''Leona'' is a 2018 Mexican

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

and the feature film directorial debut of Isaac Cherem. It was written by Cherem and

Naian González Norvind Naian González Norvind or Naian Norvind (February 9, 1992; Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican actress, and writer. She is the daughter of the Mexican actress Nailea Norvind. Early life Norvind was born to Fernando Gonzalez Parra and actress Naile ...

. González Norvind also stars as the protagonist as a young Jewish woman in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

that falls for a non-Jewish man, Iván (Christian Vazquez). The film premiered at the

Morelia International Film Festival The Morelia International Film Festival (''Spanish'': ''Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia''; FICM) was founded in 2003 in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, México. It is an annual event that takes place during the second week of October. F ...

on 22 October 2018. The film also featured in the schedule of several international Jewish film festivals such as

Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival (also known as the Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival (GPJFF)) is an annual film festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States that presents movies and film-related programs about the Jew ...

Atlanta Jewish Film Festival The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is the largest film festival of any kind in the Georgia (U.S. state), state of Georgia and is the largest Jewish film festival in the world. The 23-day festival is held in late winter at multiple venues in Atlanta, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Jewish Motifs International Film Festival Jewish Motifs International Film Festival ( pl, Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy Żydowskie Motywy) is a major Jewish-themed film festival held annually in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 2004. "The biggest European f ...

and the

UK Jewish Film Festival The UK Jewish Film Festival is an annual film festival dedicated to world cinema that explores Jewish life, history and culture worldwide. It was founded in 1997 and takes place in November, in London and in other cities in the United Kingdom. ...

.Leona
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Retrieved on 19 October 2019Leona
UK Jewish Film Festival. Retrieved on 19 October 2019 According to Cherem, the film was released in Mexican cinemas in October 2019 followed by a North American theatrical release by Menemsha Films between the next year and 2021.

Plot summary

Ariela, a young artist in Mexico City from a

Syrian Jewish Syrian Jews ( he, יהודי סוריה ''Yehudey Surya'', ar, الْيَهُود السُّورِيُّون ''al-Yahūd as-Sūriyyūn'', colloquially called SYs in the United States) are Jews who lived in the region of the modern state of Syri ...

family is pressured into finding an appropriate partner. She develops feelings for a non-Jewish man, Iván (Christian Vazquez). This presents her with a dilemma as she weighs up the relationship against the disapproval of her family and community.

Cast

as Ariela *Christian Vazquez as Iván *Carolina Politi as Estrella *Daniel Adissi as Gabriel *Margarita Sanz as Abuela *Ana Kupfer as Rebeca *Emma Dib as Liz *Rodrigo Corea as Miguel *Elias Fasja as Simón *Ricardo Fastlicht as Moisés *Adriana Llabres as Cordelia

Reception

The film has won a number of awards, with

taking the Best Actress prize at the 2018

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8446886, Leona 2018 films Mexican drama films 2010s Spanish-language films Films about Jews and Judaism Interfaith romance films 2018 drama films 2010s Mexican films