Yamel, a Mexican cinema student in Cuba, is randomly filming a stormy afternoon in Havana when Jans, an 18-year-old fisherman, walks across her frame and captures her attention. From that first recorded encounter, she, her camera and him become intertwined. As real emotions emerge, ethical questions appear. Why can’t she stop filming him?
Mexico / 62 min / 2025 / documentary
North American Premiere
in Spanish with English subtitles
Direction: Yamel Thompson
Screenplay: Yamel Thompson, Melisa Liebenthal
Cinematography: Yamel Thompson
Editing: Melisa Liebenthal
Producers: Melisa Liebenthal, Veronica Leon
Outrageous comedy lives side-by-side with the addiction drama. But the viewer forgets this amongst the ridiculous and ribald series of jokes and situations that make up the world of the characters. And yet the romantic impulse behind Bionico's quest is hard to shake off even if it appears to be set in a world of squalor and pain. Regardless, each day brings a new opportunity, to make something of yourself, to show the world who you are, or to do drugs all day. The mockumentary format makes these contradictions even more explicit. - Jhon Hernandez
