By Teodora Ana Mihai • 2021 • Drama • 135 min
Cielo’s teenage daughter, Laura, is kidnapped in Northern Mexico. Despite paying several ransoms, Laura is not returned. When the authorities offer no support in the search, Cielo takes matters into her own hands. She finds help from Lamarque, a military man with unconventional modus operandi, who agrees to assist her in her search – off the record – in exchange for information which she can provide as a local. Cielo’s collaboration with Lamarque will pull her into the spiral of violence that made her a victim in the first place.
Cannes IFF 2021 – Un Certain Regard Audacity Award
Melbourne IFF 2021
Sarajevo IFF 2021 – Focus Program
Lima IFF 2021 – Aclamadas
Jerusalem IFF 2021
Vina del Mar 2021 – Competencia Oficial – Special Mention for Arcelia Ramírez
Hamburg IFF 2021 – Political Film Award
FEST – New Directors 2021 – Golden Lynx Award for Best Fiction Feature
Mill Valley Film Festival 2021
AFI Latin American FF 2021
Warsaw FF 2021 – Discoveries
Film Fest Ghent 2021
Film Festival Cologne 2021 – Benelux Section
Bergen IFF 2021 – Cinema Extraordinaire
New Zealand IFF 2021
Tokyo IFF 2021 – Official Competition, Special Jury Prize
Festival de Huelva Cine Iberoamericano 2021 – Colon de Plata Best Performance
Stockhom IFF 2021 – Official Selection
CPH PIX 2021- Official Competition
Films from the South 2021 – New Voices Competition Section
Crime and Punishment 2021 – Golden Scale Feature
Festival on Wheels 2021
Cairo IFF 2021- Critic’s Week
Festival de Cine Global 2022
Festival International de Films de Fribourg 2022 – Prix du jury œcuménique
« A gripping and heartbreaking film that goes out with a whimper that hits harder than any kind of bang it could’ve mustered. » - VARIETY
« A commanding, award-worthy central performance from Arcelia Ramirez is the ace in the hole of an involving tale that should win the support of global distributors. » - SCREEN
« Extraordinary Arcelia Ramirez. Extremely well written. » - CINEUROPA
Original title: La Civil
Director: Teodora Ana Mihai
Casting: Arcelia Ramírez, Alvaro Guerrero, Jorge A. Jimenez
Production company: Menuetto Film, One For The Road, Les Films du Fleuve, Mobra Films, Teorema
Country: Belgium, Romania, Mexico
Production year: 2021
Language: Spanish (Mexican)
Runtime: 135 min