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US premiere

Perpetual Adolescent

Mexico, France •  
2025 •  
104 mins

An unexpected family reunion brings warmth to an unusually chilly Christmas in Guadalajara when three long-separated siblings come together in the wake of a family crisis. Cristina, the eldest, is their mother’s caretaker and parent to a frustrating young adult daughter. Sony is a free-spirited television psychic. Brunito, the youngest, is a sweet-natured man searching for connection and true love. Missing is sister Monica, a specter that haunts their memories but who left behind a rich legacy of home movies that spool out visions of the family’s past, reminding them of their close bond and sparking a reckoning with the traumas that have shaped them all. Writer-director Eduardo Esquivel (The Flowers of the Night) subtly contrasts themes of heat and cold, both literal and emotional, to explore long-held secrets and finally re-ignite the flame of love that binds this family together. —Deanna Quinones

Una inesperada reunión familiar trae calidez a una Navidad inusualmente fría en Guadalajara, cuando tres hermanos, separados durante mucho tiempo, se reúnen tras una crisis familiar. Cristina, la mayor, cuida de su madre y es madre de una frustrante joven adulta. Sony es una psíquica televisiva de espíritu libre. Brunito, el menor, es un hombre de buen corazón que busca conexión y amor verdadero. La hermana ausente es Mónica, un espectro que ronda sus recuerdos, pero que dejó un rico legado de videos caseros que revelan el pasado familiar, recordándoles su estrecho vínculo y provocando un enfrentamiento con los traumas que los han marcado a todos. El guionista y director Eduardo Esquivel (Las flores de la noche) contrapone sutilmente los temas del calor y el frío, tanto literal como emocional, para explorar secretos largamente guardados y reavivar finalmente la llama del amor que une a esta familia. —Deanna Quinones

Director/s

Eduardo Esquivel Eduardo Esquivel

Eduardo Esquivel is a Mexican filmmaker and co-founder of the queer production company Muchachxs Salvajes. Their work intertwines memory, intimacy, and territory to portray stories from the margins of Mexican cinema. Their debut documentary, the acclaimed The Flowers of the Night (2020), premiered at IDFA and won multiple awards. Their first fiction feature, Perpetual Adolescent (2025), is a Mexico–France co-production inspired by their family archives. Through a blend of tenderness and resistance, their films explore identity, desire, and hidden histories.

Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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COUNTRY
Mexico, France
YEAR
2025
Premiere
US premiere
RUNTIME
104 minutes
DIRECTOR/S
Eduardo Esquivel
LANGUAGE
Spanish
PRODUCER
Omar Robles, Julia Cherrier
WRITER
Eduardo Esquivel, Sofía Gómez Córdova, Omar Robles
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Bruno Santamaría Razo
EDITOR
Carlos Cardenas Aguilar
NOTE WRITER
Deanna Quinones
SECTION
WORLD CINEMA
INITIATIVE
VIVA EL CINE
STRAND
SPIRIT