Kill the Jockey

El Jockey

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
A young yet already legendary jockey has gone downhill; alcohol, drug abuse and accidents have brought him to the brink of ruin, but also face to face with his mafia backers – while his partner, a famous jockey in her own right, is pregnant with their first child. A severe accident will plunge him into a coma, however once he wakes up nothing will be the same – himself primarily, as he is gradually turning into a woman. Attempting to summarize the plot of this new film by Argentinian Luis Ortega, one of the most quirky, charismatic voices of Latin America contemporary cinema, is as challenging as trying to describe its exuberantly and cheerfully eccentric aesthetic: in a risky showcase of his boundless talents, Ortega constructs a paradoxical, bizarre, surreal universe of transformations, which reflects on issues of gender identity and social roles, imbued with a brilliant camp aesthetic, and a witty formalism that engages in a dialogue with the best moments of Roy Andersson, Charlie Kaufman, David Lynch, and, naturally, with its two most apparent reference points - Almodóvar and Kaurismäki’s cinema. Being perhaps the most sui generis unclassified film of the year, Kill the Jokey candidly advocates for cinema as a as a bittersweet, smile-inducing, intriguing enigma.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Luis Ortega
Script: Luis Ortega, Rodolfo Palacios, Fabián Casas
Cinematography: Timo Salminen
Editing: Rosario Suárez, Yibrán Asuad
Sound: Guido Berenblum, Javier Umpiérrez, Claus Lynge
Music: Sune Rose Wagner
Actors: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Ursula Corberó, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Daniel Fanego, Osmar Núñez, Roberto Carnaghi, Luis Ziembrowski, Jorge Prado, Adriana Aguirre
Production: Rei Pictures, El Despacho, Infinity Hill, Warner Music Entertainment, Exile
Producers: Benjamín Domenech, Santiago Gallelli, Matías Roveda, Luis Ortega, Esteban Perroud, Axel Kuschevatzky, Cindy Teperman, Charlie Cohen, Paz Lázaro, Nando Vila
Co-production: Piano, El Estudio, Snowglobe, Jacinto Films, Barraca Producciones
Co-producers: Julio Chavezmontes, Diego Suárez Chialvo, Pablo Cruz, Enrique López Lavigne, Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen, Mikkel Jersin, Lorena Villarreal, Darian De La Fuente
Costumes: Beatriz Di Benedetto
Production Design: Julia Freid
Executive producer: Benicio Del Toro, Isaac Lee, Ron Broitman, Federico Frágola, Phin Glynn, Delfina Montecchia, Martín Fisner
Make Up: Ángela Garacija
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Denmark, USA
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 96'
Contact: Protagonist Pictures
Awards/Distinctions: Premio CinemaSarà Special Mention, Edipo Re Award – Venice Film Festival 2024, Horizontes Latinos Award – San Sebastián IFF 2024

Luis Ortega

Luis Ortega was born in Buenos Aires in 1980. At only 19 years old, he directed his first feature film, Black Box, which received multiple international awards and launched him as one of the most promising filmmakers in Argentina. Since then, he has developed a signature filmography with a unique vision. His previous film, El Angel, premiered to great acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard) and went on to become the highest-grossing film in Argentina that year. Kill the Jockey is his latest film.

Filmography

2002 Black Box
2005 Monobloc
2009 The Dirty Saints
2011 Damn Summer
2012 Dromómanos
2013 Ludmila en Cuba (short)
2014 Lulu
2018 El Angel
2020 Salomé (short)
2024 Kill the Jockey