Mayra Hermosillo, known for Narcos: Mexico, arrived at Venice with her feature directing debut Vainilla, a Mexico-set drama selected for the Giornate degli Autori competition. The film follows eight-year-old Roberta as she watches the seven women in her household fight to keep their home in the late 1980s, a premise Hermosillo says is rooted in her own upbringing. The section’s schedule lists multiple screenings this week, including press on September 2 and public showings with a Q&A on September 3.
Sales outfit Bendita Film Sales boarded the title ahead of Venice and lists it as completed at 96 minutes, with production by Redrum and Huasteca Casa Cinematografica and a creative team led by cinematographer Jessica Villamil, editor Sonia Sánchez Carrasco, and composer Yamil Rezc. The company biography notes the project benefited from Mexico’s FOCINE support, while the festival program confirms the film’s competition berth.
An exclusive Venice trailer was rolled out as the festival got underway, introducing Roberta’s point of view and the story’s all-female household to international audiences. Organizers have also posted the public screening on September 6 at Sala Corinto, part of a slate that positions the film for word-of-mouth on the Lido before it continues its festival run.
Hermosillo—who broke out on television before roles in films such as Perdidos en la noche—frames Vainilla as a story about identity, belonging, and the pressures placed on women; official notes describe the narrative as emerging from memories of northern Mexico. The selection in Giornate degli Autori, an independent parallel section at Venice focused on director-driven work, places the debut alongside world premieres from a range of international filmmakers.
The cast features Aurora Dávila, María Castellá, Natalia Plascencia, Paloma Petra, Rosy Rojas, Fernanda Baca, and Lola Ochoa. Local cultural listings in Venice indicate the director and cast are set to present the film at a city event on September 4 ahead of the late-festival public screening, underscoring on-the-ground engagement during its launch.
