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Undertow
A unique gay romance and ghost story set on the beautiful Peruvian coastline
Undertow. Starring, Manolo Cardona, Cristian Mercado, Tatiana Astengo.
Miguel (Cristian Mercado), a young fisherman and devoted husband and beloved community member, and his beautiful bride, Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), are about to welcome their first child.
But Miguel harbors a scandalous secret. He’s in love with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), a handsome painter ostracized by the town because he’s both agnostic and gay.
When Santiago drowns accidentally in the ocean’s strong undertow, he cannot pass peacefully to the other side. His spirit returns after his death to ask Miguel to look for his body and bury it according to the rituals of the town.
Miguel must choose between sentencing Santiago to eternal torment or doing right by him and, in thus, revealing their relationship to Mariela—and the entire village.
In this unique gay romance and ghost story set on the beautiful Peruvian coastline, a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his world’s rigid traditions.
Javier Fuentes-León – Writer/Director
After finishing his medical career in Peru, Javier moved to Los Angeles where he pursued a M.F.A. in film directing at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). His short film Rooms was awarded by the National Film Board of Peru (CONACINE) in 1997 and recognized as “among the best work done by a Peruvian filmmaker in the 90s”.
Javier worked on his own projects while developing a career in different areas of film and TV in the U.S., as a head writer for Telemundo TV shows, and editor of commercials and TV, like Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels. During this time he made his most recent short film, Gemini, was screened in many North American film festivals, and wrote two feature scripts: The Woman Who Feared the Sun and Contracorriente (Undertow) under the mentorship of John August (Big Fish) and John Cooper (Director of the Sundance Film Festival). He finished his script under the mentorship of the renowned Argentinean filmmaker Lucrecia Martel (The Swamp) and the Mexican screenwriter Vicente Leñero (The Crime of Father Amaro). Contracorriente is his first feature length film and has received multiple awards and distinctions.