Based on the real-life experiences of a mother in Mexico, Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai dives deep into the brutal and violent conditions surrounding life in Northern Mexico. Co-written by Habacuc Antonio De Rosario the film follows Cielo (Arcelia Ramírez) who, after the kidnapping of her daughter and lack of help from the authorities, ends up in a relentless search through a society crippled by systemic violence. Her journey reveals open wounds to which the population has become all too accustomed, drawing a keen picture of the idiosyncrasies that spring from said violence.

Produced by Hans Everaert’s Menuetto alongside One For the Road and some stellar names: Les Films du Fleuve (the Dardenne brothers), Mobra Films (Christian Mungiu) and Teorema Films (Michel Franco), the feature marks Mihai’s jump to fiction after having won at Karlovy Vary with her documentary “Waiting for August.” An auteur and female twist on “Taken” set against the hardest conditions Mexico has to offer, the film meditates on the consequences of violence with a patient and empathetic eye.