Tigers Are Not Afraid

2017, dir Issa López w/Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, Ianis Guerrero, Tenoch Huerta, 83 min, DCP 

This startling, phantasmagoric film from acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Issa López is a modern-day gothic fairytale that tracks one of the too-often-overlooked tragedies of the ongoing drug war on our southern border – the orphaned children caught in the crossfire. Ten-year old Estrella (Lara) finds herself living on the streets when her mother suddenly disappears. Estrella joins a gang of street kids and becomes a guiding force in their group, leading them on a quest to survive in a violent world that they can’t fully understand. López deftly weaves in fantastic elements to the film – softening the harshness of the reality in which these children are forced to exist just enough so that they – and the audience – are not completely shattered.