The Virgin of the Quarry Lake
A supernatural, feminine coming-of-(r)age film that captivates with enormous power
In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.
With stylish visual precision, director Laura Casabé brings Benjamin Naishtat’s evocative script to life, marking the first on-screen adaptation of celebrated author Mariana Enríquez’s unsettling short stories. Casabé immerses us in the tense socio-economic reality of an Argentina facing an unprecedented crisis – one that seeps into everyday life and interactions in ever more disturbing and surprising ways. In this surreal and uncertain moment, Dolores Oliverio depicts Natalia’s coming of age with grit, nailing the contradictions inherent to this phase of life as she gradually comes to realise and embrace her sexuality and the sinister world around her.
“Brilliantly luxuriating in a steamy summer where everyone is on edge, “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” draws on a fusion of dark folklore and adolescent angst that pushes simmering self-empowerment to its boiling point.” – Ana Souza, Sundance Film Festival
Laura Casabe (1982) was born in Argentina. She studied Image and Sound Design at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and later trained in screenwriting at the New York Film Academy. Her first feature was “El hada buena – Una fábula peronista” (2010). She has also directed several short films, worked on television documentaries and written a play. In 2016, she released “La Valija de Benavidez”, which was presented at the Blood Window Gala at the Cannes Film Festival and toured various film festivals. Her “Los que vuelven” (“The Returned”, 2019) won her Best Director award at Sitges Catalonian International Film Festival in 2020. Her work integrates supernatural or folkloric elements with social themes.
Filmography:
El hada buena - Una fábula peronista (2010), La valija de Benavídez (2016), Los que vuelven (2019), Album de Familia (2024, doc), La Virgen de la Tosquera (The Virgin of the Quarry Lake, 2025)