Shooting - Sundance Film Festival 2021 : Son of monarchs will have its US premiere

By Mulder, 04 january 2021

Enchanted by the monarch butterflies of Michoacán, Mexico, since he was a child, Mendel dedicates his career as a scientist in New York to mapping out the monarch’s genetics. But he is haunted by flashbacks of being orphaned alongside his older brother, Simon, when their parents died in a flood. When Mendel travels home to attend the funeral of his grandmother, it's clear Simon harbors deep resentment toward him for having left. Migrating back and forth between Mexico and New York, Mendel starts to neglect his new girlfriend and grows spiritually restless as he obsesses over the iconic butterfly. Then he confronts his brother about what really happened the night their parents died.

Tenoch Huerta delivers a soul-searing performance in this transformative drama by director Alexis Gambis. The film viscerally captures the scientific marvel and splendor of the butterfly, which in turn creates a mythic parallel to Mendel’s primal fears. Son of Monarchs is at once a spiritual and biological quest of the next generation—fulfilling its destiny by never losing sight of ancestral ties.

Synopsis :
A Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown, nestled in the majestic butterfly forests of Michoacán. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal metamorphosis.

Son of monarchs (Mexico/U.S.A.)
Written and directed by Alexis Gambis
Produced by Abraham Dayan, Maria Altamirano
Production Designer : Sofía Guzmán
Co-Producers : Faride Schroeder, Marina Fernández Ferri
Executive Producer : Alexis Gambis, Thomas Campbell Jackson, Gerry Ohrstrom, Matthew Putman, William Mapother, Jonathan Estreich, Richard Lipkin
Starring Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Alexia Rasmussen, Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez, Noé Hernández, Paulina Gaitán, William Mapother
Costume Designers : Lupita Peckinpah, Jessica Harrison
Sound Design and Recording : Samuel Nacach, Andres Saldaña
Music by Cristóbal MarYán
Cinematography : Alejandro Mejía
Edited by Èlia Gasull Balada, Alexis Gambis
Release date : January 30, 2021 (Sundance)
Running time : 97 minutes

Premiere : jan. 30 - 12:00am // Second screening : jan. 31 - 4:00pm (local time)

(Source : press release)