ASFIXIA
Mexico, 2018
Director: Kenya Márquez
Spanish with English subtitles | 87 min
Closing Night Film / New Directors

Sunday, September 1 | 6:30 PM | SFU Woodwards

After being released from prison, Alma (Johana Fragoso), an albino woman, struggles to put her life back together in Mexico City. But living an ordinary life is only a secondary concern. She is on a mission, determined to recover at any cost something that means much more to her than her own freedom. She reconnects with her old friend, Conchita (Mónica del Carmen), who shows more interest in flipping through bridal magazines than in helping Alma. Desperate for work, Alma takes a night job caring for Clemente, a hypochondriac who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive fear of his imminent death. The trust he puts in her emboldens her to pull out all the stops in finding the only thing in life of true importance.

Después de salir de la cárcel, Alma, una mujer albina, está decidida a recuperar algo mucho más importante que su propia libertad. Para lograrlo, se ve obligada a cuidar por las noches a Clemente, un hipocondríaco con una obsesión compulsiva por evitar una muerte fulminante. La relación entre ambos avanzará desde la sospecha y el miedo hacia la ternura y el amor, y le dará a Alma las fuerzas que necesita para su redoblar su búsqueda.


Followed by the Closing Night Party in the World Art Centre with music by Los Duendes and catering by Boteco Brasil.

Filmed in shadowy blues and greys, Asfixia is a spellbinding, darkly humorous social drama, made all the more riveting by Johana Fragoso’s incredible performance as Alma. – VLAFF

Best Actor (Raúl Briones), Mexican Competition, Morelia International Film Festival,
2018Audience Award and Youth Jury Award, Durango Festival of New Mexican Cinema, 2019

Filmography: Fecha de caducidad (Winner of Best New Director, VLAFF 2012)