In rural Costa Rica, Clara is a 40-year-old woman with mental issues that may be a form of autism. She has the power to heal others and communicate with animals. However, her deeply religious mother constantly controls her, refuses to get her an operation to fix her spine, and even keep her sexual appetites in check. Clara’s mother makes her daughter perform miraculous cures to earn a living. However, Clara becomes interested in her teenage niece Maria’s boyfriend, and starts yearning for freedom. How does patriarchy manifest itself as part of traditional norms even in the absence of male father figures? Director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén takes a more comprehensive approach to problems arising from family dynamics found in her previous short films.

2021 Cannes Film Festival

Nathalie Álvarez MESEN

Nathalie Álvarez Mesén graduated from Columbia University's Graduate Film Program in NYC with an M.F.A. in Film Directing/Screenwriting. Her short, , won Best Film Under 15 Minutes at the 2016 Palm Springs Shortfest. She is developing her second feature, in the Torino ScriptLab 2021.