Ashes (Ceniza en la Boca)

Ashes (Ceniza en la Boca) is an unconventional immigration drama directed, produced, and written in part by Diego Luna, adapted from Brenda Navarro’s acclaimed novel. The Cannes-premiered film follows 21-year-old Lucila as she leaves Mexico with her emotionally fragile younger brother, Diego, to reunite with their mother in Madrid. Instead of the fresh start she expects, Lucila encounters precarious work, outsider status, and unresolved family resentment. After a tragedy sends her back to Mexico, she must confront her changed relationship with her mother, her grandparents, and her own sense of belonging.

The film explores displacement, identity, caregiving, independence, family separation, and the difficult process of making peace with the past. Anna Díaz leads the cast as Lucila, with Sergio Bautista as Diego and Adriana Paz as their mother, Isabel.

When: Monday, October 5, 2026

Showtime: 7:00 PM

Tickets: Price not available

Venue: AFI Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Run time: 98 minutes

Languages: Catalan, English, and Spanish with English subtitles

Age rating: Not rated

Cast: Anna Díaz as Lucila, Sergio Bautista as Diego, and Adriana Paz as Isabel

Credits: Directed, written, and produced by Diego Luna; screenplay by Abia Castillo; additional screenplay and production by Diego Rabasa, based on the novel by Brenda Navarro; produced by Inna Payán, Valérie Delpierre, and Luis Salinas

Festival presentation: Special Features: Centerpiece Screening as part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival’s Mexico program.