DistantNews
Support us
🇲🇽 Mexico /Culture & Society

Mexican short film ‘Farmacias’ reaches Telluride with real-life stories from an IMSS doctor

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • “Farmacias” draws on real stories from director Martín Montellano’s mother, who worked at Mexico’s IMSS and later in pharmacy clinics.
  • The short follows a popular-clinic doctor dealing with unusual patients and was filmed at a real pharmacy clinic in the State of Mexico.
  • After screening at Telluride, the film will continue its festival run at the London Latino Film Festival.

Stories from a Mexican doctor’s consulting room, including a woman who accidentally takes a pill and a man who says his son no longer dances, have brought the short film “Farmacias” to Colorado’s Telluride Film Festival.

Director Martín Montellano based the screenplay on anecdotes from his mother, who worked for several years at Mexico’s IMSS and later continued practicing in pharmacy clinics. He fictionalized and condensed the stories for the film. The action takes place before Christmas and follows a doctor at a popular clinic as she deals with a series of extraordinary encounters, including a colleague who contradicts everything she says.

“After retiring from IMSS, my mother did not want to stop working, so she continued at those pharmacies, whose characteristic is that they hire retired doctors or doctors who are just starting out,” Montellano said. “She told me several stories from her work, which we of course fictionalized and condensed.”

After retiring from IMSS, my mother did not want to stop working, so she continued at those pharmacies, whose characteristic is that they hire retired doctors or doctors who are just starting out.

· Martín MontellanoThe director explained how his mother’s later work inspired the short film.

The film has already traveled to several European festivals, and Montellano said audiences in France, where it won the audience award, asked whether the events shown were real. “Farmacias” stars Carmen Ramos, with Tsaya Esquivel, Luis Fernando Zárate and Yael Albores among the cast.

The production filmed at night inside a real pharmacy clinic operated by the La Caridad chain in the State of Mexico. Montellano said the chain closed its doors so the crew could work, although some people approached believing the clinic was open. The short was considered for the BAFTA Student Awards and placed 13th without reaching the final nominations. Its next stop after Telluride will be the London Latino Film Festival.

She told me several stories from her work, which we of course fictionalized and condensed.

· Martín MontellanoMontellano described how the screenplay adapted his mother’s anecdotes.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog