-up to The Chambermaid. A theatrical release later this year is planned.
The family drama — produced by Tatiana Graullera, Lila Avilés and Louise Riousse — introduces newcomer Naíma Sentíes in her first role and also stars Montserrat Marañon (Bardo), Marisol Gasê, Saori Gurza, Mateo García Elizondo, Teresita Sánchez (The Chambermaid, Dos Estaciones), Francisco Maldonado, Iazua Larios and Alberto Amador. Tótem follows 7-year-old Sol, who spends the day at her grandfather’s home, helping her aunts Nuri and Alejandra with the preparations for a surprise party they are throwing for her father, Tonatiuh. As daylight fades, a strange and chaotic atmosphere takes over, shattering the bonds that hold the family together.
- 2/28/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Presented largely from the point of view of two children, Mexican director Lila Avilés’ intimate, emotionally rich Berlin competition entry “Tótem” immerses audiences in a boisterous family gathering, where a handful of adult siblings have gathered to celebrate the birthday of their brother, a painter named Tonatiuh (Mateo Garcia). “Tona” is barely seen for most of the movie, confined to a back room where he refuses visitors. Naturally, this confuses 7-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes), who spends the day wandering the house alone, building a pillow fort in the living room or collecting snails in the garden.
“Sometimes I feel like my dad doesn’t love me when he says he doesn’t want to see me,” Sol confides to her father’s trusted nurse, Cruz. Your heart can’t help but break a little in that moment, for by this time, Avilés has already provided enough clues for us to...
“Sometimes I feel like my dad doesn’t love me when he says he doesn’t want to see me,” Sol confides to her father’s trusted nurse, Cruz. Your heart can’t help but break a little in that moment, for by this time, Avilés has already provided enough clues for us to...
- 2/25/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Naíma Sentíes as Sol in Tótem. Lila Avilés: 'Working with actors is powerful. They are the tribe and it’s only for me to guide them' Photo: Limerencia Taking place over the course of a single day in an extended household, Lila Avilés Tótem explores the different realms inhabited by children and adults - often at the same time. Our guide is little Sol (Naíma Sentíes bringing intensity to her first role), who is preparing for her dad Tona’s (Mateo Garcia) birthday. The preparations alongside her aunts are tinged with melancholy as Tona has cancer and the party also offers an opportunity for his friends to say a last goodbye.
The film had its premiere earlier this week in the main competition at Berlin Film Festival.
Lila Avilés: 'I need freedom to work and I’m a super-freedom girl but I’m also a control freak' Photo: Limerencia...
The film had its premiere earlier this week in the main competition at Berlin Film Festival.
Lila Avilés: 'I need freedom to work and I’m a super-freedom girl but I’m also a control freak' Photo: Limerencia...
- 2/24/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The characters of Tótem don’t just appear onscreen; they take it over. From the top there’s the patriarch Roberto (Alberto Amador), who speaks using an electrolarynx and, when not dryly cajoling his flock, enjoys pruning a handsome Bonsai. There are his daughters Alejandra (Marisol Gasé), who we meet mid-phonecall, mid-ciggie, and covered in hair dye, and Nuria (Montserrat Marañon); their children, the young Marthe (Saori Gurza) as well as a gamer and a stroppy teen whose names I lost track of. There is Alejandra’s brother, an artist named Tona (played by the screenwriter Mateo García Elizondo), and his partner Lucia (Iazua Larios), with whom he has a daughter, Sol (Naíma Sentíes). This lively ensemble are joined here and there by a mystic, a party of friends, a cat named Monsi, two dogs, three snails, a parrot, a scorpion, enough plants to fill a modest botanical garden, and a pestering drone.
- 2/21/2023
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Mexican writer-director Lila Aviles’ justly acclaimed 2018 debut The Chambermaid unfolded in a fancy Mexico City hotel whose rooms the titular heroine was always striving to clean, perpetually trying to erase the evidence of guests. Her follow-up, Totem, in the main competition at this year’s Berlinale, also unfurls mostly in one large space, but it’s a kind of looking-glass inversion of Chambermaid’s clinical austerity. This time, the environment is not an anonymous hostelry, but a well-loved, thoroughly lived-in family home teeming with relatives, clutter, pets, foodstuffs and memories that drift through the sunlight like dust motes.
