A riveting, genre-bending feature debut following a soon-to-be mother, Valeria, as she starts experiencing odd visions and sensations that alert her to a supernatural presence lurking around the corner. As her paranoia grows, she encounters increasing resistance from her partner and immediate family, with old wounds slowly resurfacing and further alienating her from her loved ones.
Precise yet measured in its use of occult themes and genre conventions, Huesera expertly fuses elements of demonic possession and witchcraft while drawing from regional folklore. Meanwhile, it astutely taps into taboo themes around motherhood, adding weight to every bone crack and window peek. A truly chilling watch, the film leans heavily into the body horror realm, employing sound and spider analogy to evoke the nature of demonic temperament. The visceral choreographies and bone-cracking alone promise to haunt one long after the credits roll.
Q&A Oct 1 & Oct 8
Media Partner
Natalia Solián, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Aída López, Martha Claudia Moreno
Mexico/Peru
2022
In Spanish with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill + Q&A
In the early 1990s, director Larry Weinstein and music producer Hal Wilner brought together an extraordinary line up of performers to pay tribute to the great German composer Kurt Weill, among them Nick Cave, Lou Reed, PJ Harvey and Elvis Costello.
Union County
In this authentically grounded addiction recovery drama, Will Poulter and Noah Centenio are foster brothers trying to get out from their dependence on opioids through a progressive government program in Ohio.
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Credits
Executive Producer
Eduardo Lecuona, Javier Sepúlveda, Francisco Sánchez, Mauricio van Hasselt, Mónica Reina, Rune Hansen, Joakim Ziegler, Øyvind Stiauren, David Bond
Producer
Paulina Villavicencio, Edher Campos
Screenwriter
Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo
Cinematography
Nur Rubio Sherwell
Editor
Adriana Martínez
Production Design
Ana J. Bellido
Original Music
Gibrán Androide, Cabeza de Vaca
Director
Michelle Garza Cervera
Michelle Garza Cervera graduated from Centro de capacitación cinematográfica in Mexico City and was awarded a Chevening Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom, where she completed an MFA. Her shorts have played all over the world. Huesera, her debut feature, was co-written with Abia Castillo.