Seventeen-year-old Casper is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha Mexican street gang. A fateful encounter introduces him to peer Sayra as she is trying to ride the roof of a train to America’s land of dreams. This gripping, realistic thriller on illegal immigration took the Directing Award and the Excellence in Cinematography Award at this year’s Sundance festival.
Seventeen-year-old Casper is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha Mexican street gang, which considers the death of a rival gang member the prime goal. A fateful coincidence brings him together with same-aged Sayra who, along with her father and uncle, is trying to cross into the United States on a train roof via Honduras and Mexico. Debut director Fukunaga skillfully mixes various genres – thriller, illegal immigration social drama, love story, and western – without any of them seeming unbelievable. The movie’s striking visual aspect makes use of the photogenic Mexican landscape as seen from the roof of the train and yet it never slips into pretentiousness. The director subordinated his selection of little-known actors and nonactors to the strong emphasis on authenticity. The striking realism of the performances along with Fukunaga’s masterly control over image and story make Sin nombre one of the most remarkable debuts of recent years.
96 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Cary Joji Fukunaga
/ Screenplay Cary Joji Fukunaga
/ Dir. of Photography Adriano Goldman
/ Music Marcelo Zarvos
/ Editor Luis Carballar, Craig McKay
/ Producer Amy Kaufman
/ Production Primary Productions, Canana Films
/ Cast Paulina Gaitan, Edgar Flores, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Diana García, Héctor Jiménez, Luis Fernando Peña
/ Contact Focus Features International, Bontonfilm, a.s.
/ Distributor Bontonfilm, a.s.
Cary Joji Fukunaga (b. 1977, Oakland, California) graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Working as a screenwriter, director, and cameraman led him to disparate parts of the world, from the Arctic Circle to Haiti to West Africa. In 2005 the Sundance festival presented his debut as a director of short films, Victoria para Chino, which he wrote as well. The film took over 20 international awards, including a student Oscar and a Special Mention from the Los Angeles branch of the British Film and Television Academy. His feature debut Sin nombre took the Directing Award and the Excellence in Cinematography Award at this year’s Sundance festival.
Focus Features International
Oxford House, 4th Floor, 76 Oxford Street, W1D 1BS UK, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 307 625 5
Fax: +44 207 307 134 8
E-mail: [email protected]
Bontonfilm, a.s.
Na Poříčí 1047/26, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 257 415 111
E-mail: [email protected]
Marek Jeníček
Distributor, Producer
Cary Joji Fukunaga
Film Director, Film Director, Film Director
Petr Slavík
Distributor, PR & Marketing
Gabrielle Stewart
Sales Agent
Aleš Danielis
Distributor
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