Flies

With medical costs to save up for, a curmudgeon is forced to rent out her spare room in Fernando Eimbcke's enormously heartfelt tragicomedy.

Endearing stick-in-the-mud Olga is the queen of her domain – a light-filled and breezy apartment in Mexico City – which she lives in alone with her computer and seemingly endless supply of sudoku. When medical fees to fix her ingrown toenails break the budget, she has to raise some extra money. Living near a major hospital, she begrudgingly decides to rent out her spare room to family members of a patient, and out-of-town Tulio answers the ad.

Stuck in her rigid ways, Olga sets impossible rules about Tulio's comings and goings, but unbeknownst to her, he plans to smuggle in an extra tenant – his nine-year-old son Cristian.

Curator's note
Curmudgeons and control freaks: meet Olga, played by Teresita Sánchez. When we’re first introduced to Olga, she’s tormented by a house fly. It has invaded her home, and she is one swat away from regaining control of her space. Of course, this foreshadows a greater invasion to come, but it doesn’t offer any clue to the amount of heart the film will deliver.

Flies is a film of emotional layers, each one unexpected and disarming. And Flies is a film that has heart, in spades. The film was selected to premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.