LA LLORONA: Jayro Bustamante's Golden Globe Nominated Horror Drama on Digital HD in March

Bustamente repurposes and recontextualizes the "La Llorona" legend (ghostly woman who kidnaps small children to replace her own, drowned children) to explore Guatemala's unresolved, unreconciled past. Alma stands-in for both the indigenous population and their brutal exploitation, suppression, and oppression under successive Spanish colonialist regimes and/or governments.

 

 

Her presence in Enrique's home serves as a quiet reminder of Enrique's war crimes, but also as the virtual, figurative, and literal personification of the "return of the repressed." Bustamente ultimately offers a hopeful vision for Guatemala, however, one where both the exploited indigenous population and their colonialist oppressors find common ground in the belief in karmic/supernatural justice, if not in the manipulatable, fallible rule of law.

 

RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to LA LLORONA from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. LA LLORONA was recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language and is Guatemala’s Official Entry for 2021 Academy Award® consideration for Best International Feature Film. LA LLORONA will be released on Digital HD on March 2, 2021.

 

 

LA LLORONA blends together the terror of both myth and reality into a devastating exposé of the genocidal atrocities against the Mayan community in Guatemala. Through a modern retelling of the classic Latin American legend, LA LLORONA forces a reckoning with not-so-distant crimes which should not have been forgotten. Following a premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival where the film won Best Film (Venice Days), LA LLORONA has had an impressive festival tour with appearances at TIFF, Sundance and BFI. The film is being celebrated as a true depiction of Latino culture.

 

 

LA LLORONA is the third feature from iconic Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante (Tremors), who co-wrote the film with Lisandro Sánchez. The film stars María Mercedes Coroy (Ixcanul), Margarita Kenéfic (Aro Tolbukhin in the Mind of a Killer), Sabrina de la Hoz (Tremors), and Julio Diaz.

 

 

In LA LLORONA, indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house – his haute wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter – weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths behind being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young indigenous maid arrives.

 

 

Notable Laurels/Prizes:

 

Winner - Best Foreign Language Film - 2021 National Board of Review

 

Winner - Best Non-English Language Film - 2020 Boston Society of Film Critics

 

Runner-up - Best Foreign Language Film - 2021 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle

 

Runner-up- Best Foreign Language Film - 2021 New Mexico Film Critics

 

Nominee - Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language - 2021 Golden Globe® Awards 

 

Nominee - Best Film Not in English Language - 2021 Online Film Critics Society

 

Nominee - Best Foreign Language Film - 2021 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle

 

Nominee - Best Foreign Language Film - 2020 Chicago Film Critics Association

 

Nominee - Best Foreign Language Film - 2020 North Carolina Film Critics Association 

 

Nominee - Best Foreign Language Film - 2020 Houston Film Critics Society

 

Nominee - Best Horror Film - 2020 St. Louis Film Critics Association

 

Official Selection - Best International Feature Film - 2021 Academy Awards - Guatemala

 

Winner - Venice Days - Best Film - 2019 Venice Film Festival