TRAGIC JUNGLE (SELVA TRÁGICA) World Cinema

Following the film, AFI Festivals Director of Programming Sarah Harris leads a conversation with filmmaker Yulene Olaizola and actress Indira Andrewin.

Set in 1920, a Belizean woman desperately trying to get away from a white British landowner heads into the only place she can: deep into the Mayan rainforest. The jungle gives, but it also takes. Making her way through the unforgiving landscape, she has a fateful encounter with a band of gum tree harvesters, who become both her rescuers and captors. They bring her back to their camp, but will her presence awaken a mythical spirit, Xtabay, who seeks revenge on those who have harmed the land? Director and writer Yulene Olaizola plots a mystical journey into a lush and verdant landscape, full of danger, beauty and secrets. –Eric Moore