Set in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, the fictional film “Lepes” by Rayell Abad Guangorena centers on Pedro, a boy who faces loneliness, spends his afternoons at a funeral home, and falls in love with his elementary school teacher.
The 125-minute film—which is competing in the Mexican Feature Film category at the 28th Guanajuato International Film Festival (GIFF)—shows the boy mostly in elementary school. His single mother, absorbed by a demanding job, never comes to pick him up, and instead entrusts him to a friend of her deceased uncle, Será Samo, to pick him up. He is an embalmer at a funeral home. The teacher is very demanding with the boy, who draws very well and fortunately lives with two friends from his class, who brighten his life.
The teacher also teaches English classes at the maquiladoras and lives with a friend, who is also a teacher. Their concerns are that they earn little, their air conditioning doesn’t work, and they have to endure the high temperatures of the border metropolis.
“Lepes” (Mexico, 2025) doesn’t directly depict the violence that exists there, but the protagonists’ close encounter with death somehow reflects how complicated it is to live there. Everyone comes to the territory to cross into the United States, but when they fail, many people stay there. The story is definitely not for children, especially because the ending is so powerful and shocking.
However, the story, written by Rayell himself, slightly changes the complicated face of that city. It makes it friendlier, more normal, and acceptable. However, it can’t be erased from the fact that residents there face insecurity, a very complex problem that affects daily life, as organized crime continues to wreak havoc.
What softens this drama is that the boy falls in love. Furthermore, the plot contains touching moments that encourage one to identify with Pedro’s positive force. The director manages to make the audience see a different Ciudad Juárez. The photography is very pleasing, and the camera changes are flexible.
The cast includes André Montaño, Melissa Díaz, Perla De la Rosa, Rosa Meléndez, Renatica De la Torre, Sol Renee Martínez, Ricardo Aguirre, and José Antonio Badia.
Rayell is also a Mexican sound engineer. After years in documentary filmmaking with films such as “Ready for War” (TIFF) and “Home + Away” (Tribeca), he now focuses his work on fiction. This debut feature, “Lepes,” has received support from FOCINE, AFS, and Eka. In 2023, he was the sound engineer for “Olmo,” directed by Fernando Eimbcke and premiered at the 2025 Berlinale.
Source: proceso
