ABEL

Year: 2010
UK: Network Releasing
Cast: Geraldine Alejandra, Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Gerardo Ruiz-Esparza, Jose Maria Yazpik, Karina Gidi
Director: Diego Luna
Country: Mexico
Language: Spanish (English subtitles)
UK: 82 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language
UK Release Date: 7 January 2011 (Limited Release)

Synopsis

Nine year-old Abel (Christopher Ruiz-Esparza) stopped talking when his father left home. The suddenly one morning he starts to speak again, and seems to believe that he is the head of the family. As he supervises his siblings' homework and cross questions his sister's new boyfriend, no one dares to challenge this miracle. Then unexpectedly a man shows up at the door - his father.

ABEL is a touching mix of comedy and tragedy, an exploration of the challenging social issue facing Mexican families, where paternal absenteeism is increasingly the norm as men leave their families behind to earn a better wage in the United States. With a stunning performance from the first-time young actor Christopher Ruiz-Esparza, Abel is directed by Diego Luna, who along with Gael Garcia Bernal and producer Pablo Cruz, founded a film and TV production company in Mexico City, focusing on projects grown in Latin America of which ABEL is one of those projects