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La Piel Pulpo

63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere

Seventeen-year-old twins Iris and Ariel live with their mother and older sister Lía on a rocky island full of mollusks and reptiles. The adolescents have grown up isolated from the continent, in a fraternal relationship exceeding the limits of normal intimacy between siblings and in transcendental connection with nature. Following months caught up in a love-hate relationship with her children, their mother commits suicide. Her sudden death deeply affects the siblings and Iris, driven by a strong need to get away from her brother, decides to go to the city alone for the first time. A film that seems made by the four elements of matter invites us to a secluded psychological and natural landscape, reminding us (in the words of John Dunne) that “no man is an island.”

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Available at the Agora Market TIFF63.

Direction: Ana Cristina Barragán

Script: Ana Cristina Barragán

Cinematography: Simón Brauer, Tomás Astudillo

Editing: Mayra Morán, Myrto Karra, Ana Cristina Barragán

Sound: Ricardo Arteaga, Adriana Santiago, Pablo Mondragón

Music: Pablo Mondragón

Actors: Isadora Chávez, Juan Francisco Vinueza, Hazel Powell, Cristina Marchán, Paulet Arévalo, Carlos Quinto

Production: Caleidoscopio Cine, Graal Films, Desenlace Films, Unalm, Promenades Films

Producers: Isabela Parra, Kostantina Stavrianou, Santiago Ortiz-Monasterio, Titus Kreyenberg, Samuel Chauvin

Production Design: Alisarine Ducolomb

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Ecuador, Greece, Germany, Mexico, France, Italy

Production Year: 2022

Duration: 100΄

Contact: Patra Spanou Film

Τhessaloniki Goes To Cannes 2022

Ana Cristina Barragán

Ana Cristina Barragán (Quito, 1987) is a screenwriter and film director. Her debut feature, Alba (2016), premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, where it received an award, and earned an Honorable Mention at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Alba went on to win over 35 international awards, was Ecuador’s official submission to the Academy Awards, and was featured in the Latin American cinema showcase at MoMA in New York. Her second feature, La Piel Pulpo (2022), premiered at San Sebastián and was selected for festivals including Thessaloniki, Guadalajara, and Munich. It received six Colibrí Awards from the Ecuadorian Film Academy and was part of the 2024 Platino Awards. Ana has directed several short films, including Ave (TIFF 2023) and Domingo Violeta (Locarno, 2010). In 2025, she premieres her third feature, The Ivy, in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Biennale. She is currently developing her fourth feature, Amapola, a series titled La Costra y la Miel, her first documentary, and various projects involving analog photography and writing.