Lagartija (Lizard)
2019 · 10m · Guatemala
Directed by Emily Gularte
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
On the first day of summer vacation, siblings Veronica and Ricky are blindsided by the revelation that they have different fathers, forcing the older sister to hold things together while neglectful adults remain conspicuously off-screen.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Sundance Ignite thesis film where adults are never shown — formal restraint as the point. The technique is solid; the 'kids deal with bombshell paternity' premise is already a genre.
Gularte keeps the adults entirely off-screen — a formal commitment to the children's perspective in the tradition of Víctor Erice's Spirit of the Beehive. Sundance Ignite winner with a Cría Cuervos lineage; serious work.
Adults deliberately never shown on screen despite being physically present — that camera-discipline choice is a sustained formal commitment to children's perspective, and Sundance Ignite recognition validates the craft. 9:40 is well-judged for the rupture.
Reviews
Set in an on-screen world where adults are present, but never really visible, Lizard is very much a story of childhood.
Festivals
- Sundance Film Festival 2019, Sundance Ignite Challenge Winner
- Bogoshorts (Bogotá Short Film Festival)
- Mill Valley Film Festival
- Chicago Latino Film Festival