RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to LA LLORONA from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. LA LLORONA was recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language and is Guatemala’s Official Entry for 2021 Academy Award® consideration for Best International Feature Film. LA LLORONA will be released on Digital HD on March 2, 2021.
LA LLORONA blends together the terror of both myth and reality into a devastating exposé of the genocidal atrocities against the Mayan community in Guatemala. Through a modern retelling of the classic Latin American legend, LA LLORONA forces a reckoning with not-so-distant crimes which should not have been forgotten. Following a premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival where the film won Best Film (Venice Days), LA LLORONA has had an impressive festival tour with appearances at TIFF, Sundance and BFI. The film is being celebrated as a true depiction of Latino culture.
LA LLORONA is the third feature from iconic Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante (Tremors), who co-wrote the film with Lisandro Sánchez. The film stars María Mercedes Coroy (Ixcanul), Margarita Kenéfic (Aro Tolbukhin in the Mind of a Killer), Sabrina de la Hoz (Tremors), and Julio Diaz.
In LA LLORONA, indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house – his haute wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter – weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths behind being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young indigenous maid arrives.
“Smart and elegant. The real horror lies not in the supernatural but in the savage acts of men.” – Los Angeles Times, Carolina Miranda
“A trauma-induced reverberation of patriarchal war and violence.” – Variety, Guy Lodge
“…uses the sins of the bourgeoisie to explore the ghastly history of a country.” – The New York Times, Manohla Dargis
“Breathtakingly haunting. A purposefully somber cry for amends.” – The Wrap, Carlos Aguilar
