Cinema’s next great coming-of-age journey is here. Premiering recently at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival with the backing of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, Fernando Eimbcke‘s “Olmo” has whisked audiences away, not just back to the late 1970s setting of the film, but to their own childhoods and the universal experience of first being at odds with your parents. In an exclusive clip provided to IndieWire, we get a taste for the kind of disagreements that arise in the film as Olmo (Aivan Uttapa) and his father, Nestor (Gustavo Sánchez Parra), argue over a broken radio. Watch above.
An official synopsis for “Olmo” reads, “1979, New Mexico, USA. Olmo is stuck. Today is his turn to take care of his sick father even though he is only 14-years-old and would much rather be hanging out with his best friend, Miguel. But when he gets invited to a party by his beautiful neighbor, Nina, he will do whatever he can to get out of his duties, embarking on a journey of mischief and chaos. As the night unfolds, he may come to love the very place he’s spent so long trying to escape: his home.”
In his review out of Berlin, IndieWire’s Christian Zilko said of the film, “There’s certainly a more serious story hiding within ‘Olmo’ about the toll that a parent’s declining health takes on a working class family. But with just 84 minutes to work with, Eimbcke and co-writer Vanesa Garnica use a light touch to hint at the bleakness of the situation without ever engaging with it too directly. By telling the story through the eyes of such a young protagonist, Eimbcke is able to minimize the stakes of some events while inflating those of others to tell a balanced story that should leave audiences smiling.”
The film’s producers, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner also recently mentioned the film on IndieWire’s Screen Talk podcast with Ryan Lattanzio and Anne Thompson, where they also discussed their work on Oscar hopeful and WGA winner “Nickel Boys,” as well as the rollout for Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mickey 17.” The film had its premiere in London this week followed by a screening at Berlinale. It’s based on the novel “Mickey7” by Ashton Edward and is Director Bong’s first English-language film since his Netflix adventure “Okja.” Garnder and Kleiner shared that their pairing of Director Bong to this material speaks to their larger ethos around building projects.
“It does start with the belief. Just beliefs — belief systems, belief in artists, belief in filmmakers, belief in narrative — belief in audience, frankly,” Gardner said. Kleiner then added, “If you could connect the right filmmaker or storyteller with the right material that they might just have some intrinsic relationship to, then something great can come out of it.”
“Olmo” had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
