Mexico, the 1990s. When both parents disappear, five children are left in the care of their
grandmother, a superstitious woman terrified that the devil might slip into the house. Her visions
stir the children’s already vivid imaginations, and after a strange encounter with the neighbors,
they decide to cut themselves off entirely from the outside world. Winner of the Berlinale’s
debut film program Perspektive Deutsches Kino, this tender yet claustrophobic work flirts with
the horror genre. Drawing on Mexican folklore and myth, the director tells a haunting story of
the harsh reality faced by abandoned children.
Ernesto Martínez Bucio
Born in 1983 in Uruapan, Mexico, Ernesto Martínez Bucio is a director, screenwriter, and editor.
He studied communication and film in Mexico before earning a master’s degree in film in San
Sebastián, Spain. His short films have been screened at Cannes, Cairo, San Sebastián, and
Rotterdam. In 2016, he took part in the Berlinale Talents program.
.png?width=675&height=1000&format=jpg&quality=90)
Mexico, the 1990s. When both parents disappear, five children are left in the care of their
grandmother, a superstitious woman terrified that the devil might slip into the house. Her visions
stir the children’s already vivid imaginations, and after a strange encounter with the neighbors,
they decide to cut themselves off entirely from the outside world. Winner of the Berlinale’s
debut film program Perspektive Deutsches Kino, this tender yet claustrophobic work flirts with
the horror genre. Drawing on Mexican folklore and myth, the director tells a haunting story of
the harsh reality faced by abandoned children.
Ernesto Martínez Bucio
Born in 1983 in Uruapan, Mexico, Ernesto Martínez Bucio is a director, screenwriter, and editor.
He studied communication and film in Mexico before earning a master’s degree in film in San
Sebastián, Spain. His short films have been screened at Cannes, Cairo, San Sebastián, and
Rotterdam. In 2016, he took part in the Berlinale Talents program.
grandmother, a superstitious woman terrified that the devil might slip into the house. Her visions
stir the children’s already vivid imaginations, and after a strange encounter with the neighbors,
they decide to cut themselves off entirely from the outside world. Winner of the Berlinale’s
debut film program Perspektive Deutsches Kino, this tender yet claustrophobic work flirts with
the horror genre. Drawing on Mexican folklore and myth, the director tells a haunting story of
the harsh reality faced by abandoned children.
Ernesto Martínez Bucio
Born in 1983 in Uruapan, Mexico, Ernesto Martínez Bucio is a director, screenwriter, and editor.
He studied communication and film in Mexico before earning a master’s degree in film in San
Sebastián, Spain. His short films have been screened at Cannes, Cairo, San Sebastián, and
Rotterdam. In 2016, he took part in the Berlinale Talents program.