The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

On Sept. 20, you can see the Bio Rex screenings of The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo and The Little Sister with the combo ticket (25 €/23 €).

The year is 1982 and the location is a remote mining village in northern Chile, where a mysterious disease is spreading, killing the local miners. Whispers circulate among the townspeople – it is said that the disease is transmitted by eye contact alone when two people fall in love with each other.

12-year-old Lidia (Tamara Cortés) lives with her adoptive family, consisting of a community of transwomen, who make a living running a bar. Their matriarch is Mama Boa (Paula Dinamarca), who has developed a tough exterior but is gentle to her own. Lidia’s mother Flamingo (Matías Catalán) on the other hand is a young transwoman with a thirst for life, who has had tempestuous relationship with a miner name Yovani (Pedro Muñoz). When Yovani is hit with a dangerous fever, his finger points at Flamingo.

With fear and prejudice taking hold, the village turns on Lidia’s community, threatening to drive them from their only home. Lidia must figure out whether the rumours about how the disease spreads are actually true.

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo is Diego Céspedes’ powerful feature-length directorial debut that combines drama, subtle magical realism, and western genre influences. Its queer themes and handling of the fear of otherness resonate strongly in our time. The film won the main prize in Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard selection.

Ida Kumpulainen (translated by Herman Tikkanen)

Jani Toivola opens the screening on Sept. 20 in Bio Rex Lasipalatsi. Before the screening, Toivola performs parts of the work Pantteri ja minä in the Bio Rex lobby. Read more on the event page.