A 12-Year-Old Andean Girl's Festival Dream, and the Body She Was Born Into
Paris-based MMM Film Sales has acquired international rights to Ecuadorian filmmaker Christian Rojas's debut feature “Princess” (“Ñusta”) ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
The film follows Kallpa, a 12-year-old Indigenous girl from the Andes, as she prepares for her community's festivities, where the ñusta—or princess—is chosen each year. Kallpa dreams of participating but faces the reality that she was born in a boy's body. The story explores Kallpa's search for identity and gender transition, intertwined with her Indigenous roots, community and Andean worldview.
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The premise is sharp because the festival role is communal: the ñusta is chosen each year, and Kallpa dreams of participating. That turns identity into something staged in front of a community, not just a private realization.
Maybe, but the praise around it is already sales copy. Matthias Angoulvant of MMM Film Sales calls its approach “sensory” and “singular,” and the company describes it as a “bold, deeply moving queer debut.” That is a sales agent's enthusiasm, not proof the film earns its premise.
The production detail is harder to reduce to a pitch: after Rojas shared the story with the community, their involvement went beyond appearing on camera—they joined the crew and helped build the film.