Huesera

The fears and anxieties that come from being a first-time mother power this poignant, creepy, and often nerve-rattling feature debut from Mexican filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera. Valeria and her husband, Raul, have finally seen one of their dreams come true: Valeria is pregnant. At first, everything seems perfect. Gradually, though, her mood darkens. With motherhood upon her, Valeria can’t shake off heavy self-doubt and a pervasive dread, the latter stemming from visions of spider-like presences and other possibly supernatural threats, all of which may be the work of an entity known as “La Huesera”.

The diverse sociocultural lifestyles that are portrayed in the film are inspired by my own experience growing up in Mexico City. Huesera is a film that features this city as a place full of contrasts and contradictions, just like the complex conflict the protagonist undergoes throughout the film… Huesera explore the idea that what appears to be the ideal of happiness, that which is so familiar, pastel-coloured, luminous, and musically harmonious, can become horrific for certain people. In contrast what appears to be subterranean, discrepant, noisy, and sombre, for some can mean freedom. The arrival of La Huesera in Valeria’s life causes her perception of familiarity to be progressively altered, confronting her with atmospheres that go through the uncomfortable and reach the sinister.

Director Michelle Garza Cervera