Growing up in a household of seven women, the man looked like the most normal thing in the world to director Meira Hermosilo. Until it isn’t.
Her featured directorial debut, “Vanilla” (“Vainilla”), premiered on September 3rd at the Venice Days Sidebar at the Venice Film Festival, is inspired by her own childhood.
The drama, set in Mexico in the late 1980s, follows 8-year-old Roberta (essentially, Hermosilo’s childhood self). The meaning of the title is revealed at the end.
This deep and personal story delves into a complex journey of breaking away from the traditional gender roles that have been passed down over generations. It provides an intimate view of how our environment and choices shape who we are and the grit needed to face the consequences.
“My great grandmother was a widow, my grandmother got divorced, my mother got divorced, my aunt had no male father in our family. That seemed very normal to me. “And in fact I grew up with curiosity about men. They looked like mystical beings to me. ‘What do these men do in life?” Did I ask myself? ”
Making this film was undoubtedly an Hermosilo cathartic experience. “It wasn’t easy to be in that family, but at the same time, looking back, I’ll look at them now and, of course, after a lot of treatment. I think they all did their best they could,” she adds.
“Making this film just tells the story of my family that feels beautiful in its own right and feels what happened to honor them in this way… I swear. It healed so many wounds on me.
“And now, nearly 30 of us are heading to Venice from Mexico. Members, friends, people who are really pleased with what’s going on with ‘vanilla’. So that means everything about the film. i swear.
“Imagine how deeply it is infiltrating me. The idea that I need to suffer, the idea that I have to struggle infinitely, for all the good things, three bad things come. It’s embedded in the system. “I swear, it seems I told myself, ‘Maila, enjoy this. It will disappear in three seconds.” And I understand how much the system has affected my mind, how difficult it is, and how I am always trying to protect myself from happiness, as my lack of presence has always had a psychological impact on me.
Having played a pivotal role in Netflix hit series Narcos: Mexico, Alejandra Márquez Abella’s “North Sky Beyond the Sky Space” and Amat Escalante’s “Lost in the Night,” Hermosillo has acknowledged the unwavering support of “vanilla” producer Stacy Perskie of Redrum’s “vanilla” producer Stacy Perskie of Redrum.
“Stacy admired my choice as a first time director. It’s rare. It’s easy to make a debut and step in and invalidate someone who controls, but even if he could see it wasn’t the best, he confronted every decision I made.
She also portrays Marquez as a great source of inspiration. “When I saw her at work, I was like, ‘What magic does this woman have?’ Everything she commands is what I see, she speaks up.
The family drama features a professional cast and a non-loss cast. Aurora Davila, Maria Castella, Natalia Plaskencia, Paloma Petra, Rojas, Fernanda Baca, and Laura Ochoa.
Davila (playing Roberta) and Stupid (playing Roberta’s young cousin, Manuela) are Laura Ochoa, who plays Tachita, a housekeeper.
Huasteca Casa Cinematografica’s Paloma Petra, Karla LunaCantú and Andrea Porras Madero are non-Redrum producers who have worked on large-scale projects such as Spectre, Elysium, and Blade Runner 2024. Redrum is also the producer of “Caracas Night” in another title world, produced and starring Edgar Ramirez (Borderlands, Emilia Perez) and is a producer who will be premiered in Venice.
“Vanilla” is supported by Mexican incentives, foncaine, fonca and Guadalajara CTT. The Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts supported the development of the script.
It won a variety of industry awards and ongoing programs, including Festival DeMorelia, LA (Glaff), Ventana Sur, and Cinelatino Toulouse.
Bendita Film Sales acquired global sales rights in August.
Mayra Hermosillo Credit: Alberto Rebelo
