Thesis on a Domestication (Tesis sobre una domesticación) by award-winning writer-director Javier Van de Couter and based on the homonymous novel written and adapted by the film’s lead, acclaimed Argentine trans author Camila Sosa Villada, will world premiere at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival.
The film follows a successful Argentine trans actress who proudly claims her hard-earned place in the world. She revels in the prestige her glittering career brings, attracting the attention of a handsome lawyer, played by renowned Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera (Ozark). As their love blossoms into marriage, and they build a home and family together, Sosa Villada’s character navigates the new and unexpected reality of her iconoclastic life.
As she traces the course of her life, she weaves a new trans narrative—one that demands the right to ambition, desire, glamour, security, and the freedom to embrace both flaws and contradictions. When Camila and her husband adopt a child, they defy the conservative community in Argentina, but their pursuit of domestic happiness is thwarted during a visit to the actress’s hometown.
This bold drama continues a new wave of Latin American cinema that pushes the boundaries of trans representation, moving beyond stories of victimhood to reimagine a more inclusive world. Thesis on a Domestication explores the stigmatization of AIDS, desire, eroticism, and the family ties of a trans actress. Set against the backdrop of her public persona and her attempt to create a domestic life, the protagonist seeks what has long been denied to trans women: both safety and happiness.
Through its deeply complex characters, the film presents audiences with new possibilities for trans success, happiness, and love. Fast-paced and moving, Thesis on a Domestication is a provocative journey of love and self-realization that won’t leave audiences indifferent.
Produced by Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Laura Huberman, Ramiro Pavón and Van de Couter, the film will participate in the OutLook Competition at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival, running from October 16 to 27, followed by its screening at the Morelia Film Festival, October 18-27, with additional international film festivals to be announced soon.