Genre
Synopsis
Marisol, a 21-year old Latina-Canadian young woman, has decided to get married to her Egyptian foreign student boyfriend Ramy so she can escape her overbearing conservative family home. As she prepares for her wedding at the lakeside cottage venue where she spent summers as a child, she reconnects with Celeste, her teenage best friend. Celeste now lives alone in the cabin next door. As soon as they see each other again, their chemistry is undeniable, stirring dormant feelings that Marisol was forced to repress 8 years before when her father forbade their friendship.
In the course of the 3 days leading up to her wedding, Marisol has a mystical experience at the lake that blurs past and present. She sees visions of Celeste from their youth that feel more real than the present. Signs from the natural world communicate truths Marisol has suppressed for years. After an evening of festivities for the summer solstice, at the nearby beach, Marisol brings back Celeste to her cottage and they have an intimate night together.
On her wedding day, her controlling father's angry reappearance after a fight with Marisol's mother adds tension. Locking eyes with Celeste across the ceremony site, Marisol experiences a surreal vision that leaves her shaken. As Marisol stands before loved ones at the altar, she has a profound awakening. Looking at the faces of family and friends, she realizes she cannot go through with the marriage. When prompted to say "I do," only screams come out of her mouth.
In a moment of bravery, Marisol flees her ceremony into the forest, pursued by her enraged father. Marisol goes to find Celeste, but instead finds her cabin abandoned and decayed. Finding Celeste's on site, the latter jumps into the lake and her body doesn’t resurfaces. At the very same moment, Marisol’s father runs towards her in an attempt to catch her, but Marisol takes all her force to run and hide in the woods until there are no more signs of her dad.
Exhausted on a country road, Marisol catches a ride with a mysterious woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Celeste. The woman asks her if she is lost and if she needs a ride. Marisol answers “I do!” and gets into the car. The woman doesn’t seem to know who Marisol is. The car drives into the distance.
Bio
Patricia Chica is a multiple award-winning Canadian-Salvadorian director, producer, and writer with over 60 hours of content under her belt. She specializes in high-quality auteur driven films that depict strong characters and thought-provoking stories with striking visuals. Patricia’s work has been Official Selection at over 300 international film festivals and she has spoken or screened in theatres, art centers, universities, and conferences all around the world. Countries like Canada, the USA and Mexico as well as El Salvador have presented retrospectives of her films in the past few years. Chica has also directed and/or worked as a producer of world-class primetime broadcast content for networks such as National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Showcase, Oxygen, Animal Planet, Bravo Canada, Canal D, ARTV, CBC, CBS, Travel Channel, UniMás, and El Rey Network just to name a few. She is perfectly fluent in English, French, and Spanish and has built a loyal social media fan base and connections in those three markets. Patricia Chica grew up in her beloved Montreal, Québec, did her internship in Paris at age 22 and has had professional residencies in New York, Orlando, Toronto and London, UK. Since 2014, Patricia divides her time between Montreal and Los Angeles.
Awards History
SODEC Emerging Creation Program 2023
REELWORLD Producers Program 2023
Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Program 2023
National Screen Institute 2023 - BIPOC Access Program
Credits
Co-Writer - Isabel Dréan
