Monday Night Cinema
Prayers for the Stolen
(Noche de Fuego)
Eight-year-old Ana and her best friends Paula and Maria live with their mothers in a mountainous town in rural Mexico. With the adult men of the community mostly working away, it is the women who must protect their daughters from the local drug cartels that regularly kidnap teenage girls for trafficking.
They train the girls to be on full alert so that they have the best chance of escape at the first sign of danger. But can these measures ensure their daughters’ safety, especially as they reach puberty?
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tatiana Huezo brings a naturalistic and intimate feel to the story, which when combined with extraordinary performances from her young cast makes her fiction debut a powerful, visceral watch.
Best Director, Stockholm International Film Festival 2021