To escape an arranged marriage, a woman flees into the depths of the Mayan jungle, where untamed nature merges the human and the supernatural.
Two beautiful women Agnes (20) and Florence (27), are running away from Belize. They enter the jungle, crossing over the Río Hondo that marks the border with Mexico. But their pursuer finds them; only Agnes survives and runs off into the Mexican jungle. Days later, a group of Mexican chicleros (gum workers) find Agnes lying unconscious and they take her to their camp. Her presence produces tension among the men, who have been working in the jungle for eight months. One by one they fall under Agnes's allure, and mysterious fatalities ensue; one chiclero plummets from a zapote tree, one falls sick with malaria, and another is eaten by ants. Only one Mayan chiclero suspects Agnes; according to a Mayan legend, a beautiful woman seduces men in the jungle and then causes their death.
A film by Yulene OLAIZOLA
starring Indira ANDREWIN, Gilberto BARRAZA, Mariano TUN XOOL, Eligio MELÉNDEZ, Lázaro Gabino RODRÍGUEZ
Mexico / France / Colombia, 2020, Feature Narrative, 1h37min, Unencrypted DCP, Color
4th feature
Original Title (Spanish): "Selva trágica:
English Title: "Tragic Jungle"
Genre : Drame
Languages: Spanish, Maya, English, Creole
Countries: Mexico, France, Colombia
Year of production : 2020
Duration: 1 h 36 min
PROGRAM NOTE (Busan FilmFest 2020)
Isolated in the deep Mayan jungles of Mexico, a group of gum tree workers come across a mysterious Belizean woman. Young Agnes was just trying to escape a forced marriage, but her rescuers soon become predators as tensions rise in the lawless jungle where legendary fantasies and sexual desires are ignited. The vibrant green colors of the exotic tropical jungle transform into the perfect setting for female vengeance. This is the fourth feature and most ambitious filmed by director Yulene Olaizola, who brings out powerful performances from natural indigenous actors and borrows the ancient Mayan myth to capture the disastrous clash of civilizations. (Karen PARK)
Producers
Pablo ZIMBRÓN, Rubén IMAZ, Yulene Olaizola
Coproducers:
Birgit Kemner, Philippe Gompel
Director
Yulene OLAIZOLA
Screenplay
Yulene OLAIZOLA, Ruben IMAZ
Inspired by the novel "Caribal: El Infierno Verde" by Mexican novelist-diplomat Rafael Bernal.
Cinematography
Sofía OGGIONI
Sound:
José Miguel Enriquez
Composer (Music):
Alejandro Otaola
Editing:
Rubén Imaz, Yulene Olaizola, Israel Cárdenas & Pablo Chea
Costumes:
Samuel Conde
Production Companies
Malacosa Cine (México)
Varios Lobos (México)
Manny Films
Zoología Fantástica
Barraca
Contravia Films
A Mexican co-production with France and Colombia
Backed by the Cinemas du Monde-CNC, the Cannes Festival's Cinéfondation L'Atelier workshop and the ARRI Support Program.
WORLD SALES:
Varios Lobos
info(@)varioslobos.com
CONTACT
malacosacine(@)gmail.com
Watch "Tragic Jungle"
on Netflix
Filming locations:
The forest/ jungle area near the south of the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico and along the Belizean / Mexican border of the Rio Hondo as well as Chetumal and Bacalar.
FESTIVALS / AWARDS / PRIX
2020 | HIIFF (China, 2020)
* Official Selection
2020 | IFFAM (Macao, 2020)
* Official Selection
2020 | Mar Del Plata International Film Festival (Argentina, 2020)
* Selection: Competition Latino American
2020 | Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico, 2020)
* Sélection : Compétition Prix Mezcal
2020 | Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (Germany, 2020)
* Selection: Pushing the Boundaries
2020 | El Gouna Film Festival (Egypte, 2020)
* Out of Competition
2020 | Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale) (Austria, 2020)
* Official Selection
2020 | Festival de Biarritz Amérique Latine (Biarritz, France)
* Competition fiction - FBAL 2020
* French Premiere
www.festivaldebiarritz.com/film/selva-tragica/
2020 | 25th BIFF - Busan International Film Festival (Busan, South Korea)
* Selection: World Cinema
* Asian Premiere
www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_2_view.asp?pyear=2020&s1=&page=13&m_idx=49192
2020 | AFI FEST (USA, 2020)
* Selection: World Cinema
2020 | Varsow International Film Festival (Poland, 2020)
* Selection: Free Spirit Competition
2020 | Zurich International Film Festival (Switzerland, 2020)
* Selection: Window to San Sebastian
2020 | Filmfest Hamburg - Hambourg International Film Festival (Germany, 2020)
* Selection: Vitrina
2020 | San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spain, 2020)
* Selection: Horizontes Latinos
2020 | New York Film Festival (NYFF) (USA, 2020)
* Selection: Main Slate
2020 | Mostra de Venise - Venice Film Festival (Venice, Italy)
* Selection: Orizzonti
* Première Mondiale / World Premiere
____________
ES
En la selva que sirve de frontera entre México y Belice, un grupo de "chicleros" mexicanos (obreros que recogen el látex de los árboles para hacer chicle), cruza en su camino una joven beliceña, cuya presencia provoca tensiones, avivando fantasmas y deseos, y despierta a Xtabay, una vieja leyenda maya que se esconde en el corazón de la selva. La película se parece al lugar donde fue rodada. En la frontera entre dos países (el realismo y lo fantástico), reúne el hombre y la naturaleza, la industria y la mitología, el hombre y la mujer para obligarlos a enfrentarse. Como los "chicleros" lo hacen con la goma de mascar, la película recoge con gran habilidad la tensión sexual, económica y política que surge de estos encuentros, para analizar con una sorprendente calma el desencadenamiento de estas fuerzas primitivas.
Una película por Yulene OLAIZOLA
Mexico / Francia / Colombia, 2020, largometraje de ficción, 96'
Directora: Yulene Olaizola
Guion: Yulene Olaizola et Rubén Imaz
Imagen: Sofía Oggioni
Edición: Rubén Imaz, Yulene Olaizola, Israel Cárdenas y Pablo Chea
Interpretación: Indira Andrewin, Gilberto Barraraza, Mariano Tun Xool
Producción:
Malacosa Cine,
Manny Films,
Zoología Fantástica,
Barraca,
Contravia Films
Contacto
Ventas internacionales : info@varioslobos.com
Source: Festival de Biarritz 2020
www.festivaldebiarritz.com/es/film/selva-tragica/