
Sanctorum directed by Joshua Gil will close Venice International Film Critics’ Week 2019. Filmed in Mixe language, Sanctorum will be the first Mexican film to close the renowned Italian event.
In a small, forgotten town surrounded by tree-covered mountains lives a small boy and his mother. Traditional life in the town has been uprooted ever since it got caught in the crossfire of the war between the military and the cartels. With few opportunities for work and not enough money to move somewhere else, the mother cultivates marijuana for the cartels. One day, she does not return from work. Struck with grief, the grandmother tells the little boy to go into the forest and pray to the sun, the wind, and the water so that they will return his mother unharmed. As the soldiers arrive and the villagers prepare for their last stand, the awesome power of nature manifests itself.
Directed by Joshua Gil. Mexico
Starring Erwin Antonio Pérez Jiménez, Nereyda Pérez Vásquez, Virgen Vázquez Torres, Javier Bautista González, Damián Dositelo Martínez Vásquez, Ofelia Díaz Gómez, Medardo Díaz Gutiérrez.
Genre(s) Drama Film

The 34th Venice International Film Critics’ Week (SIC) which runs August 28th to September 7th, 2019, is an independent and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) during the 76th Venice International Film Festival. The program includes a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special events out of competition, all presented in world premiere screenings.