Gabriela Calvache’s debut feature La Mala Noche (The Longest Night), has been selected as Ecuador’s candidate in the International Feature Film competition at the 92nd edition of the Academy Awards®.

Following its acclaimed world premiere at SXSW – where it was selected as one of the best films of the festival by Flavorwire – La Mala Noche has successfully played at numerous international film festivals including Guadalajara, Edinburgh, and the HBO New York Latino Film Festival, where it won the Best International Feature Award.

Additionally, filmmaker Calvache was been recently selected as one of the 17 participants in the 2019 Directors Initiative presented by Universal’s Global Talent Development and Inclusion Group, designed to give highly qualified directors access and exposure to a wider group of executives from various divisions of NBCUniversal to develop a network and gain insight on potential future directing opportunities at the company.

La Mala Noche has been selected as closing night of the 5th edition of the Ecuadorian Film Festival in New York (EFFNY), taking place October 18-20, and it will have a pair of additional special screenings on Friday, October 11 at the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, and on Tuesday, October 22 at the Quad Cinema in New York City.

The film follows Dana – a smart and beautiful woman forced to resort to prostitution in order to make a living – skillfully played by Colombian actress Nöelle Schönwald (Love in the Time of Cholera). Dana must deliver most of her income to a mafia boss who protects and exploits her.

She’s good at what she does, a job she landed by mistake, out of love. Perhaps, if she behaves well enough, she may earn her freedom, but her daughter’s illness and addiction to a pharmaceutical drug prevent her from reaching her goals. An unexpected incident gives her the opportunity to break free from her captor and seek justice with her own hands.