David Pablos on the road in northern Mexico, between masculinity and fragility
(2025, Mexico, France, 93')
Shot in northern Mexico, the film tells the intense love story between truck driver Muñeco, a family man, and Veneno, a boy marked by an unresolved relationship with his father. United by unforeseen circumstances, they embark on a journey through the raw, hyper-masculine world of Mexican truckers, navigating sleepless nights, addictions, and stops at cachimbas. Masculinity and fatherhood intertwine in an intimate and tense narrative, exploring male vulnerability in a hostile environment and reflecting on the possibility of loving freely.
Mexican director David Pablos (Tijuana, 1983) studied at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica in Mexico City and completed a master at Columbia University in New York. In 2010, his documentary Una frontera, todas las fronteras was selected for the IDFA in Amsterdam. He made his feature debut with La vida después (2013), presented in the Orizzonti section at Venice, and in 2015 he was at Cannes with Las elegidas. In 2020, he directed El baile de los 41, released globally on Netflix, and he recently created the western series La Cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta for Amazon Prime. His work consistently explores themes of family, masculinity, and emotional dynamics in contexts of marginalization and violence.
