Sad Girlz
(Chicas tristes)
La Maestra and Paula are inseparable best friends. Their existence as 16-year-olds revolves around training for the chance to go to Brazil with their swim team and exploring their blossoming individuality together. At a party one night, Paula ends up alone with her long-time crush, something she thought she wanted… But in the following days, La Maestra notices something in Paula has changed and pressures her to confide the truth of what happened that night. The bond between them begins to fracture as they react to the situation in different ways—Paula hoping to keep quiet and move on, and La Maestra determined to protect her friend and make things right.
The intricacies of female friendship are rendered with tenderness and honesty in Fernanda Tovar’s resonant debut. While thoughtfully prodding questions about the ongoing nature of consent and the responsibility for action in the wake of assault, Sad Girlz never loses sight of the beauty and joy of finding one’s sense of self with youthful abandon.
