Chicas tristes (Sad Girlz)

Sixteen-year-olds La Maestra (Rocío Guzmán) and Paula (Darana Álvarez) are inseparable friends: they share routines, rituals, karaoke songs, glitter make-up and the dream of being selected for a major swimming competition in Rio de Janeiro. Their future glitters in the reflection of the Olympic swimming pool in Mexico City, where they train every day. With the world at their feet – On your marks, get set, go! – they are more than ready to take the plunge: both in the water and into first love. However, when Paula falls victim to sexual assault at a party, much will change forever. Confused, the usually exuberant Paula withdraws into silence and isolates herself more and more. La Maestra sees the light in her best friend dim, but she can only guess at the reason.

Mexican filmmaker Fernanda Tovar’s debut film centres on the chaotic aftermath of that traumatic event. She focuses on La Maestra’s quest to help her friend. La Maestra wants to be as close to Paula as possible whilst at the same time giving her the space she needs. Finding the right distance from Paula turns out to be a true balancing act. When uncertainty gets the better of her, La Maestra seeks solace in chatbots, tarot cards and wishful thinking. However, it is in the swimming pool that the young women will find a point of anchorage in these stormy times. There, words fade away and their bodies speak the more accessible language of water. Tovar portrays with tact and determination how life continues unabated regardless of the injustice and suffering that befall us. In every frame, however, there's hope. In doing so, she celebrates the belief in small, seemingly futile acts – such as holding up a mirror in the air – as potential miracles.

Chicas Tristes is the work of a collective of filmmakers from Mexico City called Colectivo Colmena. They believe in the power of bold, sensitive and deeply human stories to bring about personal and collective change. Colectivo Colmena’s films have been selected by leading film festivals such as Venice and Locarno. Chicas Tristes, in turn, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it even won two awards.