A vet, a dog and a drug lord: Morro lands at San Sebastián
A veterinarian haunted by the death of his son takes in the injured dog of a local drug lord in Morro, the second feature from Mexican director Rodrigo Garcia Saiz.
The 95-minute film is competing in New Directors at the San Sebastián Film Festival, the section for emerging filmmakers presenting their first or second features. The 74th edition of the festival runs Sept. 18-26, according to Variety.
Garcia Saiz has described Morro as his most personal film to date. It follows Mateo, a vet working in rural Mexico and living with guilt over losing his son, who treats Morro, the wounded dog of a local drug lord, and ends up adopting him almost by accident.
It is the director’s sophomore feature, meaning his second film, after Lluvia, whose English title is Rain. That debut competed at the Malaga Film Festival in 2024. Garcia Saiz, identified by the festival as being from Mexico City, now resides in Madrid.
Gustavo Sánchez Parra leads the cast as Mateo, alongside Anna Diaz and Ernesto Meléndez. The bond between man and dog drives the story on screen, and it continued off screen. Sánchez Parra took home the dog who played Morro.
The film was shot on 35mm film stock with cinematographer Alfonso Herrera Salcedo. Garcia Saiz co-wrote the script with screenwriter Carlos Armella.
Morro is produced by Calouma Films alongside Central Films and The 42 Film, with EFD credited as a co-production partner. The credited producers are Paola Cortés, Alberto Müffelmann, Julia Cherrier and Pablo Guerrero.
Sales company The Yellow Affair has boarded the film to handle international sales, coming on ahead of its San Sebastián bow, according to Variety. This year’s New Directors line-up comprises 14 films, according to Screen Daily.
What makes this stand out is the scale of it. A small rural story, shot on film, now has a festival slot and a sales team. That is how a crew’s work reaches buyers and audiences beyond Mexico.
