Girl Alone

Nineteen-year-old Cintia was beautiful, got good grades and was thinking of studying law. In jerky cell phone footage, we see the Mexican teenager having fun on the beach, kissing a boyfriend, smiling for the camera—but now she is dead. Cintia was murdered in her own home by a relative. Her mother and sister try to go on with their lives and build a future. They describe how their own lives have always been marked by violent relationships, how hard it is to change this, and how much fear and despair it brings.

In voice-over, off camera, the women tell the whole story in detail, accompanied by shots like still-life compositions of the bedroom, shop windows and wedding dresses, combined with video images of Cintia from the family archive. The meandering pace and mysterious, emotional atmosphere encourage us to consider the position of women in society, particularly in Mexico’s macho culture. The bereaved have to look on helplessly as the perpetrator remains unpunished.