An Exclusive Trailer Unveils a Buñuelian Fable for Karla Badillo’s Oca, Premiering at TIFF.

      Making its world premiere this Tuesday in the Discovery section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, Karla Badillo’s directorial debut, Oca, presents a Buñuelian tale centered on faith, pilgrimage, and revelation. Featuring a remarkable cast that includes Natalia Solián (Huesera: The Bone Woman), Cecilia Suárez (the House of Flowers), Leonardo Ortizgris (Güeros), Gerardo Trejo-luna (A Million Miles Away), and Raúl Briones (La Cocina), the film also includes non-professional actors from the San Luis Potosí region, discovered by casting director Daniel Rivera. In anticipation of the premiere, we are excited to share the exclusive trailer.

      The synopsis from TIFF reads: “Navigating the mystical, poetic, and deeply existential, Oca follows Rafaela (Natalia Solián), a devoted young nun who experiences visions and dreams. She sets out on a journey to a far-off town, recently appointed a new archbishop. Rafaela comes from a declining congregation, Las Marianas, with only three sisters remaining, and her superior insists she must return with positive news regarding its future. The film thus constructs a narrative of pilgrimage, directed towards both a physical location and the most profound questions and uncertainties surrounding faith. Throughout her journey, the nun meets various individuals: a group of pilgrims she briefly accompanies, who reveal their selfishness by refusing to assist her; a paratrooper with whom she shares thoughts and silences; and a woman married to a powerful man, symbolizing privilege. Each encounter becomes a test, a reflection, and a physical and spiritual diversion. Rafaela’s confrontations with the intricate nature of humanity expose the difficulty of maintaining a spiritual vocation in a fractured and material world. She contemplates the wind, God’s signs, and the possibility that divine intentions may change, much like the wind itself. The answers may be just out of reach for her.”

      “I’m captivated by the realm of dreams and their significance,” the director remarked. “A dream enables us to perceive images with our eyes shut; I find that notion compelling as it requires introspection. My initial thought process regarding Oca stemmed from a dream and my desire to uncover its meaning. The overthinking ignited in me by the mystery of having dreamed something ambiguous and incomplete both frustrated and intrigued me.”

      Watch the trailer below.