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Official US Trailer for Lila Avilés' Heartfelt Drama 'Tótem' from Mexico

by Alex Billington
November 14, 2023
Source: YouTube

"A luminous and soul-nourishing microcosm." Janus Films + Sideshow have revealed an official US trailer for an acclaimed Mexican drama titled Tótem. It initially premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, one of the few great films at the festival that should've won the top prize. Mexican director Lila Avilés's film Totem is about a family getting ready for a birthday party, told through the eyes of a young girl. Seven-year-old Sol spends the day at her grandfather's home, helping with the preparations for a surprise party for her ailing father. Throughout the day, chaos slowly takes over, fracturing the family's foundations. Sol will embrace the essence of letting go as a release for existence. It's a wonderfully soulful, touching film about family and life on this planet - don't skip over this one. The ensemble cast features Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Teresita Sánchez, Mateo García Elizondo, Juan Francisco Maldonado, and Iazua Larios. The film is not an easy sell, it's admittedly hard to get anyone to watch it, but if you love beautiful cinema then I do recommend discovering it whenever possible.

Here's the official US trailer (+ two international posters) for Lila Avilés' Tótem, direct from YouTube:

You can also rewatch the original promo trailer for Lila Avilés' Tótem right here, for even more footage.

From Berlinale: "In her second film after The Chambermaid in 2018, Lila Avilés leaves behind the cramped hotel rooms of her debut but continues to work on the connection between relationships and interior spaces. This time, the setting is a large house where, over the course of a long day, family and friends meet for a dual ritual: it is the birthday of father and painter Tona, but as it will likely be his last, it is also a farewell ceremony. There is duality in the film's soul, too, with the frenzy of preparations and the spontaneity of the celebration concealing the profoundly archaic & spiritual dimension of the title. Tona's weakened body is initially invisible, protected in a room where he tries to summon up the strength required for the humanist ceremony in which he will be showered with all the love & affection needed to face his final journey." Tótem is both written and directed by up-and-coming Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés, her second feature after making The Chambermaid previously, plus a number of other short films. Produced by Tatiana Graullera, Louise Riousse, and Lila Avilés. This initially premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Janus Films + Sideshow will debut Totem in select US theaters starting January 26th, 2024 coming soon.

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