Grimmfest 2018 - Tigers Are Not Afraid

Director: Issa López

Cast: Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Tenoch Huerta

Synopsis: A Mexican City turned into a ghost town by the drug-war. When 11-year-old Estrella's mother vanishes, she makes a wish: she wants her mother to come back. And mom does return — from the dead. Terrified, Estrella escapes and joins a rag-tag gang of other children orphaned by the violence, all escaping their own past. But she learns that in a city ruled by death, you can't simply leave the ghosts behind; they walk with you wherever you go.

Grimmfest say: Championed by Guillermo del Toro as one of the finest films of the year, Issa López's astonishing, multi-award-winning urban fairy tale offers perhaps a glimpse of the road del Toro himself didn't take; focusing more on gritty social realism, and keeping the more fantastic elements in the background. The end result is a kind of Magic Realist reimagining of the Héctor Brabenco classic, Pixote, deftly incorporating fairy tale tropes into harrowing and brutal reality. Here, the Lost Boys are homeless kids, the ogres they face are drug-dealers, pimps and sex traffickers, and the only magic is that of a child's imagination. Bold, strong, emotive filmmaking, with real heart, this one will haunt your dreams.

What I'm Expecting: Being lauded as one of the finest films of the year by Guillermo del Toro himself is stunningly high praise: for me, del Toro is the master of Mexican filmmaking and one of my favourite directors; Tigers Are Not Afraid has me excited beyond reason. I'm expecting a gritty and grounded examination of life in a Mexican City torn apart by drug cartels, interwoven with elements of the fantastical: I expect the film to explore the strength and resolve of children trapped in these situations; only able to escape through the use of imagination: something in-between Pan's Labyrinth and The Breadwinner. And tears, I also expect tears.