Latido Films, who’ve previously bet on high-success Latin arthouse cinema in Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s breakout, “Lullaby,” have acquired international sales rights to Colombian filmmaker Gala del Sol’s debut feature “Rains Over Babel” (“Llueve sobre Babel”) ahead of its Sundance world premiere.
Latido’s Juan Torres brokered the deal and told Variety they found the title “a modern, entertaining, fun project that also has a lot of depth and scope in its ideas.” Adding, “It’s a powerful cinematic experience due to the energy it transmits. Needless to say, it’s a rare pearl in the Ibero-American cinematic spectrum. Latin American cinema continues to be a priority, and we couldn’t help but support this work.”
A blazing and decadent pseudo-rendering of The Divine Comedy – a local dive bar called Babel anchors the film, acting as purgatory. As the plot unfurls, defiant and desperate misfits plead with the local judge, jury and executioner, La Flaca, who holds their fate in her exquisitely-adorned hands.
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“The film evolved from this blend of personal experiences and the desire to reimagine the afterlife as a space where humor and heartache coexist. With a punk aesthetic and a tropical twist, I wanted to explore Death not just as an ending but as a carnival of stories that demand to be told,” Gala del Sol relayed.
Penning the script in a collaborative session with several young actors during the pandemic, she explained that the group used the project to “explore mortality through a vibrant and visceral lens.”
“Personally, it was the first time I had to grapple with Death and illness in such an immediate way. That led to a series of questions: What would happen if I could bet years of life against Death personified? If I could save loved ones from its grip? What would Death look like? Where would she hang out? These questions inspired the creation of La Flaca, the Death of the City of Maya, around whom the film’s four narrative threads revolve.”
A delightfully peculiar and abstract head trip, the project achieves an electric pace that captures each of the senses equally when paired with the film’s dynamic score and vivid aesthetic. Each character is emboldened by the scene, set against richly colored backdrops and placed in opulent wardrobes. Ambitious in its breadth, it is a proper homage to the beyond and the legacy, joy and community that surround even the dankest underground haunts.
“The concept of purgatory as a local bar came from the idea that liminal spaces — both literal and emotional — are where the most transformative experiences happen,” Gala del Sol admitted. “A bar is inherently social yet deeply personal, a place of celebration, regret, intimacy, and reckoning. It’s filled with people, yet sometimes you feel so lonely. Everyone seeks happiness in the pleasures of ephemeral things. It felt like the perfect metaphor for purgatory, where characters confront their pasts and choices in a setting that’s both real and surreal.”
The director also produces the project with her Colombian outfit, Gala del Sol Films, alongside Fabrica Mundi, based in the United States, Colombia and Spain. She credits having her family as contributors and additional producers with bolstering her vision and stated, “Working alongside my family added a deeply personal layer to the production process—it wasn’t just about making a film, but also about creating something meaningful together.”
“Working as both director and producer through Gala del Sol Films has been a profound lesson in resilience and collaboration. Co-producing this project required building alliances across borders and working with creatives who truly believed in the film’s vision,” she added. “Independent filmmaking outside the Hollywood system demands creative problem-solving, and co-productions are an essential part of that process. They enable us to pool resources, tap into regional expertise, and craft films that are culturally rich and globally resonant for a fraction of the price.”
“With this project, I wanted to prove that even with extremely limited resources, indie filmmakers, Latin American filmmakers, can push creative and cultural boundaries. ‘Rains Over Babel’ reflects the power of collaboration: it’s a story shaped by many voices, yet rooted in universal themes of love, Death and identity,” she concluded.
This mythic journey through jubilant hedonism is stacked with talent, the principal cast includes Jhon Nárvaez (“Rebelión), Sofía Buenaventura (“Echo 3”), Celina Biurrun (“Erebus”), John Alex Castillo (“Goles en contra”), Sarai Rebolledo (“Love of my Life”) and Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez. The film sees its Park City bow on Jan. 26 before heading on to Rotterdam.