Chilean filmmaker Diego Céspedes’ first feature won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Prize in May and has played at a raft of festivals since. The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo revolves around 11-year-old Lidia (Tamara Cortés), who has been raised by a queer family in a remote Chilean mining town. It’s the 1980s, and AIDS has just been identified.

Lidia’s family, including Flamingo (Matías Catalán), a trans woman, is blamed for this mysterious illness, leading Lidia on a quest for vengeance and facing violence, fear and hatred. Family is her only refuge and love might be the real danger. The film is Chile ‘s official submission for the International Feature Film Oscar race.

Céspedes, who is 30, told Deadline at Contenders Film: International that he chose to set the movie in the

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