Many years after a viral zombie outbreak, three brothers are forced to fend for themselves, living off the land in a cabin in the woods. With their parents long gone, the eldest, Salvador is tasked with feeding and protecting his brothers, but his amputated leg means he needs assistance from the younger Oliver and Benjamin. Together they hunt wild animals and fortify their base. Still, how long until outside dangers invade their safety? The infected roam the outskirts of the woods, a murderous cult of bandits called The Trumpets are roving the land, and what to make of the monstrous sounds emanating from the basement?
Director Isaac Ezban returns to the fest (his films The Incident, The Similars, and Parallel all screened at VIFF) with a gory coming-of-age fable about an unconventional family unit finding ways to survive the end of the world. Thanks to Ezban’s careful world-building and pitch-black humour, Párvulos strikes a miraculous balance between heartwarming and darkly cynical.
Sept 29 & 30: Q&A with director Isaac Ezban
Supported by
Media Partner
Community Partner
Felix Farid Escalante, Leonardo Cervantes, Mateo Ortega, Norma Flores, Horacio Lazo, Carla Adell
Mexico
2024
In Spanish with English subtitles
Animal cruelty
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Carolina Franco, Francisco Aguilera, Francisco Sánchez Solís, Franz Alvarez Novotny
Producer
Natalia Contreras, Javier Sepulveda, Eduardo Lecuona, Isaac Ezban
Screenwriter
Isaac Ezban
Cinematography
Rodrigo Sandoval, Vega Gil
Editor
Oscar Figueroa
Production Design
Adelle Achar
Original Music
Camilla Uboldi, Edy Lan
Isaac Ezban
Isaac Ezban’s first film The Incident (2014) premiered at Cannes and 50 more festivals, gaining support from Del Toro. His second film The Similars (2015) won Best Latin American Film at Sitges, making him the first Mexican with two films in two straight years in Fantastic Fest and Sitges. He then was hired by BRON Studios to direct his first English-language film Parallel (2018), broke box office records with Mal De Ojo (2022), and premiered his new movie Párvulos (2024) at Fantasia and Fantastic Fest.
Filmography: The Incident (2014); The Similars (2015); Parallel (2018); Mal De Ojo (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
That They May Face the Rising Sun
John and Kate have moved from London to a farm in Ireland, to the bemusement of the locals. This lyrical Irish reverie taps deep wells of feeling in the stuff of everyday life.
Secret Mall Apartment
The stranger-than-fiction true story of a group of artists who built and furnished a hidden apartment inside a mall, remaining undetected for years. This is an absurdly fun and surprisingly profound film about gentrification and art.
The Encampments
When pro-Palestine protests took hold of Columbia last year, the filmmakers were there from the beginning. This documentary charts the mounting tensions between students and the administration, as the protests were picked up across North America.
The Teacher
In this potent thriller, English teacher Basem witnesses the murder of a teenager by a Israeli settler. While the subsequent investigation rolls slowly towards a foregone conclusion, the teacher is caught up in a parallel kidnapping case...
Bob Trevino Likes It
When her toxic, narcissistic dad cuts her out of his life, Lily Trevino looks him up on Facebook and happens across his namesake, Bob (John Leguizamo), a gentle, genial contractor who lives nearby, and who proves an altogether better dad...
A Duke Ellington Tribute with the Mike Braverman Sextet
After a scintillating session of Duke standards performed by The Mike Braverman Sextet, enjoy a roundup of Ellingtonia on Film: his first short sound films from the late 20s and 30s, and clips from the scores he composed in the 50s and 60s.