FORASTERA Debuts at TIFF

Following its acclaimed world premiere in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) earlier this week, Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ debut feature FORASTERA has been awarded the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) Dedicated to Emerging Filmmakers by the International Federation of Film Critics.

The award distinguishes FORASTERA as one of the standout discoveries of TIFF 2025, honoring Aleñar Iglesias’ bold vision and the film’s haunting meditation on memory and grief.

“Spanish cinema, long shaped by the exuberance of Pedro Almodóvar, has found a new distinctive voice in Lucía Aleñar Iglesias. Set on sun-drenched Mallorca, FORASTERA follows 16-year-old Cata, whose carefree family holiday is brought to a halt by the death of her grandmother. In her grief, the teenager takes on the older woman’s persona — wearing her clothes, adopting her gestures and silences. Aleñar Iglesias directs with restraint and precision, finding power in understatement. Performances from newcomer Zoe Stein and veteran Lluís Homar anchor the film’s dreamlike rhythms. What might sound slight becomes luminous: a meditation on an adolescent’s first encounter with death, and a ghost story about how the past lingers in the present. FORASTERA is a quietly assured debut, simple yet transformative, marking Aleñar Iglesias as a filmmaker the FIPRESCI jury would like to bet on,” stated the FIPRESCI jury, which includes Katharina Dockhorn (Germany), Francisco Ferreira (Portugal), Jean-Philippe Guerand (France), Andy Hazel (Australia), and Justine Smith (Canada).

Critics have widely praised the film: Filmmaker Magazine called it “an unexpectedly tender ghost story,” while Cineuropa highlighted Aleñar Iglesias’ ability to capture “the precious ambiguity of a childish perspective in ways reminiscent of Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun,” noting FORASTERA’s “emotional complexity.” The Moveable Fest found it “particularly memorable in chronicling someone at risk of growing up too fast.” That Shelf remarked that the film firmly establishes Aleñar Iglesias as “a director to watch.” Next Best Picture noted that it is “a stellar example of what real precise filmmaking looks like”, and “a testament to Aleñar Iglesias’ knowledge of the story she’s telling and Agnès Piqué’s stunning and intentional cinematography.”

Filmmaker Lucía Aleñar Iglesias said in her acceptance speech: “Thank you so much to the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics, this is a huge honor, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I want to thank Diana Cadavid for programming our film and giving it this platform. I want to thank Virginie Devesa for fighting for this film, believing in it, and getting us here. I want to thank my producers Marta, Ari, Tono, Barbara, Montse, Olivier, Lara, Marta, Giovanni, Paco — everyone who worked on this film put their hearts into it. Zoe Stein and Lluís Homar for bringing the strangeness to life. I wanted to make a film that portrayed a very strange feeling I had and wasn’t sure people would relate to it, so this is a huge recognition for me. Thank you very much. I’m very excited for more people to see FORASTERA.”

FORASTERA stars the rising talent Zoe Stein(Manticore) alongside Lluís Homar (Broken Embraces, Bad Education, Eva), Núria Prims, Marta Angelat, Martina García, and Nonni Ardal. The film was produced by Ariadna Dot of Vilaüt Films, Marta Cruañas of Presenta, Tono Folguera of Lastor Media, Bàrbara Ferrer and Cesc Mulet of La Perifèrica Produccions, from Spain; Olivier Guerpillon and Marta Reguera of Sweden’s Fox In The Snow; and Giovanni Pompili of Italy’s Kino Produzioni. The Mallorca-shot feature was lensed by Agnès Piqué, edited by Paola Freddi, and scored by acclaimed musicians Anna von Hausswolff and Filip Leyman.

Lucía Aleñar Iglesias, born in Madrid, educated at NYU and Columbia University and based in Los Angeles, developed FORASTERA through the Critics’ Week Next Step program, took part in La Résidence through Cannes Cinéfondation, and received the ArteKino award during MIA Market. Her short of the same name premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2020 and toured major international festivals, including Curtas Vila do Conde, Les Arcs, Oberhausen, among others, and was nominated for a Gaudí Award.