European premiere
I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me
A young man is ready for his PhD studies in Barcelona. But before he leaves Mexico, he’s carried away by thugs. They have a special request while they hold him and his cousin at gunpoint. It’s just the starting point of the absurd and sinister turns his life is taking.
“I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me,” says our protagonist Juan Pablo Villalobos. This is a story inside a story, jumping from Mexico to the streets of Barcelona, part pulp, part gangster thriller.
The filmmaker who surprised us with “I’m no Longer Here” (2019) is back with an adaptation of Juan Pablo Villalobos’ novel. Challenging the limits of humour, he delivers an engaging roller coaster while tackling topics such as immigration, corruption, family loyalty and love. Is it a comedy? Is it a tragedy? You decide.
Javier Garcia Puerto
Fernando Frias (1979) is a Mexican documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and award-winning director. He wrote, directed and produced his latest feature, "I'm No Longer Here", which was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters lab and won over 10 prestigious development, production and post-production grants. The film has gone on to win the feature film competition and audience prizes at the Morelia Film Festival in 2019 and best film at the Cairo International Film Festival. It has also garnered 10 Mexican Academy Premios Arieles, including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Script. It has been nominated at the Goya Awards and chosen to represent Mexico at the Oscars in 2021. Frias is an alumnus of Columbia University where he received his MFA in directing and screenwriting as a Fulbright Scholar.
Filmography:
Rezeta (2012), Ya no estoy aquí (Mind pole enam siin, PÖFF 2019), No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea (2023)