Writer/director Jayro Bustamante was determined to shine light on one of the more harrowing stories in recent Guatemalan history in his new film Rita, even if there would be pushback from the government. The mind-bending dark fantasy chronicles 13-year-old Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz), who escapes her neglectful household only to get placed in an oppressive state-run orphanage. Its the place where, in real life, 56 low-income girls and adolescents were burned in March 2017. Forty-one of them died, and 15 survived. But reports of sexual violence and possible trafficking within the home had been rampant for some time.
Jayro Bustamante unpacks the deeply moving dark fantasy that is Rita, and why it was important to push through the pushback. Read More