“Simón de la montaña” (English: “Simon of the Mountain”) is a coming of age dire drama directed simon ortiz: the mountain in 2024 s his first feature length film. The picture is a cooperative production of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay and it made its international debut at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2024, where it bagged the Critics’ Week Grand Prize.
Synopsis
The story focuses on 21 year old Simón, played by Lorenzo Ferro, who tries to find meaning in life by inserting himself to a group of disabled youngsters on a hiking trip to the mountains. When building these relationships, mostly with Pehuen (Pehuen Pedre), Simón’s character and thoughts started to shift. He thinks of getting an Official Disability Card which would enable him to secure a position in the group; this gives him complicated relationships like that of a disabled girl called Colo (Kiara Supini) who develops crush on him. The film is concerned with the issues of disability, inclusion and body politics.
Awards & Wins
- Cannes Film Festival 2024: Won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize. Wikipedia
- Lima Film Festival 2024: Secured Best Picture and Best Actor (Lorenzo Ferro); received an Honorable Mention from the Peruvian Association of Film Press (APRECI) for Best Film in Competition. Wikipedia
- Santiago International Film Festival 2024: Lorenzo Ferro won Best Performance in the International Competition. Wikipedia
Cast & Crew
- Director: Federico Luis
- Writers: Federico Luis, Tomas Murphy, Agustín Toscano
- Producer: Patricio Álvarez Casado
- Cast:
- Lorenzo Ferro as Simón
- Kiara Supini as Colo
- Pehuen Pedre as Pehuen
- Laura Nevole as Simón’s mother
- Agustín Toscano as Agustín
- Camila Hirane
IMDb Ratings
As of now, “Simon of the Mountain” holds an IMDb rating of 6.6/10 based on 131 user reviews.
Personal Insights
Federico Luis draws upon his time as a teacher’s assistant at a special needs drama school which provides an authentic touch to the film in terms of representation of disability and inclusion. The audience has praised Lorenzo Ferro for the performance of Simón due to its ability to convincingly depict the character’s inner strife and growth. In this regard, the picture makes us gasped and challenge the viewers with: what is normalcy and how far are you ready to go in order to simply fit in?
Cultural Significance
Simon of the mountain infuses Latin America’s film industry with more congestion as it tackles the issues of disabilities integration, ending the discussion on how identity is evolved throughout the course of history. The focus of attention is the film’s success in various international festivals.
