Tótem

Tótem by the Mexican director Lila Avilés is her second film after her highly acclaimed The Chambermaid (La Camarista) in 2018. This time, the setting is a large house where, over the course of a long day, family and friends meet for a dual ritual: it is the birthday of 7 year old Sol ‘s young father Tona, but as it will likely be his last, it is also a farewell ceremony. Like the character of the bonsai-loving patriarch, Avilés takes meticulous care in shaping her own miniature, bending trajectories and feelings, pruning all frills and excess. Tótem amasses signs and forms of life: animals, insects, plants and a parade of wonderful human beings who are stronger together.