Mexican horror film, “Huesera,” will celebrate its Arizona debut at Fox Tucson Theatre on Wednesday, Sept. 21, courtesy of Cinema Tucsón.
Michelle Garza Cervera, the film’s director, won two awards at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival for the project, including, the nod for best new narrative director and the Nora Ephron Award, which is given to outstanding female writers and directors. “Huesera” is Garza Cervera’s first feature film.
Cinema Tucsón is a collaboration between the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona and Cinema Tropical, a New York-based nonprofit film organization launched by Carlos A. Gutiérrez and Monika Wagenberg in 2001. The film series debuted in Tucson in 2021 and features monthly screenings of Mexican films at the Fox, 17 W. Congress, downtown.
“What’s amazing is that the Tucson audiences will be able to catch the film before it premieres in Mexico,” Gutiérrez said of the “Huesera” screening.
“Huesera” has received overall positive feedback from critics, maintaining a 100% rating on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows a woman, newly pregnant, being tormented by an unearthly demonic presence.
A review in Variety praised the film, saying, “Garza Cervera’s tale is most thrilling for the ways it refuses any tidy answers about a woman’s place and wallows (and finds plenty of terror) in the ambiguities therein.”
“It is my first time in Tucson. It is the first screening of the film in Arizona and in the desert,” Garza Cervera said in an interview by email. “I’ve heard the Fox Theatre is a beautiful and legendary venue. I am very excited and grateful for this invitation to celebrate cinema from my country in a city that holds such a strong connection with Mexico.”
Garza Cervera said she is honored by the positive reception the film has received and is already working on premiering future films in the U.S. She said she intends to start shooting her next feature film in 2023.
“Huesera,” which will have English subtitles, starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 through foxtucson.com.
