Mexican filmmaker Fernando Frias de la Parra’s fresh take on this coming-of-age

narrative sees the rough road of growth collide with issues of identity. From the streets

of Mexico to the immigrant communities of New York City, the film tracks the lives of a

group of young men brought together around a measured, melancholic local

interpretation of a Colombian-born rhythm, the cumbia. Dreams, memories and harsh

reality are intertwined as dancing transcends a form of expression to become the air

they breathe to survive.

De la Parra’s hazy, observational camera invites us to follow Ulises (Juan Daniel

Garcia Treviño), a 17-year-old Mexican who must learn to become a man in America.

He’s isolated and recovering from trauma, away from his friends, the Terkos – the

street gang he was part of in Monterrey. At turns brutal and tender, the story ponders

how the boys can preserve their lives, youth, and friendship in a world where they feel

their existence is worthless.