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Punku

J. D. Fernández Molero
Peru / Spain
132'

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon lowlands, Meshia, a Matsigenka Indigenous teenager, discovers Iván, a young boy who vanished two years ago and was presumed dead. Determined to save him, she embarks on a journey upriver into the mountains, heading to the city of Quillabamba. As their bond deepens, Ivan confronts his trauma and haunting dreams, while Meshia pursues her ambitions and clings to her illusions.

It’s hard to think of something mixing voodoo with a touch of TikTok, but here that mixtures shines just like a diamond, leaning sometimes warm, and then sometimes basking in the shades: a catatonic young man who can no longer speak after years in the wilderness meets a shy girl who is just now beginning to venture out into the world. Director Fernández Molero dances seductively between composite realities (a surreal danger, led by demons, and a physical danger, led by humans) in deformed frames and surreal sketches evoke Maya Deren, David Lynch, and Eduardo Williams all at the same time. Punku transits through cinematic formats and histories like a self-consuming ouroboros, never letting you catch your breath. Male gaze is showcased by Fernández Molero in a truly sinister way, with men watching women and stalking them from hiding places, from corners, from bushes. A memorable, haunting image: a woman slowly entering the darkness of the forest and the thin silhouette of the man following her. (Georgiana Mușat)

Saturday, 27 September, 20:30

Cinema Elvire Popesco
Tickets

J. D. Fernández Molero

J. D. Fernández Molero is a Peruvian filmmaker who directed, produced, and edited the films Reminiscences (2010), screened at FIDMarseille and MoMA, and Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) (2015), which won the Tiger Award for Best Film at the 44th Rotterdam International Film Festival and was Peru’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards. He has worked as editor on Alba (2016), The Lost Pussy of the Incas (2019), and Huaquero (2024), and co-produced Fever (2022). His second fiction feature, Punku (2025), had its world premiere in the Forum section of the 75th Berlinale and won the Best Iberoamerican Cinematography award at the 64th Cartagena de Indias IFF (FICCI).

  • Technical sheet
  • WRITER, DIRECTOR : J.D. Fernández Molero
  • PRODUCERS: Verónica Ccarhuarupay, J.D. Fernández Molero
  • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: J.D. Fernández Molero
  • CO-PRODUCER: María Gisele Royo
  • PRODUCTION COMPANY: Tiempo Libre
  • CO-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Jur Jur Productions
  • CINEMATOGRAPHER: Johan Carrasco Monzón
  • EDITOR: J.D. Fernández Molero
  • SOUND DESIGN: Fernando Mendoza Salazar
  • ANIMATION: Diego Vizcarra Soberón
  • PRODUCTION DESIGN: Susana Torres
  • MUSIC: Carlos Gutiérrez Quiroga
  • CAST: Marcelo Quino, Maritza Kategari, Ricardo Delgado, Hugo Sueldo, Juan Carlos Molero, Maruja Sueldo, Yorguen Carreño, Anelí Tapia, Celeste Torres, Milagros Medina

International Feature Film Competition

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Punku

J. D. Fernández Molero | Duration 132'

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon lowlands, Meshia, a Matsigenka Indigenous teenager, discovers Iván, a young boy who vanished two years ago and was presumed dead. Determined to save him, she embarks on a journey upriver into the mountains, heading to the city of Quillabamba. As their bond deepens, Ivan confronts his trauma and haunting dreams, while Meshia pursues her ambitions and clings to her illusions.

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