Two Mexican directors were announced today as nominees at the 33rd edition of the Gotham Awards. Tótem, the second film by Lila Avilés was nominated for Best International Feature, while director Michelle Garza Cervera, nabbed an nomination for the Breakthrough Director Award for Huesera: The Bone Woman.
Tótem, which had its world premiere at the Berlinale, is set in a bustling Mexican household, where seven-year-old Sol is swept up in a whirlwind of preparations for the birthday party for her father, Tona, led by her mother, aunts and other relatives. As the day goes on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded, Sol begins to understand the gravity of the celebration this year and watches as her family does the same. This poignant and emotionally expansive film from Avilés (The Chambermaid) cements her skill at directing dynamic, ensemble performances in her stunning sophomore effort.
Winner of the Best New Narrative Director and Nora Ephron awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, the supernatural horror film Huesera: The Bone Woman tells the story of Valeria (Natalia Solián in a breakthrough performance), whose joy at becoming pregnant with her first child is quickly taken away when she’s cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in and relationships with her family become fractured, she’s forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her. A group of witches emerge that could be her only hope for safety and salvation, but not without grave risk. With a mostly female cast and crew, the remarkable debut feature by director Michelle Garza Cervera, uses Mexican folklore to tell a terrifying and unexpected story about motherhood.
The winners of the 33rd edition of the Gotham Awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on Monday, November 27.
