Petit Mal

Director:  Ruth Caudeli
Colombia | 2022| Spanish with English subtitles | 89 min

View in-person at The Cinematheque: Wed, Aug 31, 9:00 PM

Anto, Marti, and Laia are a throuple blissfully living together in a remote house, with nothing but their beloved bundle of dogs keeping them company. When Laia leaves for a work trip, the balance is thrown off and Marti and Anto must adapt to being just the two of them. Suddenly, the dreaminess of their secluded home becomes isolating, and all they have to rely on is each other. In the spirit of honest and vulnerable openness, this semi-autobiographical blend of documentary and fiction from writer-director Ruth Caudeli, who also plays Lai, is an invitation to experience the intimate details, both unique and universal, of the ups and downs and shifting dynamics in a polyamorous relationship.

Presenting a fresh and exhilarating perspective, full of tenderness and free of judgment, bolstered by beautifully grounded performances by all three actors (including Caudeli’s frequent collaborators, Silvia Varón and Ana María Otálora), this charming indie gem is brimming with a radical sincerity that is impossible not to get swept up in. – Celeste Wong, Frameline

¿Alguna vez has conocido a una pareja de tres, o “triéja”? Abrimos las puertas de nuestra casa para mostrarles cómo es nuestra vida, cómo nosotras, como trío de mujeres, vivimos la ausencia de una de nosotras. Esta ficción real nos muestra cómo lidiamos con la soledad, los celos y cómo tenemos que adaptarnos cuando tres se convierten en dos.

Ruth Caudeli was born in Valencia, Spain. She has a Master’s in film directing from the renowned ESCAC film school and another in fiction for television from the Pompeu Fabra University. She studied audiovisual communication at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, where she won the award for excellence. She has directed several short films, including Late (2010), Porque no (2016), Between Walls (2017), Aquí no hay señal, marica (2018), EVA minus CANDELA (2018), and Screenshots for a Goodbye (2020), which were selected for and won awards at various international festivals. She has written and directed the feature-length films Eva+Candela (2017), Second Star on the Right (2019), Leading Ladies (2021), and Petit Mal (2022). She is a contributor to publications, such as Kinetoscope, and is a professor of film and television at the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano.