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Fernanda Tovar Presents CHICAS TRISTES at the 24th FICM

Chicas tristes, Mexican director Fernanda Tovar's debut feature film, was presented at the 24th Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), where it competes in the Mexican Feature Film section this year.

Producers Daniel Loustaunau, Araceli Velázquez, and Samuel Chauvin; actresses Tatsumi Milori, Rocío Guzmán, Darana Álvarez, and Mónica del Carmen; actor Tomás García Agráz; and the film’s director attended the presentation.

Winner of the José María Riba, LatAm Cinema, and Caffeine Post Award at Impulso Morelia 11 in 2025, Chicas tristes follows two friends preparing for an international swimming competition who encounter a life-altering event. This forces them to confront moral questions regarding sexual violence, social responsibility, and the emotional consequences that women face in the modern, post-#MeToo world.

Before participating in Impulso Morelia—the section of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) dedicated to guiding projects in post-production—the film was part of the tenth edition of the Next Step workshop, organized by the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics' Week, where it received the CÉCI Moulin d'Andé Award.

The director emphasized that gender violence is not a binary issue; it is something that concerns us all. "The film addresses this by also showing empathetic men, because it is not a question of men versus women, but rather something that concerns us all." 

Regarding the role of swimming within the story, she highlighted that "it has the unique characteristic of being practiced in a swimsuit, which reveals the body. This created an opportunity to explore how violence affects the body: sometimes we don’t want to be seen, but when the two [characters] are together, they allow themselves to be vulnerable—they hold hands, and there is physical contact."

"We often talk about violence, but not about what happens afterward—to one’s life, dreams, or the spaces one inhabits. Do we just give everything up? More than 90% of cases like this are never reported and carry no consequences; the result is often that women end up abandoning those spaces just to feel better. The film serves as a provocation, prompting us to ask ourselves what we can do, especially since so many people are forced to live alongside their abusers in the absence of any support system. Yet, even amidst such distress, there are glimmers of light and hope—like a friend who, regardless of the circumstances, decides to go up to a rooftop with a mirror, just to let you know that she is there for you," she added.

One of the central themes of the film is friendship. "Collective strength is always very powerful. We live in a society that increasingly leans toward hyper-individualism, where you are expected to choose a side and view the other as an enemy. Those barriers need to dissolve, because an individualistic tendency only breeds more violence. Anything that erases those boundaries helps, and I believe that is one of the roles of cinema: to allow you to empathize with a reality other than your own."

"Initially the film was called Una chica triste (A Sad Girl), but at a screenwriting residency I was asked why just one, if there were two. That's how it became Chicas Tristes (plural). I feel that there is a secret and invisible sadness that we women share because of particular experiences that we go through all the time and that we don't talk about," she added.

For her part, actress Tatsumi Milori stated that playing this character "was a way to experience sadness while feeling deeply supported; we were constantly talking about what we were feeling. Experiencing sadness from that perspective is actually quite beautiful, because you don’t feel like you’re drowning. As an actress, I experienced it in a very gentle way." Darana Álvarez added that she was able to inhabit "this sadness from a very happy place—because on set, we were truly happy and had a wonderful time. That helped us avoid sinking too deeply into the characters' sadness."

Chicas tristes is a co-production between Mexico, Spain, and France, produced by Colectivo Colmena, Potenza Producciones, Promenades Films, Martini Shot Films and CTT Exp & Rentals.