EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK: Stills from Gabriela Ortega’s ‘Marga en el DF’, fresh from its Sundance premiere
By Natalia Albin Legorreta
Marga en el DF premiered last night at the Sundance Film Festival. Here is a Short Stuff exclusive first look at the 16mm-shot short.
Set in 1995, the film follows Marga Salinas, a pregnant Dominican woman whose life takes an unexpected turn when she travels to Mexico City to surprise her husband. Upon her arrival, news of Mexian-American singer Selena Quintanilla’s murder is everywhere, and the collective grief shadows Marga as she navigates betrayal, uncertainty and self-discovery.
Marga en el DF adopts an observational structure that creates space for silence, allowing the city itself to emerge as a confrontation, mirroring and deepening Marga’s emotional state. “This film is a love letter to my mother, my grandmothers, and all the women who learned to reinvent themselves before it became normalised,” says writer and director Gabriela Ortega. “It’s a reflection on the decisions, the love, and the silent bravery required to begin again.”
Ortega, a writer and director from the Dominican Republic, is no stranger to Sundance: her debut short Huella was selected in 2022, and she is currently developing a feature with the support of Sundance Labs and Cine Qua Non Lab.
The crew for Marga en el DF
The short is a co-production between Mexico, the United States and the Dominican Republic, produced with the support of Antigravity Academy, Dolby Labs and Redrum. The cast is led by Camila Santana (Sol en el Agua, Ramona), alongside David Palacio, Xabiani Ponce de León and Andrea de Fátima.
Following its Sundance premiere, Marga en el DF has also been selected for SXSW, where it will screen in the Narrative Shorts Competition. Take a look at the first stills below.
