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
All We Imagine as Light
What Wong Kar-wai did for Hong Kong, Payal Kapadia does for Mumbai: the Cannes Grand Prix winner is a romantic heartbreaker about three nurses at different stages of life. It's a future classic.
Let's Get Lost
One of the essential jazz films, this is an achingly tender record of jazz icon Chet Baker shortly before he died, still playing beautiful music and looking back on a life of might-have-beens. A love letter to a lost soul.
Bird
In Andrea Arnold's latest, 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) lives in a squat near the English seaside. Neglected by her chaotic father (Barry Keoghan), she pursues an adventure with a magnetic stranger named Bird (Franz Rogowski).
Ghost Cat Anzu
When fifth grader Karin is deposited with her grandfather for the summer she takes out her unhappiness on his giant talking cat, Anzu -- who looks out for her even so. This wildly original anime riffs on Spirited Away with pleasing irreverence. Rated: PG.
Memoir of a Snail
A stellar Australian cast voice this charming and emotional animated feature by Adam Elliot, the tale of a lonely foster kid befriended by an eccentric elderly woman who turns her life around. (Not for kids!)
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.