Ecuadoran filmmaker Ana Cristina Barragán is set for a busy week on the Lido, where she’s launching her third feature, “The Ivy,” in the Venice Film Festival ’s Horizons competition while also pitching her next project, “Amapola,” in the Venice Gap-Financing Market. The director spoke to Variety about her upcoming feature ahead of the event, which runs Aug. 29 – 31.

“Amapola” follows a group of teenage victims of sex trafficking living in a secret shelter hidden in the forest. There, their days are still dictated by the nocturnal schedules they’d grown accustomed to during years of sexual exploitation. Wrestling with past trauma, the girls forge deep bonds as they slowly learn to navigate their pain, looking to rebuild their lives as their time in the shelter comes to an end.

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