Tótem

A spellbinding family portrait that presents a child’s-eye view of love, loss and life in all their messy, glorious, heartbreaking colour.

Over the course of a single day, seven-year-old Sol and her extended family prepare for a surprise birthday party. The guest of honour is Sol’s father, who is nowhere to be found – at least, as far as Sol can determine. As her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandfather and others busy themselves with baking cakes, dyeing hair or generally trying to corral (or evade) the chaos leading up to the evening’s big celebration, Sol begins to understand that the adults are not telling her everything.

Mexican actor turned director Lila Avilés’s second film (following 2018’s The Chambermaid) was awarded the Berlinale Prize of the Ecumenical Jury for the complex and sensitive way it illustrates the love that holds Sol’s family together during a time of great upheaval. With splendid acting from its cast of mostly non-professionals, Tótem captures – with an almost vérité feel – the freewheeling, intimate joys and sorrows of close-knit relatives grappling with something bigger than all of them. As she meticulously directs the familial hubbub towards a breathtaking conclusion, Avilés infuses every scene with abundant life, creating a bittersweet and beautiful work of extraordinary emotional depth.

“Bursting with beauty … Tótem packs in a massive amount of drama into a small space, and the rewards are immense.” – Hollywood Reporter

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Director Lila Avilés will be in attendance for the screenings on Tuesday 15, Thursday 17 and Saturday 19 August.