A connection formed between two outsiders from different social backgrounds and of different ages, which transcends trauma in a world that tries to exclude them, is at the heart of The Ivy (Hiedra), the third feature by Ecuadorian director Ana Cristina Barragán (Alba, La Piel Pulpo), which world premieres at Venice on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
“Azucena, a woman in her 30s, approaches Julio, a teenage boy living in a group home, for reasons he doesn’t understand,” reads a synopsis. “As they spend time together, an uneasy closeness grows, changing the shape of a bond neither of them expected to find.”
The two “are connected by a shared experience of trauma,” according to a description. “Together,
they set out on a journey beyond the confines of a society that has never truly included them. With fearlessness and intimacy, the film explores the complexities of disordered, unresolved desire and intimate, often wordless relationships.”
Starring Simone Bucio (The Untamed) and first-time actor Francis Eddú Llumiquinga, the movie will debut in the Horizons, or Orizzonti, competition at the Venice International Film Festival.
“I’m drawn to the power of ambiguity — what moves beneath the surface of the story. The jolt in the arm when it’s the elbow that gets hit, the face that warms with anxiety, the childhood wound betrayed by small gestures,” Barragán shares in a director’s statement. “I want to push the boundaries of the intimacies we’ve come to accept as normal. In Hiedra, I seek a desire that is disordered, unresolved. I explore, without fear, tenderness towards the Other: a baby, a grandfather, a mother, a child, a sister. I seek a silent atmosphere, a singular scent that lingers. I’m interested in telling stories from the body, in its clumsiness. I work with non-professional actors who carry a hypnotic way of being in the world before the camera.”
Produced by Botón Films (Ecuador), BHD Films (Mexico), Ciné-Sud Promotion (France) and Guspira Films (Spain), Bendita Film Sales is handling world sales on The Ivy.
Screenwriter and director Barragán’s 2016 film Alba was Ecuador’s submission to the international feature film race of the Oscars. She is currently developing her fourth feature, Amapola, a series with the title La Costra y la Miel, her first documentary, and various writing and photography projects.
The exclusive clip from the movie, which THR can premiere below, shows fun and games, and alcohol – before eyes meet.
Check out the clip for The Ivy below.