“Tigers Are Not Afraid,” a film that draws on childhood trauma for a story that deftly blends magical fantasy and hard-hitting realism, opens Oct. 4 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.
A haunting horror fairytale set against the backdrop of Mexico’s devastating drug wars, “Tigers Are Not Afraid” follows a group of orphaned children armed with three magical wishes, running from the ghosts that haunt them and the cartel that murdered their parents.
Estrella is 10 years old and has three wishes: The first one, that her missing mother comes back. Her mother returns, but she is dead and follows Estrella everywhere. Petrified, Estrella tries to escape from her by joining a gang orphaned by violence. Soon she realizes that dead are never left behind and when you are in the middle of brutality and violence, wishes never come true the way you desire.
Filmmaker Issa López creates a world that recalls the early films of Guillermo del Toro, imbued with her own gritty urban spin on magical realism to conjure a wholly unique experience that audiences will not soon forget. “Tigers Are Not Afraid” plays through Oct. 10.
Continuing at the Ross is “Aquarela.” The film takes the audience on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water to prove that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element.
For more information, including show times, call 402-472-5353 or visit the Ross website.
