Sad Girlz

Fernanda Tovar, in her narrative debut feature—winner of the Crystal Bear for Best Film in Generation 14plus at the Berlinale—crafts a moving coming-of-age drama about friendship, teenage girlhood, and trauma. Rocio Guzmán gives a standout performance as La Maestra, scraping by as best she can to understand how to be a good ally to her friend Paula (Darana Álvarez). Friends and swimmers Paula and La Maestra navigate life with the same confidence they show in the pool. Dreams cast a quiet spell over the early stretches of the film, though its premonitory title, Sad Girlz, suggests that the girls’ carefree world will not remain untouched. One night when they go to a party, something happens to Paula. As their journey deepens and complicates their bond, these two remarkable young women provide a sense of warmth that makes Sad Girlz linger in the heart long after the credits roll.