Totem is the second feature from Mexican writer-director Lila Aviles, whose celebrated debut The Chambermaid earned widespread critical acclaim.  Both films are set in Mexico City and are understated and intimate, but have a very different energy.  While The Chambermaid focuses on a quiet hotel worker seeking to improve her lot in life, Totem embraces the chaos of a family preparing for a big birthday celebration. 

Totem has cemented Aviles’ reputation as a filmmaker to watch, winning a major prize at the prestigious Berlinale, and attracting some famous fans.  Mexican film star Salma Hayek thought so highly of it she joined the project as an executive producer, stating that Aviles “has the ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, reminding us of the simple things in life”. 

Mexico’s famous trio of Oscar-winning directors – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) and Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) – have also praised the film.  Cuaron called Totem “a miniature about everyday life broken by a sense of loss”, admiring in particular Aviles’ skilful direction of the 8 year old girl playing the film’s  main protagonist Sol, Naima Senties.  The latter’s impressive work earned her the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Mexican Oscars, the Ariels.

Totem is dedicated to Lila Aviles’ own daughter, who lost her father at the age of seven.   

“exuberantly lovely … unusual take on a family drama in which every character is in close proximity but is also a discrete world” Jessica Kiang, Sight and Sound.

“a vital ensemble drama that’s suffused with joy and love” Wendy Ide, Observer.