Meteorite (Meteorito), Colombian visual artist and filmmaker Sebastián Múnera’s feature directorial debut, promises to be a rollercoaster ride when it world-premieres in the competition lineup of the Venice Critics’ Week on Sept. 8. Just hear me out!

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Tefa and Nia live in a small town near the Magdalena River, where they raise Nia’s young nephew. Nia then persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cell phones into the regional prison. Their journey leads them through – here it comes! – an amusement park built on the grounds of a drug lord’s former estate. That’s where water slides and concrete dinosaurs and the croc (check out the main image of this article!) come in.

But don’t expect popcorn, ice cream and laughter! “In a landscape where violence lingers beneath every surface, Tefa is drawn toward an inevitable encounter,” warns a synopsis.

“During my childhood, I often passed through this place known as Nápoles, located in central Colombia. Situated between Bogotá and Medellín, it was a frequent stop on family trips,” Múnera explains in press notes for Meteorite.

“Back then – in the late 1980s and early 1990s – there was a zoo there, perhaps Colombia’s first safari-style zoo,” he adds. “I have many memories of those visits from my childhood. Years later, I began an academic research project on animality and cinema. During that research period – by then working as a visual artist – I started visiting zoos, and naturally, I returned to the one from my childhood, the site of those early, hazy memories.”

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What did he find? “The zoo had been transformed into a theme park, while right next door, the government had built a maximum-security prison. Staying at a nearby hotel, I realized that the guests included both families preparing for a sunny day at the park and women and children on their way to visit relatives in the prison.” So much for an inspiration!

Meteorite stars Ángela Cano, Luna Gaviria, Esteban Madrigal, Jesús Gutierrez and Jaime Castaño.

Director Múnera wrote the script for Meteorite with Martha Márquez. The film features cinematography by Arlene Muller and editing by Rodrigo Ramos Estrada. The producers of Meteorite are Sebastian Martinez and Mauricio S. Burckhardt for Haus Kino, Valeria Mejia and Sebastián Múnera for Entre Acto, Abel Villa Romero and Deimer Quintero Vertel for Archipiélago Sonoro, as well as Rodrigo Ramos of Pos[T] La Casa. MoreThan Films is handling international sales.

THR can now exclusively premiere the trailer for Meteorite. Watch it right here – if you are ready for a ride, that is!

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