MUBI To Give Mexican Oscar Entry Prayers For The Stolen A UK Release

MUBI have been making a name for themselves picking up some fantastic films from around the world. More recently they have been buying the rights to some Oscar submitted films like Tatiana Huezo’s critically acclaimed Prayers For The Stolen. The boutique Distributor/Streaming service have announced they will give the film a UK release.

The debut feature from established Mexican-El Salvadoran filmmaker Huezo (The Tiniest Place, Tempestad). Debuting in 2021 Cannes Film Festival (in Un Certain Regard Prize Award category)to great acclaim.

Prayers For The Stolen is a powerful coming-of-age story set in a rural village dominated by the drug trade and the threat of human trafficking, through the eyes of three young girls. It’s also great to see a female filmmaker’s film get the spotlight in a country dominated by her male counterparts.

MUBI haven’t released a Trailer yet, below is the Trailer for the American promotion.

Loosely adapted from Jennifer Clement’s 2014 novel, it follows the lives of three girls in Guerrero whose childhoods are overshadowed by the forceful and violent presence of the local cartel. The film pivots around Ana (played at different times by Ana Cristina Ordóñez González and Mayra Membreño) and her friends, whose worlds are governed by those wanting to turn them into slaves or ghosts. Trained by their mothers to flee at any moment and forced into extreme measures to evade capture, these young women must learn to abandon their femininity in order to navigate their harsh surroundings.

As much a damning indictment of the hidden evils of an unjust war as it is a sensitive depiction of women living in the crossfire of gang warfare, this is an unforgettable story of friendship, family and survival uniquely told from a child’s-eye-view perspective.

The film stars Mayra Batalla, Ana Cristina Ordóñez González, Marya Membreño, Norma Pablo, Eileen Yáñez, and Memo Villegas.

Prayers For The Stolen in UK and Irish Cinemas from 8th April before premiering on MUBI on 29th April.