NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
The films selected for this year’s New Directors Competition confront, at times directly and at others poetically, the lingering effects of absence. From the lack of a father figure to the disappearances of political dissidents and migrants, these six documentaries and fiction films ask about the untold stories that every family holds and their generational impact. The people and protagonists of the chosen features are multifaceted, navigating broad identity spectrums, not only in terms of gender but also linguistic and national ties. Ultimately, these narratives center relationally, where the self and the other are in constant dialogue.
El diablo fuma
Director: Ernesto Martínez Bucio | Mexico | 2025 | Spanish with English subtitles | 95 min | Documentary
Mexico City, mid-90s. After the sudden disappearance of their parents, five siblings are left in the care of their grandmother. As they struggle to survive, the line between reality and something darker begins to blur. The grandmother, tormented by strange visions and rising fears, grows more distant, while the children’s grip on their own perceptions starts to unravel.
HIJO MAYOR
Director: Cecilia Kang | Argentina | 2025 | Spanish with English subtitles | 118 min | Fiction
Lila, una joven coreana - argentina, navega por las contradicciones de su identidad e intenta encontrar su lugar en el mundo. Su padre, Antonio, llega a Latinoamérica 18 años antes, y decide apostarlo todo a la promesa de un sueño de joven inmigrante.
La reserva
Director: Pablo Pérez Lombardini | Argentina | 2025 | Spanish with English subtitles | 95 min | Fiction
Mientras la mayoría de los habitantes de Monte Virgen se ocupa de la cosecha del café, la guardabosque Julia descubrirá que la Reserva está siendo deforestada por talamontes ilegales. Decidida a detenerlos, buscará la ayuda de una comunidad temerosa e indiferente que no tardará en darle la espalda. Sola en su enfrentamiento, la guardabosque recibirá amenazas de muerte y gradualmente perderá todo lo que ama excepto una cosa: su dignidad.
Comparsa
Director: Vickie Curtis, Doug Anderson | Guatemala | 2024 | Spanish with English subtitles | 78 min
In a Guatemalan barrio silenced by fear, two teenage sisters lead a luminous rebellion —unleashing giant puppets, fi re, and artful performance in a joyful fight for survival.
Eco de Luz
Director: Misha Vallejo Prut | Ecuador | 2025 | Spanish with English subtitles | 85 min min
Photography, fractured memories and family secrets converge in a visually poignant exploration that digs into the effects of absent father figures throughout a family tree.
Amantes en el cielo
Dir. Fermin de la Serna | Argentina | 2025 | Spanish with English subtitles | 77 mins
Amantes en el cielo explora las historias de Cristina y La Bonita, dos cocineras trans que han trabajado durante décadas en los barcos cargueros que navegan incansablemente por los ríos de la Amazonía peruana.
Enfrentando presiones personales y sociales, ambas transitan y se reinventan en el territorio de la post-identidad.
Cristina busca cumplir una promesa hecha a su madre muerta, mientras La Bonita vive impulsada por el temor de arder para siempre en el infierno.