Sujo – Release News
‘Uniquely chilling’
Variety
‘A simmering coming-of-age portrait’
The Hollywood Reporter
‘A work of tremendous lyrical potency’
IndieWire
From Identifying Features filmmakers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, Sujo is an award-winning coming-of-age tale that explores the haunting legacy of violence left to the children of cartel members as seen through the eyes of a young man battling his inherited destiny in rural Mexico.
Sujo tells the story of a four-year-old boy who is orphaned after the murder of his father, a notorious cartel gunman. Raised by his aunt in the isolated Mexican countryside, Sujo grows up in a world defined by hardship, poverty, and the ever-present shadow of violence. As he reaches adolescence, the boy’s rebellious nature leads him down the path his father once walked, joining the local cartel in a rite of passage that seems inescapable. But as a young man, Sujo begins to fight against the cycle of violence, facing the ultimate challenge of defining his own destiny.
Winner of Sundance Film Festival 2024’s ‘World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize’ and an Official Selection at BFI London Film Festival 2024, Sujo has been selected as Mexico’s entry for Best International Film at the Academy Awards 2024. From writer-directors and producers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez (Identifying Features, The Darkest Days of Us) and starring Juan Jesús Varela, Yadira Perez Esteban and Sandra Lorenzano.
Director’s Statement:
“We wanted to tell the story of the ‘other’ children—the sons and daughters of the perpetrators,” say directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez. “Sujo is not just a coming- of-age story; it’s a portrait of a young man who must navigate the legacies of his past and find a way to forge his own path.”
Runtime: 125 mins
Sujo is in cinemas 13 December from Beam Films