Rita

Thirteen-year-old Rita leaves her home for the big city, where she finds peace – until she is placed in a state home for vulnerable children.

At the institution, she discovers a parallel world created by the girls who live there. Everyone is divided into clans based on fantastical creatures such as angels and fairies. They make their own costumes and rituals to express the traumas they have experienced. 

Jayro Bustamante’s latest film is his boldest yet. Here, he explores one of Guatemala’s greatest tragedies: a fire at the Virgen de la Asunción institution in which 41 young girls lost their lives. The film gives a brutally beautiful voice to the most vulnerable in society, while intelligently criticizing the system that failed them.

This film is part of