When financial hardship forces her to rent out a room in her Mexico City apartment, elderly Olga (Teresita Sánchez) grudgingly accepts Tulio (Hugo Ramírez) as a tenant. Tulio’s wife is undergoing chemo at the nearby hospital, and he’s poor and desperate enough to play sneaky: he hides his son Cristian (Bastian Escobar) from Olga, figuring she’d refuse the extra occupant. The deceit is discovered and Olga cracks down on the pair, but after a day as Cristian’s reluctant guardian, a bond begins to form, and Olga’s heart begins to open…
Funny, touching, and true to life, Flies is a film that transforms over its runtime. Assuming Olga’s cramped, embittered perspective during its opening stretch, it expands to take in the tenderness of family relations, the human faces behind bureaucracy, and the joys of arcade games, among other things. Director and co-writer Fernando Eimbcke shows a flair for sharp, suggestive imagery, and he’s a sure hand at blending the harsh and the heartwarming.
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Berlinale 2026; Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award, Berlinale 2026
Teresita Sánchez, Bastian Escobar, Hugo Ramírez, Enrique Arreola
Mexico/Spain
2026
In Spanish with English subtitles
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Daniela Leyva Becerra Acosta, Luis Collar, Jorge Moreno
Producer
Eréndira Núñez Larios, Michel Franco, Fernando Eimbcke
Screenwriter
Vanesa Garnica, Fernando Eimbcke
Cinematography
María Secco
Editor
Salvador Reyes Zúñiga, Fernando Eimbcke
Production Design
Alfredo Wigueras
Fernando Eimbcke
Over the past decade, Fernando Eimbcke has established himself as one of the most influential directors in Latin America. Born in Mexico City and educated at UNAM, he made his feature debut with Duck Season, which premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and earned multiple accolades. His subsequent film, Lake Tahoe, premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the FIPRESCI Prize and the Silver Bear Jury Prize. Across his filmography, Eimbcke’s works are marked by a finely tuned comedic sensibility — quiet, observant, and deeply humane — attuned to the idiosyncrasies and small wonders of childhood innocence.
Filmography: Duck Season (2004); Lake Tahoe (Golden Berlin Bear: Berlinale 2008); Club Sandwich (2013); Olmo (2025)
Photo by Fernando Aceves
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