10/02/2026 - Marcelo Martinessi's follow-up to The Heiresses centres on a charismatic musician who becomes a symbol of freedom in Paraguay in 1959, under the oppresive dictatorship

Paraguay, 1959. Asunción vibrates for the first time with a foreign rhythm. Rock ’n’ roll has found its way onto the radio carrying heat, speed and the faint illusion that the times might suddenly move forward. The city feels younger, looser – briefly out of sync with itself. At the same time, another rhythm settles in. Slower. Heavier. A disciplined pulse that orders gestures, silences voices and redraws the limits of what can be seen or desired. Words like virtue, decency, tradition begin to circulate with unusual force, shaping a shared fear. In this charged atmosphere, the charismatic musician Narciso becomes a symbol of freedom. His youth, his body, his way of inhabiting the night resonate with the music and with the threat it carries. Desire becomes visible. And visibility, dangerous. What once passed unnoticed now attracts attention, suspicion, judgment. As the regime consolidates its power, morality determines the situation – both intimate and oppressive. The future does not disappear all at once; it tightens. It learns to watch itself. Between dance and discipline, a new order takes shape, and an entire generation feels it closing in.

This is the synopsis for Narciso [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the new film by Paraguayan filmmaker Marcelo Martinessi, the world premiere of which is taking place in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlinale (12-22 February).

Martinessi made several short films including La voz perdida, which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival in 2016. From 2010 until the coup in 2012, he led the first public television station in Paraguay. His debut feature film The Heiressses [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] screened in the 2018 Berlinale Competition where it won Silver Bear – Alfred Bauer Prize and the Silver Bear for Best Actress, the FIPRESCI Prize and a Teddy Award.

Written by Martinessi himself, the film stars Diro Romero, Manuel Cuenca, Arturo Fleitas, Margarita Irun, Mona Martínez (previously nominated for Spain's Goya for her work in Adiós [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paco Cabezas
film profile]) and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart (César winner for BPM [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Valois
interview: Robin Campillo
film profile], recently in Kill the Jockey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luis Ortega
film profile]). The film is produced by Paraguay's La Babosa Cine, in co-production with Germany's Pandora Filmproduktion, Uruguay's Bocacha Films, Brazil's Esquina Produções, Portugal's Oublaum Filmes, Spain's Bteam Prods, France's La Fabrica Nocturna Cinéma and Uruguay's Guay Films. International sales are handled by France's Luxbox.

Check out our exclusive trailer below: