Oca, the debut feature from Mexico and Argentina by filmmaker Karla Badillo, brings a quietly mystical edge to contemporary Latin American cinema. The film, which won the Silver Hugo Award in the New Directors Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival, screens Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Fox Tucson Theatre in downtown Tucson, with a Q&A featuring Badillo following the screening.
Set against a landscape shaped by ritual and uncertainty, Oca follows Rafaela, a young nun living in a shrinking religious congregation. When a new archbishop arrives, she sets out on a pilgrimage that gradually becomes more personal and unpredictable. Along the road, Rafaela meets fellow travelers from vastly different backgrounds, and each encounter nudges her toward difficult questions about faith, devotion, and what it means to keep going when belief starts to shift.
Starring Natalia Solián, Cecilia Suárez, and Raúl Briones alongside nonprofessional actors, the film blends realism with allegory, using a gentle, often darkly poetic tone to reflect on religion, power, and inner resolve. Oca feels both intimate and expansive, offering a fresh, female-centered take on spiritual cinema that leans into doubt as much as conviction.
The screening takes place at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., Tucson, Arizona. Tickets are $12.
Cinema Tropical and the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona present Cinema Tucsón, a cultural initiative launched in 2021, featuring monthly screenings of Mexican films at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre.