Noisy, joyous and as exhausting as the multi-generational bash at the heart of its story, Totem packs a hefty wallop for a film that’s only 95 minutes, and should further solidify Aviles’ reputation as an auteur with a unique vision and remarkable skills with actors, especially non-professionals.
True to her name, eight-...
Noisy, joyous and as exhausting as the multi-generational bash at the heart of its story, Totem packs a hefty wallop for a film that’s only 95 minutes, and should further solidify Aviles’ reputation as an auteur with a unique vision and remarkable skills with actors, especially non-professionals.
True to her name, eight-...
- 2/21/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ryan Kampe will introduce films to Efm buyers in Berlin next month.
Source: Visit Films
New York-based Visit Films has acquired rights to two Sundance premieres, taking the world excluding Latin America and Scandinavia to The Queen Of Fear and the world excluding North America, Mexico, and Benelux to Time Share.
After their world premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, Visit president Ryan Kampe and his team will present the films to Efm buyers in Berlin.
Argentine actress Valeria Bertuccelli (Xxy, A Boyfriend for My Wife) and Fabiana Tiscornia directed The Queen Of Fear (Argentina-Denmark), which premieres on Sunday.
Bertuccelli wrote the screenplay and stars in the Rei Cine and Patagonik production as a neurotic actress who attempts to distract herself from the fast-approaching opening night of her one-woman show. Diego Velázquez, Sary López, Gabriel Goity, and Dario Grandinetti round out the key cast.
Santiago Gallelli, Benjamin Domenech, and Matias Roveda produced...
Source: Visit Films
New York-based Visit Films has acquired rights to two Sundance premieres, taking the world excluding Latin America and Scandinavia to The Queen Of Fear and the world excluding North America, Mexico, and Benelux to Time Share.
After their world premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, Visit president Ryan Kampe and his team will present the films to Efm buyers in Berlin.
Argentine actress Valeria Bertuccelli (Xxy, A Boyfriend for My Wife) and Fabiana Tiscornia directed The Queen Of Fear (Argentina-Denmark), which premieres on Sunday.
Bertuccelli wrote the screenplay and stars in the Rei Cine and Patagonik production as a neurotic actress who attempts to distract herself from the fast-approaching opening night of her one-woman show. Diego Velázquez, Sary López, Gabriel Goity, and Dario Grandinetti round out the key cast.
Santiago Gallelli, Benjamin Domenech, and Matias Roveda produced...
- 1/19/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Ryan Kampe will introduce films to Efm buyers in Berlin next month.
Source: Visit Films
New York-based Visit Films has acquired rights to two Sundance premieres, taking the world excluding Latin America and Scandinavia to The Queen Of Fear and the world excluding North America, Mexico, and Benelux to Time Share.
After their world premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, Visit president Ryan Kampe and his team will present the films to Efm buyers in Berlin.
Argentine actress Valeria Bertuccelli (Xxy, A Boyfriend for My Wife) and Fabiana Tiscornia directed The Queen Of Fear (Argentina-Denmark), which premieres on Sunday.
Bertuccelli wrote the screenplay and stars in the Rei Cine and Patagonik production as a neurotic actress who attempts to distract herself from the fast-approaching opening night of her one-woman show. Diego Velázquez, Sary López, Gabriel Goity, and Dario Grandinetti round out the key cast.
Santiago Gallelli, Benjamin Domenech, and Matias Roveda produced...
Source: Visit Films
New York-based Visit Films has acquired rights to two Sundance premieres, taking the world excluding Latin America and Scandinavia to The Queen Of Fear and the world excluding North America, Mexico, and Benelux to Time Share.
After their world premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, Visit president Ryan Kampe and his team will present the films to Efm buyers in Berlin.
Argentine actress Valeria Bertuccelli (Xxy, A Boyfriend for My Wife) and Fabiana Tiscornia directed The Queen Of Fear (Argentina-Denmark), which premieres on Sunday.
Bertuccelli wrote the screenplay and stars in the Rei Cine and Patagonik production as a neurotic actress who attempts to distract herself from the fast-approaching opening night of her one-woman show. Diego Velázquez, Sary López, Gabriel Goity, and Dario Grandinetti round out the key cast.
Santiago Gallelli, Benjamin Domenech, and Matias Roveda produced...
- 1/19/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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