The Cannes Film Festival has announced this morning the lineup for its 70th edition, which only features two Latin American productions in the Un Certain Regard section: Las hijas de abril / April's Daughter by Mexican director Michel Franco and the Chilean-Argentine co-production La novia del desierto / The Desert Bride, the debut feature film by Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato.
Franco—who's premiered all of his films at Cannes: Daniel & Ana (2009) at Director's Fortnight; After Lucía (2012) at Un Certain Regard, winner of the top prize; and Chronic (2015) in the official competition, winning the Best Screenplay Award—returns to Un Certain Regard with April's Daughter starring Spanish actress Emma Suarez, co-star of Pedro Almodovar’s Julieta, and Valeria Becerril and Joanna Larequi.
The film continues Franco's exploration of keystone family relationships and tells the story of a woman who returns to Mexico to reconnect with her youngest daughter, Valeria, when she learns the teen girl is pregnant.
Starring Chilean Paulina García, winner of the Best Actress award at the Berlinale for Gloria and directed by the Argentinean filmmakers Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato, The Desert Bride follows a 54-year-old live-in-maid in Buenos Aires who staid life is upturned when she is forced to travel to a provincial capital surrounded by dusty plains.
