Fishgirl

“Fishgirl”, a debut film from Ecuador, is certainly the most surreal and cinematic entry in the Critics’ Picks programme. We meet Camila, who is in her twenties and suffers from amnesia, which means that she can’t remember her past or her mental problems. So, she sees a big fish as her best friend and an army of ants. In reality, Camila falls in love with a pizza delivery guy who suddenly disappears.

Visually stunning, with a cleverly composed colour dramaturgy, director Javier Cutrona introduces a brave new world that we haven’t seen in films like this before. Beautiful and mesmerising landscape shots, vivid camerawork and a touch of Foucault make us fall in love with the double-faced Camila and follow her search for herself with passion and a cinematic rollercoaster ride.

Nikolaj Nikitin