DIRECTOR: Jayro Bustamante
PRODUCTION: La Casa de Producción, Les Films do Volcan
CAST: María Mercedes Coroy (Ixcanul), Margarita Kénefic, Sabrina de la Hoz, Julio Díaz.
COUNTRY: Guatemala, France
LANGUAGE: Spanish, Maya-Caqchickel, Maya-Ixil
YEAR: 2019
GENRE: Drama
DURATION: 97m
RELEASE DATE: November 13th, 2020
LA LLORONA
With the words “If you cry, I’ll kill you” ringing in their ears, Alma and her sons are murdered in Guatemala’s armed conflict. Thirty years later, a criminal case is brought against Enrique, a retired general who oversaw the genocide. But he’s acquitted through a mistrial and the spirit of La Llorona is unleashed to wander the world like a lost soul amongst the living. At night, Enrique starts to hear her wailing. His wife and daughter believe he’s having bouts of Alzheimer’s-related dementia. Little could they suspect that their new housekeeper, Alma, is there to mete out the vengeance the trial did not. Premiered at Venice Film Festival (Giornati degli autori).
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
- Venice-days Award (Giornate degli Autori, Venice Film Festival, Italy, 2019)
- Best Film exaequo (Bergen International Film Festival, Norway, 2019)
- Audience Award – Latidoamericano Section – (Cineuropa, 2019)
- Best Feature (Kolkata International Film Festival, India, 2019)
- Audience Award (FILMAR en America Latina, Switzerland, 2019)
- International Press Award / Glauber Rocha, Special Jury Award, Best Sound (La Habana International Film Festival, Cuba, 2019)
- Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days) – Official Section – Italy (2019)
- Toronto International Film Festival – Contemporary World Cinema – Canada (2019)
- El Gouna International Film Festival – Feature Narrative Competetion – Egypt (2019)
- SSIFF – Horizontes Latinos – Spain (2019)
- Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival – World Cinema Special Screening – Turkey (2019)
- Bergen International Film Festival – Cinema Extraordinaire – Norway (2019)
- Zurich Film Festival – International Competition – Switzerland (2019)
- BFI London Film Festival – Competition – UK (2019)
- Gent International Film Festival – Official Competition – Belgium (2019)
- Cinema Akil Dubai (Latin American film festival) – U.A.E. (2019)
- Chicago International Film Festival – International Competition – USA (2019)
- Sao Paulo Interational Film Festival – International Perspective – Brazil (2019)
- Le Giornate Della Mostra del Cinema, Trento – Italy (2019)
- Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Sicilia – Italy (2019)
- Tokyo International Film Festival – International Competition – Japan (2019)
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival – Open Horizones – Greece (2019)
- Cineuropa – Official Section “Latidoamericano” (2019)
- Stockholm International Film Festival – Open Zone Competition – Sweden (2019)
- Film from the South Festival – Norway (2019)
- Kolkata International Film Festival – Innovage Inmovie Images – India (2019)
- Peliculatina Film Festival – Cinéfilos – Belgium (2019)
- FILMAR en América Latina – Switzerland (2019)
- Pantalla Latina Switzerland (2019)
- Movies on War Film Festival – Norway (2019)
- Cartagena Film Festival – Spain (2019)
- La Habana International Film Festival – Official Section – Cuba (2019)
- Knight MARIMBAS Award – Best Feature (Miami Film Festival, USA, 2020)
- Sundance Film Festival – Spotlight – USA (2020)
- Global Dominican Film Festival – Dominican Republic (2020)
- Bengaluru International Film Festival – Contemporary World Cinema – India (2020)
- Miami Film Festival – USA (2020)
- Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival – Spectrum – Korea (2020)
- Mediterranean Film Festival Split – Out of Competition: Focus South America – Croatia (2020)
- Quito International Film Festival – Closing Film – Ecuador (2020)
- Latin American Film Focus Festival – Showcase – Denmark (2020)
- MOTELX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival – Room Service – Portugal (2020)
- Helsinki International Film Festival- Latin Film section – Finland (2020)
- Praga International Film Festival – Panorama – Czech Republic (2020)
JAYRO BUSTAMANTE
Born in Guatemala and raised in a Mayan community near Lake Atitlán, he found his passion for cinema through his experience in a unique social context. After studying advertising and working in the industry, he traveled to Europe to train as a director and screenwriter. Upon returning to Guatemala, he founded his own production company and debuted with Ixcanul, marking the beginning of an outstanding career as a Guatemalan filmmaker. He continued his impact with films like Temblores and his most recent work, La Llorona, demonstrating a continued commitment to film and storytelling that reflects the reality of his country.
