Director
Lila Avilés
Composer
Thomas Becka
Cast
Naíma Sentíes, Montserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé
Edition 2023
95'
-
2023
-
Drama
-
Dialogue:
Spanish
A farewell party for her terminally ill father confronts seven-year-old Sol with the best and worst in her family. Lila Avilés zooms in on the harshness of life, but also gives a much-needed warmth, showing us that there is always something left to wish for.
Seven-year-old Sol (Naima Senties), together with her equally loving and temperamental, is preparing a birthday party of which they are not sure they will be able to celebrate. The birthday boy, her terminally ill father Tona (Mateo García Elizondo), has been refusing visits all day. While the adults are busy, Sol is left to her own. Without losing the radiant quality that her name evokes, she braves a whirlwind of emotions and clings to elusive details such as seeing a cricket walk across the garage floor or quizzing Siri on what no one else will tell her. Director Lila Avilés excels in her strong depiction of grief as an erratic process, eschewing sentimentality. Despite the bleakness of its topic, Tótem is a film full of love and life, and the inevitable chaos that comes with it.
“Noisy, joyous and as exhausting as the multi-generational bash at the heart of its story, Tótem packs a hefty wallop for a film that’s only 95 minutes, and should further solidify Avilés’ reputation as an auteur with a unique vision and remarkable skills with actors.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Image gallery
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Credits
Directors
Lila Avilés
Composers
Thomas Becka
Cast
Naíma Sentíes, Montserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé
Scenario
Lila Avilés
Director of Photography
Diego Tenorio
Editors
Omar Guzmán
Producers
Lila Avilés, Louise Riousse, Tatiana Graullera
Production studios
Limerencia Films
Distributor
Vedette
More info
Dialogue
Spanish
Countries of production
Mexico, Denmark, France
Year
2023
Filmography
Lila Avilés
Dèjá Vu (short, 2016), Dejavu (short, 2016), Nena (short, 2017), The Chambermaid (2018), Eye Two Times Mouth (short, 2023), Tótem (2023)