Director Bustamante’s follow-up to his political ghost story La Llorona is a magical-realist fantasy based on a 2017 tragedy in which 41 girls died in a Guatemalan children’s home.
The film follows Rita as she’s taken into an institution that ‘rescues’ young girls without family support. Once there, she finds herself part of a seemingly fantastical battle between good and evil – between her new friends who are on the side of the angels and abusive staff that take the form of malevolent creatures.
Despite shades of Pan’s Labyrinth, Bustamente has a distinctive vision that literally conjures light and magic in the darkest of places.
Screening at FilmFear courtesy of Shudder and Yellow Veil Pictures
This work contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.