Recurring themes run through Ana Cristina Barragán's third feature "The Ivy" ("Hiedra"), which world premieres Sept. 3 in Venice's Horizons sidebar. As in her first two highly personal films, "Alba" and "Octopus Skin," her protagonists are young.
"I think, in some way, these three films are connected. They all deal with themes of family and adolescence. Each one follows characters who, for different reasons, don't quite fit into the world around them -- whether because of their shyness, social background, isolation or abandonment," says Barragán who shot all three in her native Ecuador.
"The Ivy" follows Azucena, 30 years old, and Julio, in his late teens, who hail from very different backgrounds. Azucena approaches Julio, who lives in a foster home, for reasons he doesn't quite comprehend. Their time together gives way to a quiet closeness, shifting a relationship neither of them saw coming.
"With 'The Ivy,' I'm once again drawn to exploring childhood wounds -- but this time, through the body, through how those early scars manifest physically," she muses. "Something that has always interested me is the theme of abandonment -- how it leaves its mark on the body, how it manifests physically. And also, how a state of post-traumatic stress can linger after experiences of abuse."
Her characters remind her of that hardy plant, the ivy, "a plant that grows without warning -- often without you planting it, and sometimes without being wanted," she says, adding: "It can be slightly toxic, yet it's undeniably beautiful, there's something about it: its ability to regenerate, to keep coming back. It feels almost immortal."
"So, for me, it's became a symbol -- something with an acidic energy I am drawn to, something I have wanted to explore. It carries a kind of symbolic weight that feels right for what I am trying to express," she says of her title choice.
With the exception of Simone Bucio ("The Untamed") who plays Azucena, most of the cast are non-pros, led by Francis Eddú Llumiquinga who plays Julio.
There's something about childhood and adolescence -- and the wounds that form during those years, which in some way stay with us for life -- that really intrigues me. I also really enjoy working with adolescents because I feel they carry something hypnotic, something raw," she tells Variety.
"Working with non-professional actors adds to that," she says. "Eddú and the other boys are natural actors who already carry a certain depth and life experience within them. You can see it in their gestures, in their faces, in the way they inhabit a space."
To prepare them for their roles, they spent about five months in an acting workshop with Barragán's regular team. "We spent a lot of time working together beforehand to build that trust and connection. Then I rehearsed with them, and little by little we explored improvisation -- doing lots of exercises that had nothing to do with the film itself. Through that, we gradually discovered their characters and the relationships between them," she relates.
"The Ivy" is produced by Botón Films (Ecuador), BHD Films (Mexico), Ciné-Sud Promotion (France) and Guspira Films (Spain).
Mexico's Karla Souza ("Dive") who helped develop the project and was originally going to play the lead, had to bow out and serves as executive producer.
After Toronto, Barragán takes her film to the San Sebastian Film Festival where she developed its script while enrolled in the city's prestigious Elias Querejeta Film School.
The drama won the Special Ciné+ Prize and the CCAS Prize at Cinélatino Toulouse Films in Progress 2025.
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