Romeria - IFFDAY

Official selection

Travel/Road MovieComing of Age

Romeria is the third in Carla Simón’s family trilogy, or summer trilogy, following Summer 1993 (2017) and Alcarràs (2022). This film is also rooted in the director’s autobiographical narrative. Eighteen-year-old Marina, who lost both parents to AIDS at an early age, travels to the port city of Vigo on the Atlantic coast in search of traces of her father, Alfonso. Marina’s paternal relatives, who haven′t been in contact for a long time, appear to welcome her, but their discomfort is palpable. Marina’s resemblance to her mother reminds them of Alfonso’s troubled past and his death from drug addiction. What truly preserves the story of her parents is her mother’s diary, which documents their shared moments—both the intensity of love and the depths of suffering. Marina steps into those memories. As the past and present, and reality and fantasy, begin to overlap, the film takes on a romantic air and visually becomes increasingly vivid. An Official Selection of the 78th Cannes Film Festival Competition.

Programme note by LEE Juhyun