ACNE Narrative Competition

Few films capture the pitfalls of growing up as simply and effectively as Federico Veiroj’s heartfelt, beautifully crafted debut. A teenage rite-of-passage drama infused with comedy and raging hormones, ACNE vividly captures the tangled confusion of adolescence and ripeness of puberty for this young Jewish boy. At 13, Rafa Bregman (Alejandro Tocar) is going through hard times: His bad skin, divorcing parents and the difficulties he has talking to girls are making growing up feel like an impossible task. He and his well-off family are part of the close-knit and at times suffocating Jewish community in Montevideo , Uruguay. Unlike most protagonists in teen comedies, Rafael has no trouble finding sex; in fact, he and his young friends already frequent the local brothel. But what Rafael desires most in the world money cannot buy- he wants romance and to finally kiss a girl. What makes ACNE special is its carefully crafted and utterly credible realization of place and character. Veiroj’s skillfully woven narrative communicates with tremendous honesty the process of growing up, articulating with great finesse the comical banter, shifting allegiances and cloying interdependence of its young characters. And he allows his young performers to simmer and marinate on screen, creating a bittersweet and at times excruciatingly real evocation of adolescence.